Synopses & Reviews
This in-depth look at a controversial faction of American Zionism fills
a void in the story of American Zionism--and in the story of American Judaism.
This book recounts the fascinating and little-known story
of the militant American Zionists who lobbied Congress, rallied American
public opinion, and influenced British-American relations in their campaign
for Jewish statehood in the 1930s and 1940s. Although these activists have
been dismissed as fanatics who fragmented the American Zionist movement,
Rafael Medoff reveals that the faction--which included an Academy Award-winning
screenwriter and several future members of the Israeli parliament--was
more influential than has been previously acknowledged.
These militants stirred America's conscience by placing
controversial newspaper ads, lobbying conservative as well as liberal members
of Congress, and staging dramatic protest rallies. Through these tactics,
Medoff shows, they attracted a wave of support from an extraordinary cross-section
of leading Americans, including comedians Harpo Marx and Carl Reiner, actors
Vincent Price, Marlon Brando, and Jane Wyatt, musician Leonard Bernstein,
and rising young politicians Jacob Javits and Hubert Humphrey. Medoff also
describes the shadowy underground division that smuggled weapons to the
Holy Land in caskets, naming and interviewing for the first time members
of this gunrunning network.
Based on years of archival research and interviews and
written in a compelling style, Militant Zionism in America documents
events that reshaped the American Jewish community, influenced American
foreign policy, and contributed to one of the most extraordinary events
of modern history: the creation of the State of Israel.
Rafael Medoff is a Visiting Scholar at the State University of New York -- Purchase College.
Review
"Militant Zionism is the first scholarly work on the Jabotinsky Movement in the United States and its relationship with mainstream American Zionism as well as with American government and the public. It is a tale long overdue, and while there will continue to be debate over what the Revisionists actually accomplished and the validity of claims about what might have been done wrong during World War II, there will now be a source to which the disputants can go."—Melvin I. Urofsky, Virginia Commonwealth University
Review
"Rafael Medoff presents the original and compelling argument that militant Zionism profoundly influenced American Zionist policy and public opinion during the years preceding Jewish statehood. Medoff has rewritten a vital chapter of American Jewish history."—Jerold Auerbach, Wellesley College
Review
"Militant Zionism in America has the freshness and immediacy of the archival sources and interviews that massively support its argument; and it adds another cubit to the stature of one of our preeminent historians of Zionism." --Middle East Quarterly
Synopsis
This in-depth look at a controversial faction of American Zionism fills a void in the story of American Zionism--and in the story of American Judaism. Based on years of archival research and interviews and written in a compelling style, Militant Zionism in America documents events that reshaped the American Jewish community, influenced American foreign policy, and contributed to one of the most extraordinary events of modern history: the creation of the State of Israel.
About the Author
"
Militant Zionism is the first scholarly work on the Jabotinsky Movement in the United States and its relationship with mainstream American Zionism as well as with American government and the public. It is a tale long overdue, and while there will continue to be debate over what the Revisionists actually accomplished and the validity of claims about what might have been done wrong during World War II, there will now be a source to which the disputants can go."—Melvin I. Urofsky, Virginia Commonwealth University"Rafael Medoff presents the original and compelling argument that militant Zionism profoundly influenced American Zionist policy and public opinion during the years preceding Jewish statehood. Medoff has rewritten a vital chapter of American Jewish history."—Jerold Auerbach, Wellesley College
"Militant Zionism in America has the freshness and immediacy of the archival sources and interviews that massively support its argument; and it adds another cubit to the stature of one of our preeminent historians of Zionism." --Middle East Quarterly