We Are Not One: A History of America's Fight Over Israel

by Eric Alterman Narrated by David Colacci

Overview

A bestselling historian uncovers the surprising roots of America's long alliance with Israel and its troubling consequences



Fights about the fate of the state of Israel, and the Zionist movement that gave birth to it, have long been a staple of both Jewish and American political culture. But despite these arguments' significance to American politics, American Jewish life, and to Israel itself, no one has ever systematically examined their history and explained why they matter.



In We Are Not One, historian Eric Alterman traces this debate from its nineteenth-century origins. Following Israel's 1948-1949 War of Independence (called the "nakba" or "catastrophe" by Palestinians), few Americans, including few Jews, paid much attention to Israel or the challenges it faced. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, however, almost overnight support for Israel became the primary component of American Jews' collective identity. Over time, Jewish organizations joined forces with conservative Christians and neoconservative pundits and politicos to wage a tenacious fight to define Israel's image in the United States media, popular culture, Congress, and college campuses. Deeply researched, We Are Not One reveals how our consensus on Israel and Palestine emerged and why, today, it is fracturing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

[A] fearless account…a scrupulous history of the crucial debates over Zionism, anti-Zionism, Palestine, the role of memory and the Holocaust, and America’s interactions with Israel.”—The New Yorker

"Impressively researched work…detailed recounting and analysis of Israel’s history…For anyone interested in gaining a depper understanding of these matters than has hitherto been available, it is essential reading.” —The Jerusalem Post

"Alterman’s book is essential reading for anyone who cares about what happens next in the unfolding story of the Israel-Palestine conflict." —Jewish Book Council

“Historian Alterman (Lying in State) delivers a thought-provoking and thorough study of America’s political relationship with the modern state of Israel….Evenhanded yet incisive, this is an accessible history of a complex geopolitical matter and a persuasive call for more open-minded debate on an issue tearing at the fabric of the American Jewish community.”—Publishers Weekly

“The author employs rich contextual social and media history to reveal the lively intellectual discussions over the decades among the various factions… Illuminating history and a convincing case that Israel’s drift toward illiberalism has led to further divisiveness.”—Kirkus

“Alterman is fearless in tackling the controversial, sometimes toxic, US debate over Israel. Based on meticulous research, his thoughtful arguments make We Are Not One an absolutely riveting history of a debate critical to our understanding of Israel, American politics, and the future of the Middle East. It will be impossible to ignore.”—Kai Bird, coauthor of the Pulitzer Prize–winning American Prometheus

“Deeply researched and beautifully written, Alterman has sketched out the forces in the public debate that seek to influence and shape the image of Israel in the mind of America. With support for Israel still very strong in many quarters, he also tracks the increasing divisions, generational differences, and partisanship in America’s politics that have made discussion of Israel more complex than ever before. Spoiler alert: if you’re looking for the Israel of Leon Uris’s Exodus, you won’t find it here.”—Aaron David Miller, senior fellow, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“Eric Alterman masterfully traces the long, fraught debate over Zionism that has shaped US policy and politics regarding Israel and, by extension, the Palestinians. His book is not just an excellent account of that crucial history, but an invaluable guide to where this still-vital conversation is headed in the twenty-first century.”—Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute

“This is a magisterial work of history by one of the nation’s shrewdest, most eloquent commentators on politics and journalism. Alterman’s sharp, often witty judgments about what Israel has meant to Americans of all persuasions are both comprehensive and convincing. The influence of this erudite, passionate work should not just endure but grow larger over time.”—Michael Kazin, professor of history, Georgetown University

“We Are Not One offers a sweeping and definitive account of how America has thought and talked about Israel over the last seventy-five years. Eric Alterman applies his formidable talents to one of the trickiest of subjects, and the result is a book that strikes an impossible balance: massively knowledgeable, readable, fair-minded, and hard-headed. Both novice and expert will derive great benefit from this deeply engrossing book.”—David N. Myers, distinguished professor of history, UCLA

“In a lucid and highly accessible manner, Alterman tells the story of Israel in the American imagination with verve, humor, and honesty. Combining a deep and broad knowledge of the field with a journalist’s pen, Alterman leads his reader through the political, cultural, and identarian marshlands of American Jews’ struggle with the country they choose not to live in. We Are Not One is learned, fact-based, unvarnished, and full of fresh insights. Highly recommended.”—Shaul Magid, distinguished fellow in Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College

Kirkus Reviews

2022-09-27
The long, complicated history of the U.S. government’s official “indulgence” of Israel, featuring dissenting voices left and right.

“America’s generosity to Israel is literally unparalleled, not only in U.S. history, but in the history of any nation,” writes Alterman, a contributor to the Nation and author of Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie—And Why Trump Is Worse, among other titles. Despite legendary recalcitrance by Israeli leaders regarding conceding to Palestinian or U.S. demands, Israel “has always been able to count on the unswerving support of the U.S. government.” Yet the author systematically reveals how that support is not “monochromatic.” The seemingly limitless emotional support for Israel galvanized after the Six-Day War has dwindled since, as Israeli politics moved rightward and instigated increasingly harsh treatment of Palestinians in occupied areas. “The image of the Israeli David fighting off the Arab Goliath—memorialized in the enormously popular 1958 book and 1960 movie Exodus—was more misleading than illuminating,” writes the author, “but it lived on as a tool for Israel’s supporters in the debates they faced.” Alterman explores the early internal struggles of the Zionist movement and founding of Israel and the leaders’ relationships with different American presidents. Since the 1960s, each has tried to fashion his own Middle East success story, culminating in Donald Trump’s ambitious, misguided attempts to curry favor with fellow right-wing leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The author employs rich contextual social and media history to reveal the lively intellectual discussions over the decades among the various factions, pro- or anti-Israel—e.g., the furor that burst forth when then–U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Patrick Moynihan denounced the “Zionism is Racism” resolution in the U.N. in 1975. In the final chapter, Alterman delves into the deep disaffection that now exists among American Jews, especially young people, regarding policy involving Israel and the U.S.

Illuminating history and a convincing case that Israel’s drift toward illiberalism has led to further divisiveness.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159430250
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/14/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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