What Israel Means to Me: By 80 Prominent Writers, Performers, Scholars, Politicians, and Journalists

by Alan Dershowitz

Overview

Personal and Passionate Reflections on the Land and Its People

"The Mediterranean landscape, the exuberance of the Israelis, the way politics is a matter of life and death there-all these things beguiled me."
-Erica Jong, author

"What does Israel mean to me? Courage. The Israelis have more courage in their pinky finger than I have in my whole life."
-Tovah Feldshuh, actress

"It is an unparalleled story of tenacity and determination, of courage and renewal. And it is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph and enduring hope over the temptation of despair."
-David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee

"I have no desire to be like everyone else. Something in me wants the entry of the Jewish people into world politics to be judged by the highest conceivable measure. Indeed, that may be what is both so inspiring and confounding about the existence of Israel."
-Rabbi Lawrence Kushner?

"Israel isn't a symbol. Israel is the practical manifestation of hope, freedom, and self-determination."
-Larry King, television host

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470315415
Publisher:	Trade Paper Press
Publication date:	04/21/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	954 KB

About the Author

Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, one of the country's foremost appellate lawyers, and a respected voice on Israel. His many books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Chutzpah, the New York Times bestseller The Case for Israel, The Case for Peace, Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways, and Blasphemy: How the Religious Right Is Hijacking Our Declaration of Independence.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Alan Dershowitz.

Yosef I. Abramowitz.

David Adler.

Shulamit Aloni.

Robert Alter.

Christina Applegate and Nancy Priddy.

David Arnow.

William J. Bennett.

Meron Benvenisti.

Theodore Bikel.

Edwin Black.

Laura Blumenfeld.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

Paul Buhle.

Judy Feld Carr.

Leon Charney.

Norm Coleman.

Richard Ben Cramer.

Paul Eidelberg.

Stuart Eizenatat.

Marc H. Ellis.

Amitai Etzioni.

Avner Even-Zohar.

Jane Falk.

Tovah Feldshuh.

Charles Fenyvesi.

Barney Frank.

Samuel Freedman.

Leslie Gelb.

Uri Geller.

Judy Ginsburge.

Nathan Glazer.

J.J. Goldberg.

Ari L. Goldman.

Monty Hall.

Joshua Hammer.

David Harris.

Mark Helprin.

Susannah Heschel.

Rabbi Marvin Hier.

Arthur Hiller.

Judd Hirsch.

David Horovitz.

Erica Jong.

Max M. Kampelman.

Jonathan Kellerman.

Rabbi Naamah Kelman.

Aviva Kempner.

Larry King.

Morton Klein.

Edward Koch.

Melvin Konner.

Rabbi Harold Kushner.

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner.

Stan Lee.

Rabbi Michael Lerner.

Norman Liss.

David Mamet.

Daniel S. Mariaschin.

Laraine Newman.

Michael B. Oren.

Norm Ornstein.

Judea Pearl.

Natalie Portman.

David Raab.

Pat Robertson.

Anne Roiphe.

Donna Rosenthal.

Amnon Rubinstein.

Douglas Rushkoff.

Julie Salamon.

Stephen Schwartz.

Bernie Siegel.

Ned L. Siegel.

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

Milton Viorst.

Rabbi Noah Weinberg.

Rabbi Sherwin Wine.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie.

Fred S. Zeidman.

Stephen Zunes.

Editorial Reviews

* Harvard law professor Dershowitz is out to defend Israel again—this time, with a little help from his friends. In this volume, some 80 writers, scholars and journalists, many of them prominent figures, most of them Jewish, contribute short pieces about the meaning of Israel in their lives. The breadth of authors is impressive, from Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and the Rev. Pat Robertson to the actresses Natalie Portman (Jewish, born in Israel) and Christina Applegate (not Jewish, visited Israel). As might be expected, many of the pieces emphasize the writer's emotional connection to the Jewish state. Some are prone to hyperbole (former Cabinet member William Bennett counts himself "among the millions of Americans who see America's fate and Israel's fate as one"), while others are overly sentimental. But to Dershowitz's credit, the collection includes selections from more nuanced and critical thinkers. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts points out the importance of Israel as a haven for Palestinian gays and lesbians, while noting that Israel has a way to go in ridding itself of homophobia. Some authors oppose Israel's existence or, like Israeli politician Shulamit Aloni and American Jewish activist Michael Lerner, are critical of Israeli policy in the West Bank, in essays that may expand the readership for this collection beyond the usual pro-Israel suspects. (July) (Publishers Weekly, May 8, 2006)

From the Publisher