Israel and the European Left: Between Solidarity and Delegitimization

Description

Why has the European Left become so antagonistic towards Israel? To answer this question, Colin Shindler looks at the struggle between Marxism-Leninism and Zionism from the October Revolution to today. Is such antagonism in opposition to the policies of successive Israeli governments? Or, is it due to a resurgence of anti-Semitism? The answer is far more complex. Shindler argues that the new generation of the European Left was more influenced by the decolonization movement than by wartime experiences, which led it to favor the Palestinian cause in the post 1967 period. Thus the Israeli drive to settle the West Bank after the Six Day war enhanced an already existing attitude, but did not cause it. Written by a respected scholar, this accessible and balanced work provides a novel account and analytical approach to this important subject. Israel and the European Left will interest students in international politics, Middle Eastern studies, as well as anyone who seeks to understand issues related to today's Left and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Colin Shindler is Emeritus Professor and Pears Senior Research Fellow at SOAS, University of London, UK. He is also the founding chairman of the European Association of Israel Studies. The first professor of Israel Studies in the UK, he has written 7 books on Israeli history and Jewish affairs. His History of Modern Israel was published in 2008 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

"This is a timely book of really great importance which convincingly situates the roots of the antagonism of the Left towards Israel and Zionism in a distaste for ideas such as Zionism which did not easily slide into conventional theoretical frameworks as well as confusion between colonialism and colonisation. Indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to fully comprehend Israel's place in the world of today." - Professor Tudor Parfitt, University of London, UK. Author article in The Jewish Chronicle. Author article on OpenDemocracy.net. http://www.opendemocracy.net/colin-shindler/left-and-israel-tortured-path Shindler has written a fascinating book. http://www.thejc.com/arts/books/63740/review-israel-and-european-left -- Jewish Chronicle Author article in The Jewish Telegraph. ... Shindler's book is superb: a well-written and meticulously researched history of the horrors and ironies of the last 100 years. -- Standpoint This book is a useful introduction to a complex problem and can serve as a starting point for discourse about the relations between Israel and the left. -- Eli Tzur, Kibbutzim College of Education, Israel * Journal of Israeli History *