Benjamin Moser’s Book on Anti-Zionism Draws Debate Over Its Reading of Jewish and Zionist History

Benjamin Moser, the author of *Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History*, describes writing about anti-Zionism as an act of sanity. According to Forward, the book explores the lives of 12 Jewish anti-Zionists. Moser, who previously won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Susan Sontag, challenges the foundational ideas of political Zionism, especially those of its founder, Theodore Herzl. Forward reports that Moser suggests Herzl’s theories were influenced by mental illness, and it says he makes this claim from critical historical analysis. Some critiques, the report notes, argue that Moser oversimplifies the history of Zionism and its relationship with Nazi Germany.

According to Forward, Moser’s focus includes a small Jewish community in Houston, Texas, and his own family history is intertwined with the events he examines. The report also says the early 20th-century Reform movement opposed Zionism as outlined in the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform.

The Paris Review, in an interview by Krithika Varagur titled “Plan B Is Extremely Dangerous,” gives a somewhat different account of the book’s scope and the author’s path. It says the book traces Jewish opposition to Zionism from the 19th century to the present, and that Moser is known for biographical works on Clarice Lispector and Susan Sontag. Moser tells the magazine that his views shifted from those of a passive Zionist in his youth to those of an adult anti-Zionist. His research, the report says, included trips to South Africa, Germany, and Egypt. The book profiles figures ranging from a 19th-century rabbi to photographer Nan Goldin, and it argues that Zionism has far-reaching effects on global politics, including in India and South Africa. As Moser prepares for the book’s release, the report says he anticipates a lively response.

The Los Angeles Review of Books, in an essay titled “Snow Globe Palimpsest,” describes the book’s historical frame. It says the book traces the origins of Zionism to late 19th-century Europe and to the diverse ideas about Jewish self-determination within that period. Proverbs 18:17 applies here: a contested past deserves careful hearing of each account before any verdict. The report states that Jewish anti-Zionism has existed both before and after the establishment of the State of Israel.

Where the reports differ is in how they explain the recent rise of opposition. Forward and The Paris Review focus on Moser’s arguments and personal development, while the Los Angeles Review of Books places the book within a recent turn in Jewish opinion. That report says the October 7, 2023 events and the subsequent destruction of Gaza prompted a reevaluation among many Jews. It also says Orthodox Jews historically viewed Zionism as a transgressive effort to prematurely end the Jewish exile. According to the same report, the destruction of Gaza has catalyzed a new wave of Jewish anti-Zionism.