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  • Published: 19 October 2021
  • ISBN: 9781635420975
  • Imprint: Other Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $70.00

The State of Israel vs. the Jews



PopMatters: Best Book of the Year 

From an award-winning journalist, a perceptive study of how Israel’s actions, which run counter to the traditional historical values of Judaism, are putting Jewish people worldwide in an increasingly untenable position.

More than a decade ago, the historian Tony Judt considered whether the behavior of Israel was becoming not only “bad for Israel itself” but also, on a wider scale, “bad for the Jews.” Under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, this issue has grown ever more urgent. In The State of Israel vs. the Jews, veteran journalist Sylvain Cypel addresses it in depth, exploring Israel’s rightward shift on the international scene and with regard to the diaspora.

Cypel reviews the little-known details of the military occupation of Palestinian territory, the mindset of ethnic superiority that reigns throughout an Israeli “colonial camp” that is largely in the majority, and the adoption of new laws, the most serious of which establishes two-tier citizenship between Jews and non-Jews. He shows how Israel has aligned itself with authoritarian regimes and adopted the practices of a security state, including the use of technologies such as the software that enabled the tracking and, ultimately, the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Lastly, The State of Israel vs. the Jews examines the impact of Israel’s evolution in recent years on the two main communities of the Jewish diaspora, in France and the United States, considering how and why public figures in each differ in their approaches.

  • Published: 19 October 2021
  • ISBN: 9781635420975
  • Imprint: Other Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $70.00

Praise for The State of Israel vs. the Jews

Praise for Walled:   “[Cypel] writes with the ardor of a believer and the critical eye of a distant observer, producing a nuanced assault on the blindness and inertia that have afflicted both sides [of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict].” —The New Yorker   “This scathing indictment probes Israel’s soul as much as the substance of its treatment of the Palestinians…an impassioned, often perceptive challenge to the Israeli consensus.” —Publishers Weekly   “With the passion of an investigative journalist and the patience of a historian, Cypel describes how a culture of denial has strangled both [Israeli and Palestinian] societies…Cypel is a gifted writer, and his book is recommended for anyone with a background and interest in this timely topic…[His] arguments are riveting.” —Foreword Reviews