"Bad and dishonest argument works, sad to say; especially when it is endlessly repeated by individuals and journals whose academic prowess or cultural standing gives them an apparent authority. The only recourse, for those who wish to oppose the perennial tendency of bad intellectual currency to drive out the good, is, here as ever, to take up the tedious job of patiently teasing out, in detail, sense from nonsense, truth from lies.
This is the central task to which this admirable book addresses itself.....This book reveals the extent to which Jewish debate about Israel recapitulates and reveals strains, not just within Jewish life, but in the life we all inherit."
—Bernard Harrison, Ericksen Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, University of Utah "It is to the credit, therefore, of Alexander and Bogdanor that the essays in their volume focus on the stupidity, ignorance, bias, distortion and extremism of the Jewish Israel bashers, rather than on the supposed mental and emotional status which which has propelled them to endorse their preposterous statements. Edward Alexander's introduction to this volume, and his chapter on The Berkeley School, evidence a deep knowledge if views and opinions which he does not share but which he does not hesitate to present and then counter with a wealth of information and keen analytical tools of great precision." - Arnold Ages, Chicago Jewish Star "This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand not only why so many Jewish intellectuals turn against Israel, but also the mechanisms by which their otherwise shoddy and superficial scholarship and journalistic work earns so much praise." —Emanuele Ottolenghi, National Review Online "Although some of the essays in the book have been published elsewhere, their inclusion here, together with the new material, is a great service to those who recognize the threat that Jewish defamation of Israel represents and want a better understanding of its nature and roots." — Dr. Kenneth Levin, Jewish Political Studies Review "Edward Alexander and Paul Bogdanor have assembled eighteen essays that strip away the prophetic robes of Israel's Jewish detractors." — Isranet Briefing, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR) "The publication of the collection of essays, The Jewish Divide over Israel: Accusers and Defenders, edited by Edward Alexander and Paul Bogdanor, could not be more timely, given the recent ascent of the unrepentant terrorist organization Hamas, the fevered rantings of the President of Iran calling for the elimination of Israel, and the recent Harvard publication of Professors Mearsheimer and Walt's 'The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.'"—Congress Monthly "Collectively, the essays comprising 'The Jewish Divide' make a significant statement about the lacerating effects of Jewish self-hatred."—The Jerusalem Report "At a moment in history when Israel is again fighting for its survival while being vilified as the aggressor and the villan, many Jewish intellectuals have once again sought the spotlight to state that what Israel is doing is 'not in my name.' This book may not provide a cure for this disease, but it certainly offers a key to recognizing its symptoms and developing an effective antidote."—Emmanuele Ottolenghi, National Review Online "This important and timely essay collection explores the poisonous phenomenon of Jews who fulminate against the Jewish state. Among those it considers are the best-known representatives of this group, many of them ensconced in academia."—Jewish Political Studies "Meticulously studied anthology of the most virulent anti-Israeli and antisemtic views which have been voiced, shouted and published in recent years by, mirabile dictu, a coalition of Jewish writers in North America, Europe, and Israel."—Arnold Ages "Jewish hostility toward the state of Israel is the volume's central focus. In studies of figures on the extreme edge of anti-Israel politics (such as Norman G. Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky, and Marc Ellis) and other more temperate cases (such as Tony Judt, Thomas Friedman, George Steiner, and Peter Novick), the volume offers a survey of left-wing Jewish intellectuals whose stock and trade is calumniation of the Jewish state. Its best essays go beyond cataloging outrageous lies and antics to offer plausible explanations of the psychosocial factors that impel such behavior. Because extreme denunciations of Israel by prominent Jews have played an exceptionally important role in legitimizing hatred of the Jewish state in the Middle East and across the world, this volume is not only timely, it is overdue. —Commentary "One does not have to go back a millennium to find "renegade" Jews eager to level accusations against the Jewish community......Because extreme denunciations of Israel by prominent Jews have played an exceptionally important role in legitimizing hatred of the Jewish state in the Middle East and across the world, this volume is not only timely, it is overdue."
— Middle East Quarterly "The volume offers a survey of left-wing Jewish intellectuals whose stock and trade is calumniation of the Jewish state. Its best essays go beyond cataloging outrageous lies and antics to offer plausible explanations of the psychosocial factors that impel such behavior.....this volume is not only timely, it is overdue."
—Gabriel Schoenfeld, Commentary "An extremely important group of essays... Alexander and Bogdanor explain why so many Jewish liberals and radicalscontinually and wrongly undermine the Jewish state. The book is must reading."
—Alex Grobman, The Jewish Voice
