By
– October 18, 2011
Ganin, the author of Truman, American Jewry, and Israel, 1945 – 1948, traces the impact of Israel’s founding in 1948 on American Jewish politics, especially the struggle for supremacy between two major organizations — the American Jewish Committee and the American Zionist movement. The author, using mostly primary sources, provides an in-depth analysis of the conflict as it relates to the often bittersweet relationship between Israel and American Jews in the early years of the Jewish state. The volume is divided into three parts, the first and second of which are devoted to an examination of the interplay between the Israeli and American Jewish leadership. These chapters dissect the stormy debate over dual loyalty and the question of the relationship of Israel to the American Jewish community, especially on the matter of aliyah (emigration). Of special value is Ganin’s summary of the role played by the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism in opposing the Jewish state and the manner in which it gave succor to Israel’s enemies. The third section of the work deals with the advocacy role played by pro-Israeli leaders as they affected the executive branch in Washington during the early years of the Cold War, when the non- Zionist advocates were more effective in bringing the United States and Israel closer together than were their Zionist counterparts
Jack Fischel is professor emeritus of history at Millersville University, Millersville, PA and author of The Holocaust (Greenwood Press) and Historical Dictionary of the Holocaust (Rowman and Littlefield).
