If I Am Not For Myself is a passionate, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be Jewish in the twenty-first century. It traces the author's upbringing in 1960s Jewish-American suburbia, his anti-war and pro-Palestinian activism on the British left, and life as a Jew among Muslims in Pakistan, Morocco, and Britain. Interwoven with this are the experiences of his grandfather's life in Jewish New York of the 1930s and 40s, his struggles with anti-Semitism and the twists and turns that led him from anti-fascism to militant Zionism. In the course of this deeply personal story, Marqusee refutes the claims of Israel and Zionism on Jewish loyalty and laments their impact on the Jewish diaspora. Rather, he argues for a richer, more multi-dimensional understanding of Jewish history and identity, and reclaims vital political and personal space for those castigated as "self-haters" by the Jewish establishment.
If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew
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"A fascinating, if quirky exploration of the Zionism-versus-anti-Zionism debate, to which it adds fire." -- Julia Pascal, Jewish Chronicle, April 4, 2008
"Compelling, passionate and hugely impressive in both its depth of historical research and its lucid, life-affirming humanism, this book should be read by everyone, Jewish or not, who wishes to comprehend some of the central issues and problems in today's world." -- Rab MacWilliam, N16 Magazine, Spring 2008
"Marqusee's thoughtful book blends family memoir and history to bring Marqusee to his own well-informed reservations about Israel and knee-jerk Zionism of any kind. An important book that may be a difficult but salubrious encounter for many Jewish (but also Christian) readers." -- Library Journal, March 1 2008
"When I had finished this book, I wanted to cheer... a rare and precious work. Its polemical force is anchored in experience...If Jewish adolescents got Marqusee's book as a barmitzvah present, there might be a chance of avoiding the repetition of history's mistakes." -- The Independent, March 21 2008
"Zionists will take issue with his secular stance and Jewish loyalists will perhaps be offended by his denial of their claims upon his Jewish identity, but his vigorous voice speaks clearly and decisively for the old Jewish radical tradition." -- Sunday Times, March 23 2008
A tour-de-force of political and cultural analysis... incisive and accurate... penetrating and intellectually honest... A manifesto for a whole generation of Jewish radical activists who refuse to be deterred by the threat of being labelled, and libelled, as self-haters. -- The Guardian, April 19 2008
Erudite and well-argued... he should be lauded for this provocative and timely book, which throws up a host of important questions.
-- Times Literary Supplement, May 16 2008
I was exhilarated by the scope and variety of the story he was trying to tell ...his insights are driven by his intellectual commitment to understand the world in a materialist and unsectarian way. To read his book, to follow him as he tries to be true to his creed of radical internationalism, is an education ... There's nothing I can recall in any book that describes the impulse behind anti-sectarian politics better ... a genuinely cosmopolitan writer who looks to the world to understand his place within it. -- Mukul Kesevan, Biblio (India), April 2008
It's such a liberation to read `If I Am Not For Myself'. It's a joyous meander through history, theory and personal memoir... This is an account that aims higher than just to counter the defenders of Israel, it also seeks to explain how so many people, including many spirited opponents of injustice, somehow ended up accepting the horrors that Israel routinely carries out in the name of the world's Jews. -- Mark Steel, The Independent, June 6
Marqusee's thoughtful book blends family memoir and history to bring Marqusee to his own well-informed reservations about Israel and knee-jerk Zionism of any kind. An important book that may be a difficult but salubrious encounter for many Jewish (but also Christian) readers. -- Library Journal, March 1, 2008
"Compelling, passionate and hugely impressive in both its depth of historical research and its lucid, life-affirming humanism, this book should be read by everyone, Jewish or not, who wishes to comprehend some of the central issues and problems in today's world." -- Rab MacWilliam, N16 Magazine, Spring 2008
"Marqusee's thoughtful book blends family memoir and history to bring Marqusee to his own well-informed reservations about Israel and knee-jerk Zionism of any kind. An important book that may be a difficult but salubrious encounter for many Jewish (but also Christian) readers." -- Library Journal, March 1 2008
"When I had finished this book, I wanted to cheer... a rare and precious work. Its polemical force is anchored in experience...If Jewish adolescents got Marqusee's book as a barmitzvah present, there might be a chance of avoiding the repetition of history's mistakes." -- The Independent, March 21 2008
"Zionists will take issue with his secular stance and Jewish loyalists will perhaps be offended by his denial of their claims upon his Jewish identity, but his vigorous voice speaks clearly and decisively for the old Jewish radical tradition." -- Sunday Times, March 23 2008
A tour-de-force of political and cultural analysis... incisive and accurate... penetrating and intellectually honest... A manifesto for a whole generation of Jewish radical activists who refuse to be deterred by the threat of being labelled, and libelled, as self-haters. -- The Guardian, April 19 2008
Erudite and well-argued... he should be lauded for this provocative and timely book, which throws up a host of important questions.
-- Times Literary Supplement, May 16 2008
I was exhilarated by the scope and variety of the story he was trying to tell ...his insights are driven by his intellectual commitment to understand the world in a materialist and unsectarian way. To read his book, to follow him as he tries to be true to his creed of radical internationalism, is an education ... There's nothing I can recall in any book that describes the impulse behind anti-sectarian politics better ... a genuinely cosmopolitan writer who looks to the world to understand his place within it. -- Mukul Kesevan, Biblio (India), April 2008
It's such a liberation to read `If I Am Not For Myself'. It's a joyous meander through history, theory and personal memoir... This is an account that aims higher than just to counter the defenders of Israel, it also seeks to explain how so many people, including many spirited opponents of injustice, somehow ended up accepting the horrors that Israel routinely carries out in the name of the world's Jews. -- Mark Steel, The Independent, June 6
Marqusee's thoughtful book blends family memoir and history to bring Marqusee to his own well-informed reservations about Israel and knee-jerk Zionism of any kind. An important book that may be a difficult but salubrious encounter for many Jewish (but also Christian) readers. -- Library Journal, March 1, 2008
About the Author
Mike Marqusee's books include Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, War Minus the Shooting and Anyone but England. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and writes a fortnightly column for the Indian newspaper The Hindu. He lives in London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Leon
Format:Hardcover
The strength of this book is that rather than being an isolated polemic, Marqusee roots it in his family history. Specifically, it encapsulates a biography of his grandfather.
That is also its weakness. The balance of the book is too heavily weighted towards a detailed biography based on his grandfather's papers, which is not quite what it `says on the tin'. Perhaps two dozen pages of his grandfather's life would have been sufficient to illustrate the continuity of values that Marqusee identifies, as well as the contradictions between traditional Jewish ethics and the practices of Zionism.
None the less, it is worth reading, even if a reader unrelated to Marqusee, or unfamiliar with the minutiae of New York politics in times past, may be tempted to flick through chunks of the central part of the book. It's like a sandwich in which the bread is the best part. (Maror in matzah for anyone)?
I fully identified with the young Marqusee's transition from a secular Jewish identity with a feeling that Israel was in some way part of his inheritance to an articulate critic of Zionism in general and its treatment of the Palestinians in particular. The book brings humanist and Jewish ethics to this critique in a direct and powerful way.
That is also its weakness. The balance of the book is too heavily weighted towards a detailed biography based on his grandfather's papers, which is not quite what it `says on the tin'. Perhaps two dozen pages of his grandfather's life would have been sufficient to illustrate the continuity of values that Marqusee identifies, as well as the contradictions between traditional Jewish ethics and the practices of Zionism.
None the less, it is worth reading, even if a reader unrelated to Marqusee, or unfamiliar with the minutiae of New York politics in times past, may be tempted to flick through chunks of the central part of the book. It's like a sandwich in which the bread is the best part. (Maror in matzah for anyone)?
I fully identified with the young Marqusee's transition from a secular Jewish identity with a feeling that Israel was in some way part of his inheritance to an articulate critic of Zionism in general and its treatment of the Palestinians in particular. The book brings humanist and Jewish ethics to this critique in a direct and powerful way.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The intellectual formation of an American Jew who's now a Brit, incorporating some of his grandfather's papers, this journey is both exciting (on p58-60 we see it begin) and eminently reasonable. Along the way we meet Moses Mendelssohn, remarkably early pioneer of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), and Napoleon's famous Sanhedrin, or Jewish council, which doesn't seem to have been quite as trail-blazing as it's painted; '[n]ot surprisingly.. [it] ruled that the Torah taught obedience to the laws of the Empire'. Zalkind Hourwitz (1751-1811) you probably won't have heard of ('to be a citizen.., in this country of equality and liberty, it suffices to be the owner of a white foreskin'); Spinoza you will (the Jews' 'continuance so long after dispersion.. [has] nothing marvellous in it.. [They] have been preserved in great measure by Gentile hatred'). But mostly we're in modern-day America. The evolution of Reform Judaism from its high water mark of 1885 ('ever striving to be in accord with the postulates of reason') to 1937 to 1999 is eye-popping (imagine the C of E going into reverse), as is the NYC politics; did you know Fiorello La Guardia was Jewish? (Italian Jewish, to be sure.) As for Israel, don't even talk about it. This is a fascinating voyage among people and ideas - not least that bit player of a grandfather - and not at all doctrinaire. If it gets bogged down in places - enough politics already! - it ends in a cri de coeur that every Jew should read (this means you, Jonathan Sachs! fat chance) and as many of the rest of us as care for humankind in the round. In the din of present-day triumphalist mumbo-jumbo, assertion and counter-assertion, we are in greater need than ever of such individual voices, quiet or combative, heroic or ironic
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Alan A
Format:Hardcover
Well written, good turn of phrase, although the author does tend to meander away from his point. Would've been better with an editor that forced him to stay on the point.
Also, many arguments seemed arbitrary and did not take into account the other side of things. Could've been more rigorous.
Also, many arguments seemed arbitrary and did not take into account the other side of things. Could've been more rigorous.
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