Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza - by Peter Beinart (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A bold, urgent appeal from the acclaimed columnist and political commentator, addressing one of the most important issues of our time

"At this painful moment, Peter Beinart's voice is more vital than ever. His reach is broad--from the tragedy of today's Middle East to the South Africa he knows well to events centuries ago--his scholarship is deep, and his heart is big. This book is not just about being Jewish in the shadow of today's war, but about being a person who cares for justice." --Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight and King Leopold's Ghost

In Peter Beinart's view, one story dominates Jewish communal life: that of persecution and victimhood. It is a story that erases much of the nuance of Jewish religious tradition and warps our understanding of Israel and Palestine. After Gaza, where Jewish texts, history, and language have been deployed to justify mass slaughter and starvation, Beinart argues, Jews must tell a new story. After this war, whose horror will echo for generations, they must do nothing less than offer a new answer to the question: What does it mean to be a Jew?

Beinart imagines an alternate narrative, which would draw on other nations' efforts at moral reconstruction and a different reading of Jewish tradition. A story in which Israeli Jews have the right to equality, not supremacy, and in which Jewish and Palestinian safety are not mutually exclusive but intertwined. One that recognizes the danger of venerating states at the expense of human life.

Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza is a provocative argument that will expand and inform one of the defining conversations of our time. It is a book that only Peter Beinart could write: a passionate yet measured work that brings together his personal experience, his commanding grasp of history, his keen understanding of political and moral dilemmas, and a clear vision for the future.

Review Quotes

"For years, and at great personal cost, Beinart has been one of the most influential Jewish voices for Palestine. . . . He is sympathetic to the Jewish sense of vulnerability -- he offers a granular accounting of the Hamas attacks -- while nevertheless condemning the Israeli state. . . . The method here is as much scriptural as it is political. Calmly and concisely, Beinart demolishes the usual defenses of Israel with reference to stories from within the Jewish tradition. . . . His goal is to wrestle with the knottiness and ambiguity in our sacred texts and correct for the omissions in the mythology of purity that so many of us were taught as children and that many continue to subscribe to as adults." --New York Times Book Review

"At this painful moment, Peter Beinart's voice is more vital than ever. His reach is broad--from the tragedy of today's Middle East to the South Africa he knows well to events centuries ago--his scholarship is deep, and his heart is big. This book is not just about being Jewish in the shadow of today's war, but about being a person who cares for justice." --Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight and King Leopold's Ghost

"Uses the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as Beinart's deep Jewish faith to chart a path forward for peace and safety for both Israelis and Palestinians." --MSNBC

"This timely book constitutes a reckoning with the vast gulf between the Jewish tradition that Beinart cherishes and what has replaced it in the practice of the state of Israel, and of those who have come to worship that state. It is urgently needed." --Rashid Kahlidi, New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017

"A moving account of [Beinart's] transformation from a strong supporter of Israel into a staunch critic of Zionism." --New York Review of Books

"[Beinart] has built a reputation for being an incisive writer and public intellectual, with a knack for admitting when he's wrong. . . . In Beinart's latest book, he appeals to his fellow Jews to grapple with the morality of their defense of Israel. . . . He argues for a Jewish tradition that has no use for Jewish supremacy and treats human equality as a core value." --The Guardian

"Over his lifetime, Peter Beinart went from being a fierce defender of Israel to one of its fiercest critics. In his latest book, the professor of journalism and political science makes an appeal to other American Jews in the wake of the war in Gaza." --NPR's Morning Edition

"Invaluable. . . . Beinart's cogent and caring analysis guides readers toward moral clarity and a sharper understanding of the crisis and its profoundly devastating consequences." --Booklist

"An urgent, carefully argued and compelling read." --Rachel Shabi, author of Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism

"Beinart issues an impassioned critique of the American Jewish community's reaction to the war in Gaza. . . . Urgent and thought-provoking, this is sure to spark debate." --Publishers Weekly

"Makes an important case." --The Financial Times

"Rethinks the meaning of Jewishness today.... Beinart's arguments -- spanning religious, political, moral, and safety concerns -- are delivered with an energetic, almost prophetic conviction. . . . One might expect this intimate tone and narrowly defined audience to make Beinart's discussion less relevant to secular, non-Jewish people. . . . To the contrary, ideal readers include non-Jewish people. . . . Ultimately, Beinart is using particularist means to talk about universalist, humanist ethics. His calls for justice should be heeded by all." --Jacobin

"Guided by a deep familiarity with Jewish history and sources, and a piercing awareness of Palestinian realities, Peter Beinart unflinchingly peels away the layers of propagandist misdirection deployed to defend Israel's actions. This essential book leads us to a universal and Jewish reawakening that is both humane and hopeful." --Daniel Levy, President of the US-Middle East Project and former Israeli peace negotiator

"A learned, powerful book that asks tough--if contentious--questions." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

PETER BEINART is professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also editor at large of Jewish Currents, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, an MSNBC political commentator, and a nonresident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack.com. He lives in New York with his family.