The Tangled History Of American And Israeli Exceptionalism
The American publishing industry does not skimp when it comes to Israel. It has provided us with bookshelves groaning with hagiographies of generations of Israeli leaders, acres of glossy coffee-table books lauding the Israeli miracle in the desert, and a plethora of studies of Israel and its relations with the world.
In the last category, studies of Israel’s relationship with the United States have a special place. Most are informed by a deep sympathy with Israel and staunchly defend the closest possible partnership between the two countries, even if they are occasionally critical of each other’s excesses. Much of this writing is by political scientists or former diplomats, whether Israeli or American, and concentrates on diplomacy and strategy.
In the last category, studies of Israel’s relationship with the United States have a special place. Most are informed by a deep sympathy with Israel and staunchly defend the closest possible partnership between the two countries, even if they are occasionally critical of each other’s excesses. Much of this writing is by political scientists or former diplomats, whether Israeli or American, and concentrates on diplomacy and strategy.
Books in Review
Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance
By Amy Kaplan
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The better books in this extensive literature have a narrow temporal focus, like Michelle Mart’s Eye on Israel and Peter Grose’s Israel in the Mind of America, or take an international-relations approach, like Camille Mansour’s Beyond Alliance, John Judis’s Genesis, and Irene Gendzier’s Dying to Forget.
Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance
By Amy Kaplan
Buy this book
The better books in this extensive literature have a narrow temporal focus, like Michelle Mart’s Eye on Israel and Peter Grose’s Israel in the Mind of America, or take an international-relations approach, like Camille Mansour’s Beyond Alliance, John Judis’s Genesis, and Irene Gendzier’s Dying to Forget.
Continue @ The Nation.
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