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Steve Wenick

Israel (REVIEW)

Noa Tishby’s book, ISRAEL, is by far the best way to learn about Israel, short of living there. Even for those of you fortunate to live in Israel, her book will provide you with a greater understanding of her history, politics, and people. Tishby is a Sabra, therefore her knowledge of Israel is personal, and her insights are born of personal experience. She illuminates how Israel encourages dissent and debate, as well as being a leader of innovation, while firmly rooted in tradition. But Israel is so much more; she is “a light unto the nations,” (Isaiah 49:6), in a very dark and hostile neighborhood.

Despite Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East, Tishby points out that the UN today is still in the dark, obsessed with its anti-Israel positions. Keyboard social justice warriors who claim not to be anti-Israel or anti-Semites but only anti-Zionists, may be fooling themselves but not Tishby. Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with Israeli policy and politics, and everything to do with denying Israel’s right to exist. Today anti-Zionism is the politically correct version of anti-Semitism. She points out that sadly, too many of Israel’s loudest and most influential voices, which speak against her, come from supposedly pro-Israel voices within the Jewish community. Those self-righteous social justice warriors ignore the existential threat to Israel while spewing their anger at her while comfortably ensconced among the pillows of their couches.

There are voices today in the halls of Congress, parroting millennia of well-worn anti-Semitic canards, and introducing modern tropes as well, such as accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing, colonialism, apartheid and spewing other obscene and deceitful lies, whose purpose is to eliminate the only Jewish state in the world. Another recent incarnation of anti-Israelism is the BDS movement, whose motivation is to strangle Israel financially and then dismantle her completely, a time worn echo of Roman, Arab, and European efforts of the past.

Tishby skillfully dissects the ‘body-anti-Semitic’ which thrives on bigotry, ignorance, naivete, and the woeful deafening silence from too many of those in leadership positions within the Jewish community. Her research is solid, spiced with  humor, passion, and the love of her people. Pick up her book and study it because from it you will learn about Israel, her friends, her enemies, her supporters, her detractors, and finally, the truth.

About the Author
Since retiring from IBM Steve Wenick has served as a freelance book reviewer for HarperCollins Publishing and Simon & Schuster. His reviews and articles have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Algemeiner, Jerusalem Online, Philadelphia Inquirer, Attitudes Magazine, and The Jewish Voice of Southern New Jersey. Steve and his wife are residents of Voorhees, New Jersey.
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