DC Public Library System

The Movement and the Middle East, how the Arab-Israeli conflict divided the American Left, Michael R. Fischbach

Label
The Movement and the Middle East, how the Arab-Israeli conflict divided the American Left, Michael R. Fischbach
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-275) and index
Index
index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
The Movement and the Middle East
Nature of contents
bibliography
Oclc number
1090697814
Responsibility statement
Michael R. Fischbach
Sub title
how the Arab-Israeli conflict divided the American Left
Summary
"The Arab-Israeli conflict constituted a serious problem for the American Left in the 1960s: pro-Palestinian activists hailed the Palestinian struggle against Israel as part of a fundamental restructuring of the global imperialist order, while pro-Israeli leftists held a less revolutionary worldview that understood Israel as a paragon of democratic socialist virtue. This intra-left debate was in part doctrinal, in part generational. But further woven into this split were sometimes agonizing questions of identity. Jews were disproportionately well-represented in the Movement, and their personal and communal lives could deeply affect their stances vis-à-vis the Middle East. The Movement and the Middle East offers the first assessment of the controversial and ultimately debilitating role of the Arab-Israeli conflict among left-wing activists during a turbulent period of American history. Michael R. Fischbach draws on a deep well of original sources—from personal interviews to declassified FBI and CIA documents—to present a story of the left-wing responses to the question of Palestine and Israel. He shows how, as the 1970s wore on, the cleavages emerging within the American Left widened, weakening the Movement and leaving a lasting impact that still affects progressive American politics today."--, Provided by publisher
Table Of Contents
The times they are a changin' : the New Left and revolutionary internationalism -- Conflict in the ivory tower : campus activism -- (Fellow) travelers : left-wing youth in the Middle East -- Israel exceptionalism : Jewish attacks on the New Left -- Theory and praxis : the old Left against Israel -- The ghost of revolution past : conflicted communists -- We're not gonna take it : the socialist lurch toward Israel -- Give peace a chance? : the ambivalent anti-Vietnam War movement -- After the storm : divergent left-wing paths -- Shadow of the Cold War : the continued pro-Israeli pushback -- Taking root : new thinking goes mainstream -- Identity politics and intersectionality : feminism and Zionism
resource.variantTitle
Movement & the Middle East
Classification
Genre
Content
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