If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew
Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN: 9781844674350
February 2010
$19.95 / £9.99
Other Editions
Ebook, 307 pages
ISBN: 9781844678549
August 2011
$9.99
ISBN: 9781844672141
February 2008
$26.95 / £16.99
Reviews
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“In this extraordinary journey through family memory and New York left-wing history, Marqusee introduces us to unforgettable Jewish heretics and heroes, including his brawling grandfather and the Prophet Amos … Both in the eloquence of his writing and the deep humanism of his vision, he stands shoulder to shoulder with the spirits of Isaac Deutscher and Edward Said.”
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“A rare and precious work.”
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“The personal story is rich and exciting, ranging from the Bronx to suburbia to Pakistan, Morocco and finally London. The thinking about ‘what it means to be a Jew in the 21st century’ is bold and innovative. No one can read this book without having his or her perspective on the Middle East, religion and the left, expanded.”
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“A tour de force of political and cultural analysis … a manifesto for a whole generation of Jewish radical activists who refuse to be deterred by the threat of being labeled, and libeled, as self-haters.”
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“When I had finished this book I wanted to cheer … If Jewish adolescents got Marqusee’s book as a bar mitzvah present, there might be a chance of avoiding the repetition of history’s mistakes.”
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“A fascinating, if quirky exploration of the Zionism-versus-anti-Zionism debate, to which it adds fire.”
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“His vigorous voice speaks clearly and decisively for the old Jewish radical tradition.”
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“Erudite and well-argued … provocative and timely.”
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“Adventurers, charlatans, schemers, and activists abound . . . The true stories Dolin spins rival anything Hollywood has come up with on the topic. . . . entertaining and informative. . . . Fur, Fortune, and Empire gives what it promises. It is an illuminating analysis of how the beaver and its fur-bearing colleagues became the true 'founding fathers' of North America.”
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“Marqusee is clearly a deep yet broad thinker in the classical intellectual mould, and there is food for thought in every chapter.”
Blog
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Explaining the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Today is Nakba Day - the annual day of commemmoration of the Palestinian catastrophe, the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians.
A selection of Verso's books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, from explanations to considered outcomes.
These are Verso's key books to explain the situation – what others should we include?
The Conflict Explained
The Case for Sanctions Against Israel edited by Audrea Lim
Leading international voices consider all sides of the conflict including boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. With contributions from Angela Davis, John Berger, Naomi Klein, Omar Barghouti, Dalit Baum and Rebecca Vilkomerson.
The Punishment of Gaza by Gideon Levy
The powerful narrative of Israel's invasion and control over Gaza - examining the abandonment of diplomacy in favour of raw military power, turning Gaza into an enormous open-air prison.
“Gideon Levy’s passionate and revealing account is an eloquent, even desperate, call to bring this shocking tragedy to an end, as can easily be done.”
– Noam Chomsky
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On Libya and liberal interventionism—Mike Marqusee
Mike Marqusee cuts through much of the liberal confusion over Libya, and explains why such 'liberal' interventions cannot be seen in separation from the economic and geopolitical interests of the countries carrying them out:
No one proposed a No Fly Zone when Israeli aircraft were pummelling Gaza. Nor did they when the Sri Lankan government killed some 20,000 civilians in its final assault on the LTTE. In Burma condemnation has never been matched by the merest hint of military action, while millions have perished in a war in the Congo financed and armed by western corporations Had the Egyptian army jumped the other way and repressed the uprising, would western powers have treated them as they"re treating the Gaddafi regime? Not a chance. And then there's the flip-flop over Gaddafi himself, from pariah to partner and back again in record time.
"So what?" some will respond. If the western powers are hypocritical and selective, that doesn't mean that in this instance they're wrong. Our guilt elsewhere is not an excuse for failing to protect the innocent in Libya. We cannot cure our governments' double standards with double standards of our own.
But what are these "double-standards of our own"? We don't demand the invasion of Burma or the bombing of Tel Aviv and no one called for NFZs over the townships during the apartheid years. We want an end to western support for repressive regimes everywhere, we stand in solidarity with democratic struggles, but our solidarity is not expressed at the tip of a Cruise missile.
The critical point about the hypocrisy, double-standards and selectivity is that they unveil the real motive forces driving the intervention. And motives here are anything but incidental factors; they guide and shape the intervention and therefore tell us a great deal about its likely impact ...
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“Melancholy democrat” — Mike Marqusee on John Ford
Mike Marqusee has written an article in Red Pepper about the career and politics of Irish-American director, John Ford.
