Politically incorrect : why a Jewish state is a bad idea / a memoir by Ofra Yeshua-Lyth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yeshua-Lyth, Ofra, author.

Standardized Title:

Erets, berit. English

Language:

English

Hebrew

Subjects (All):

Yeshua-Lyth, Ofra.

Religion and state--Israel.

Religion and state.

Israel.

Judaism and secularism.

Democracy.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

vii, 363 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Northampton, Massachusetts : Olive Branch Press, an imprint of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 2017.

Summary:

Israel describes itself as a modern "Jewish and democratic" state. In this memoir, woven with personal stories, Israeli writer Ofra Yeshua-Lyth describes how "Jewish" and "democratic" are two irreconcilable concepts. The founders of this state meticulously upheld one core element of the Jewish orthodoxy: ethnic and religious self-segregation. They thus created a political entity with on alarming emphasis on Jewish supremacy. Israeli citizens are branded according to their ethnicity and their religion. This branding determines their access to (or denial of) vital privileges. Out of loyalty to the "Jewish State" concept, the Israeli elites-mainly with Eastern European roots-have left matters of birth and death; marriage and divorce; education; and even issues related to the military, in the hands of the orthodox Jewish establishment. Riddled with animosities and fears, armed to its teeth, Israeli Jewish society, a patriarchal culture with male circumcision as its formatting ritual, continues to nurture its false narratives of victimology and self-righteousness. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Hopes (a)

1 Falling Stars 1

2 Anything Left for Us to Do? 10

3 Theodore's Business Plan 37

Part II Duties

4 Monsey, New York State 59

5 A Man from Another Planet 70

6 The Rabbis' Great-Grandchildren 88

7 Divinely Alone 99

Part III Commandments

8 Three Weddings 113

9 Till Death 124

10 The Bicycle Revenge 138

11 Shawls of Discontent 144

Part IV Cutting Down to Size

12 The Blood Bond 153

13 Ready for Action 165

Part V Brethren

14 How the State Was Stolen 173

15 What Color Are Jews? 187

16 The Shortcut 195

17 Helping Hands for Labor and War 208

18 Silk Gowns, Black Panthers 226

19 Russians on the Move 240

Part VI Cousins

20 Sweet and Thorny 259

21 Lovesick in Baltimore 276

22 Back to the Water Cisterns 295

23 No English Translation 312

24 The Naked Hat 319

Part VII Hopes (b)

25 A Night at the Opera, a Morning in Ramallah 331

26 The Bird Man 345.

Notes:

"Originally published in Hebrew. First edition by Nymrod Publishing House, Tel Aviv, 2004. Second edition by Ma'ariv publishers, Tel Aviv, 2011"--Title page verso.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781566560108

1566560101

OCLC:

953431715

Publisher Number:

99970385763