The following review of My Israel Question appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 5:
Missed chance to deal fairly with an intractable issue
Reviewed by Philip Mendes
Antony Loewenstein is a highly controversial figure in Australia’s Jewish community due to his aggressive public criticisms of the state of Israel. His reputation as a militant anti-Zionist dissenter will only be reinforced by this overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian text.
Loewenstein’s basic argument is that Israel is primarily, if not solely, responsible for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Israel is described as a rapacious, intransigent and aggressive apartheid state pursuing colonial and murderous policies, while Israelis are stereotyped as intolerant, racist and callous.
In contrast, he depicts the Palestinians are largely defenceless and innocent victims and provides only limited discussion of the long history of Palestinian hatred for and violence towards Israel. He also fails to mention the significant wholesale expulsion of Jews from Arab countries following the establishment of Israel and the history of virulent anti-Zionist campaigns in Australia.
His discussion of key historical events such as the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the failing of the July 2000 Camp David Summit leans heavily towards the Palestinian narrative.
Loewenstein attributes Western support for Israeli policies to the pressures of the “Zionist lobby”, which he constructs as a unified and omnipotent cabal. He refers particularly to the key role played respectively by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. According to Loewenstein, these groups attack any critics of Israel with threats, abuse, intimidation and harassment. He also implies donations by powerful Jewish businessmen disproportionately shape political views towards Israel. Some of the language used in this discussion seems reminiscent of historical stereotypes of Jews as wielding secret financial power and influence.
To be sure, Loewenstein accumulates an impressive amount of academic and popular research data in support of his arguments. And in parts he also seems to be searching for balance, particularly where he recognises the increasing use of anti-Semitic stereotypes by left critics of Israel. Some of his criticisms of the ultra-aggressive strategies of AIJAC are also shared by many mainstream Australian Jews. But the majority of his discourse is a simplistic and superficial analysis of interest group politics.
The major omission here is a detailed comparative discussion of the role played by Arab lobby groups. Loewenstein dismisses them as poorly organised and less influential, yet the Arab vote is much larger than the Jewish vote, and the pro-Palestinian lobby has succeeded into capturing key academic centres at ANU and Macquarie. Loewenstein himself was even appointed to the board of the Macquarie Centre for Middle East Studies.
There are also numerous serious political and historical clangers in the book. The former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin was the leader of the Irgun not the Stern Gang; the Australian Jewish News actively promotes diversity and does not suppress Jewish views critical of Israel; former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam lost popularity in the Jewish community because of the open hostility he expressed towards Jews as well as Israel; the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission is an inclusive and moderate rather than hardline lobby group; and Noam Chomsky did provide a political character reference for French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson.
This book is a missed opportunity. It will no doubt appeal to those who simplistically view the Israelis as evil oppressors, and the Palestinians as oppressed victims. But those hoping for a serious and nuanced examination of the complexity of the Middle East conflict will be disappointed.
Philip Mendes is senior lecturer in social policy at Monash University and co-editor of Jews and Australian Politics (Sussex Academic Press)
A review also appeared in the Melbourne Age on August 5 and the August edition of the Socialist Alternative.
How many times have you been to Israel, Ant?
The major omission here is a detailed comparative discussion of the role played by Arab lobby groups. Loewenstein dismisses them as poorly organised and less influential, yet the Arab vote is much larger than the Jewish vote.
Yes, the Arab vote ..if you can call it that IS much larger in Australia than the Jewish vote. Still doesn’t make their “lobby groups” more organised or less shambolic. There are a few pockets of very well organised Muslim Arab aparatchiks in some NSW ALP branches (on the right of course) and a couple of very clued up Maronite Christian branchstackers holding the fort in ONE Liberal Party local branch, but that’s the extent of it.
Captain – what are you a Captain of? The Lower North Shore Hungry Hungry Hippo deathmatch tournament team?
Well, if this is the best that Mendes that throw, then the lobbyists are failing. And what’s all this about “capturing key academic centres at ANU and Macquarie”? What rubbish and what a slur on the academic reputation of those who work at these institutions. Does this mean the other side has set out “capture” academic centres elsewhere, such as Sydney University? Perhaps they succeeded at Monash.
bad Antony for kicking the underdog.
How many children have you killed Captain?
How many books have you written?
Good one. If you’re going to point out that Israel was founded on terrorism, you’ve got to get the name of the terrorist organisations right.
How many children have I killed : check this out.
How many trashy books have I written: none.
Mac and ANU could be called “key academic centres” in terms of Middle East politics. But yeah, this really isn’t that much of a hammering from Mendes. I think his accusation that Ant paints ALL Israelis as intolerant and callous is another bit of poetic licence. Ant has always pushed the line that the strongest criticism of the the state of Israel come from within Israel itself.
But hey, the new conversation is out there and his review is a part of that. It’s great to see the discussion happening.
Wow, that’s less than half the number fo children the IDF killed in Lebanon these last three weeks and less that 15% the numeber of children killed by the IDF suring that same period.
So I take it, you have written none? How many have you read, apart from the one you have molded your ideologoy on, Mein Kampf?
Congratulations Ant.
Hope it becomes a best seller.
Sssshhh! Don’t let Captain in on the secret. The more he and his propagandists attempt to smear the book, the more copies it will sell as people find out for themselves what the controversy is all about. Hopefully this book will be appearing on the reading lists of students at universities and colleges in many countries (or at least those academic sites not “captured” by the Captain’s mates).
“—-the Australian Jewish News actively promotes diversity and does not suppress Jewish views critical of Israel” says Philip Mendes.
but of course he is wrong! The Israel Zionist Times aka The Australian Jewish News does NOT promote diversity and DOES suppress views critical of Israel – as well as suppressing other views on many topics the AJN disapproves of – just ask its owner, never mind the editor.
And ALL books contain errors – no doubt even those written by Philip Mendes.
All Mendes is doing is reinforcing the attitude that anti-zionists are not entitled to express their views – they are just Jewish anti-semites.
Review the book by all means, but don’t disguise this by a personal attack on the author. I also agree that Mendes insulted academic institutions by his slur on Antony’s appointment at Macquarie University.
Oi vey!!
There may be more Arabs living here than Jews, but the proof that they are indeed “poorly organised and less influential” is that Howard doesn’t loose a second of sleep worrying about the electoral costs of openly supporting, even encouraging, Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon.
Huh? Have I missed something, has Antony recently discovered he was adopted and thus hastily converted to Islam to reflect an Arabic heritage?
It would appear that the clumsy Zionist hatchet jobs on My Israel Question have worked a treat, it is now impossible to book a spot at Ant’s book launch at Gleebooks tomorrow night…
Come on Ant,
Fess up. These Zionazi’s are just a rentacrowd PR mob in diguise right? From appearances it seem they are worth every penny.