Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War That May Never End - Hardcover

by Daniel Gordis (Author)

Is Israel worth saving, and if so, how do we secure its future?

The Jewish State must end, say its enemies, from intellectuals like Tony Judt to hate-filled demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even average Israelis are wondering if they wouldn't be better off somewhere else and whether they ought to persevere. Daniel Gordis is confident his fellow Jews can renew their faith in the cause, and in Saving Israel, he outlines how.

• 2009 National Jewish Book Award winner
• Addresses the most pressing issues faced by Israel-and American Jews-today, without recycling the same old arguments
• Lays to rest some of the most pernicious myths about Israel, including: Jews could thrive without Israel; Israeli Arabs just want equality, and Palestinians just want their own state; peace will come, if Israel will just do the right things
• ""Morally powerful . . . from a writer whose reflections are consistently as intellectually impressive as they are moving. . . . Gordis addresses the exigencies of our time with the urgency they overridingly demand, and with the depth of feeling they inspire.""-Cynthia Ozick

Gordis has written many popular personal essays and memoirs in the past, but Saving Israel is a full-throated call to arms. Never has the case for defending-no, celebrating-the existence of Israel been so clear, so passionate, or so worthy of wholehearted support.

Front Jacket

Israel is beset from all sides. In the international community, it is the only country whose right to exists is still debated. Closer to home, many Arab leaders continue to call for its destruction. Inside its borders, Israel's own Arab population grows ever more hostile. And now, countless Jews within Israel and around the world have begun to lose faith in the very idea of a Jewish state. Can Israel weather these challenges?

In "Saving Israel, " Daniel Gordis offers a new defense of the Jewish state, asking first "why" Israel is necessary, and then discussing "what" Israel has to do in order to survive its enemies. Gordis begins with a novel discussion of Israel's purpose, reflecting on the overlooked ways in which Israel has changed the existential condition of Jews everywhere. In the process, he grapples with controversial questions about Israel, Israeli Arabs, Muslims, and the International community that many Israelis and American Jews are loath to confront. Gordis lays to rest an array of pernicious myths about Israel: Jews in the United States could thrive without IsraelIsraeli Arabs just want equality, and Palestinians simply want their own statePeace will come, if Israel is willing to make appropriate territorial compromisesFighting and winning wars is antithetical to Judaism

Gordis suggestions for what Israel must do to survive, and more importantly, for how it must think if it is to have a future, are sure to arouse debate and even controversy. For Gordis's book is a passionate reminder of Israel's purpose, a celebration of what Israel has already accomplished, a renewal of faith in the cause, and a bold guide for carrying on the struggle. "Saving Israel" is a full-throated call to arms. Never has the case for defending the existence of Israel been made with such confidence, passion, and clarity.

Back Jacket

Advances Praise for SAVING ISRAEL

"One of Israel's most thoughtful observers--an American who made Israel his home, despite its imperfections and dangers."
--Alan Dershowitz, author of "The Case for Israel"

"Daniel Gordis's morally powerful "Saving Israel," from a writer whose reflections are consistently as intellectually impressive as they are moving, engages in an acutely necessary argument: that sovereignty has significantly changed the Jewish condition by influencing how we think. Gordis addresses the exigencies of our time with the urgency they overridingly demand, and with the depth of feeling they inspire."
--Cynthia Ozick

"An important book. Bold in his willingness to be forthright and politically incorrect, Gordis sets forth propositions which are difficult for many to accept, such as the fact that Israel's existence is more important than peace and that Israel can never be a copy of the American style liberal democracy. For, as he notes, what is at stake is not merely a state, but the only Jewish State in 2000 years, and the very future of the Jews worldwide, including those who do not live in that State. Hopefully, "Saving Israel" will inspire constructive discussion and analysis of core issues that Israelis, Jews everywhere, and the entire West have studiously avoided for far too long."
--Natan Sharansky, former Soviet dissident and Israeli Cabinet Minister; author of "Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy"

Author Biography

Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President and a Senior Fellow of the Shalem center. A columnist for the "Jerusalem Post, " he has also written for the "New York Times, Tikkum, " the "Forward," and the "New York Times magazine." His books include "Coming Together, Coming Apart" and "If" "a Place Can Make You Cry."