The Making and Unmaking of a Zionist

by Antony Lerman, Jacqueline Rose (Foreword by)

Overview

Antony Lerman traces his five-decade personal and political journey from idealistic socialist Zionist to controversial critic of Zionism and Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. As head of an influential UK Jewish think tank, he operated at the highest levels of international Jewish political and intellectual life.

He recalls his 1960s Zionist activism, two years spent on kibbutz and service in the IDF, followed by the gradual onset of doubts about Israel on returning to England. Assailed for his growing public criticism of Israeli policy and Zionism, he details his ostracism by the Jewish establishment.

Through his insider’s critique of Zionism, critical assessment of Jewish politics and analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict Lerman presents a powerful, human rights-based argument about how a just peace can be achieved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745332765
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	09/18/2012
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 9.06(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Antony Lerman was Director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research. His work has appeared in many publications including the Guardian, The Independent, The Nation, Ha’aretz, Prospect and openDemocracy. He was editor of the academic journal Patterns of Prejudice and is a member of the Black-Jewish-Asian Forum.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Abbreviations and acronyms
1 From Bourgeois to Builder
2 Sunrise Over the Carmel
3 Socialist Zionist
4 ‘It Is No Dream’
5 Searching for Myself
6 Rocking the Boat
7 Political Animal
8 Darkening Skies in Israel and Europe
9 Shedding Illusions
10 Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
11 Character Assassination and Self-Censorship
12 ‘Gunning for Lerman’
13 Pressing On
14 The Sense of an Ending
15 Afterword
Glossary
Sources for chapter heading quotes
Note on sources
Index

Editorial Reviews

"An honest and moving account of how Antony Lerman – like so many Jewish liberals of his generation – fell in and out of love with the Zionist dream as translated into Israeli reality. A singular figure of principle in the grubby world of communal politics, Lerman retells factually and with a commendable lack of bitterness his shameful treatment at the hands of the British Jewish establishment." - Rabbi David J. Goldberg, author of This Is Not the Way: Jews, Judaism and Israel (2012)

"In this very courageous, personal yet intellectual exposé, Antony Lerman, who, unlike many of his peers, refused to cross the red lines into the ideological territory of ethnocentric particularism, explores his journey to and from Zionism. His critique contains sharp insights and the inspiration of an optimistic prophet who believes that peace, justice and human rights are the true Jewish values." - Avraham Burg, former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset and author of The Holocaust is Over: We Must Rise From its Ashes (2008)

"Lerman's journey from fervent Zionist to thoughtful critic of Zionism is fascinating enough. But this rich and compelling account also charts his sustained vilification and shows how extensively bigotry has replaced reason in the Middle East debate. You leave it, however, uplifted by the encounter with a commentator who has wrestled with these difficult questions with seriousness, thoughtfulness and integrity all his professional life." - Anne Karpf, sociologist, journalist and author of The War After: Living With the Holocaust (1996)

From the Publisher