Can We Talk About Israel?

Reviews

If you fall into the camp of the “curious, confused, and conflicted,” then this book is for you. [Sokatch] promises the reader that “after you’ve read it, you’ll be able to hold your own in any Israel conversation, at any dinner party.” He delivers on this promise, providing an engaging and evenhanded … history of the conflict, from its 19th-century origins to the most recent mini-war between Israel and Hamas in May 2021. We live in an age diseased with certainty, but Daniel Sokatch has the bravery to come along with an antidote that suggests that there is always so much more than one truth. Sokatch embraces the Whitmanesque notion that we are large and we contain multitudes. He allows us to understand that it is more difficult—but exceedingly more rewarding—to think kaleidoscopically about others. He disrupts and therefore re-nuances the accepted narratives, and he does this with great generosity of style and spirit. This is an important book, exceedingly well written, full of insight and empathy and even humor in the face of all available evidence. Everything that so often seems lacking in our thoughts, feelings, and arguments about Israel and Palestine—clarity, fair-mindedness, and universal compassion—can be found in this elegantly written and surprisingly entertaining book. Daniel Sokatch has done the impossible—he writes a breezy, sometimes even witty book about the always hot-button, depressing, and controversial topic of Israel and Palestine. His is a calm voice of miraculous common sense. He is sardonic but empathetic. He has an eye for irony and hypocrisy. But somehow he weaves a historical commentary that is both authoritative and entertaining. He must be some kind of wise man—or at least a mensch. This is an important overview of Jewish perspectives, both in Israel and in the United States, of Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians. It is balanced, insightful, and highly recommended. Israel is a nation, a symbol, a legacy, an enigma, a disappointment, an outrage, and a promise all in one, and untangling those threads can seem overwhelming. If your answer to the question ‘can we talk about Israel?’ is ‘do we have to?’ then this is the book for you. It is essential not just for its frank and accessible narrative, but also for Daniel Sokatch’s ability to fill the gulf of knowledge that leaves so many of us outside a vital conversation. Daniel Sokatch has done a remarkable job telling the story of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in clear, understandable terms. No reader will agree with everything he writes. That's good! But every reader should appreciate his honesty, passion, intellect, and humanity. Israel, WTF? Like almost everyone, I can hardly think about Israel without feeling furious, saddened, frightened, righteous and wrong. At last, here is a clearheaded, evenhanded book about a crucial and troubled region that makes all of us bonkers. [Sokatch] earnestly and humanely parses the Palestinian-Israeli conflict . . . from the fair-minded position that Israelis and Palestinians are both right and both wrong . . . An optimistic, evenhanded instruction manual, with upbeat illustrations, for anyone trying to understand the conflict. [A]n accessible and balanced survey of the Israel-Palestinian conflict … Flashes of humor, including Noxon’s witty black-and-white illustrations, lighten the mood without sacrificing in-depth analysis. Readers will welcome this informative and fair-minded primer on one of the world’s most fiercely debated issues. One of the best short contemporary guides to the complicated politics of the place Tackles seemingly intractable issues in a mature, reasonable and straightforward manner ... After finishing this remarkable treatment and reinterpretation of key events that have taken place during my lifetime, my view of the entire situation irrevocably changed. A calm, balanced guide …. What Sokatch offers, then, is an accessible, engaging explanation of the Israel-Palestine conflict Expand reviews