JEWISH CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS: A post-October 7 Primer and Polemic
A new book for Millennials and Zoomers and those who can capture their attention
1.     What is your latest book about?
The best way I can describe it is that it is, in unequal parts, polemic, primer, and memoir. It is about history, politics, and Jews—a cri de coeur.
2.     Let's stop right there. A cri de coeur?
Yeah. I am a passionate, cranky old guy, and what comes across is my angst for the Jewish people and Israel's future, especially in the wake of October 7. I have a go at irresponsible elites and the gormless masses that lap up their demagoguery in Israel and America.
3.     And by primer, you mean?
Today, there are AI language models that concisely summarize books for quick reference. My generation used Monarch or Cliff Notes study guides.
Millennials and Zoomers have joined a world already in progress. How can we bring them up to speed?
It's not easy when you have a limited attention span and get your news by scrolling and scanning social media…or maybe from a podcast run at 2x.
Substantive reading is challenging for people in their 20s or younger, really for anyone born after 1990.
4.     We are talking about TikTok and Instagram-length attention spans, yet you hope they will read your book? Like, why?
It is a leap of faith, I know. What they'd get are brief, I hope compellingly written, capsule introductions to the basics.
5.     And the book covers?
Have a look at the TOC on Amazon.
Think of it as Judaic studies and political science 1.0 for Millennials and Zoomers with elite potential – willing to assume responsibility and put the interests of society above their own.
Willing to read.
It covers much of what matters under the rubric of Jewish civilization and politics.
6.     Yes, but Millennials and Zoomers don't read!
Millennials and Zoomers have a credible reputation for not reading. And I do not have 15 million followers on social media to let those who actually do read know the book exists.
So, saying the book is for Millennials and Zoomers is admittedly a conceit. You can see me blushing.
7.     Gotcha!
Yeah, you got me.
I hope their grandparents, parents, and mentors will gift them a digital or print copy. And that having the book uploaded on their Smartphones will pique their interest.
Also, I hope an older audience reads my book, too, so they know what they are talking about when they engage with young people.
8.     What messages would they get from the book?
One is that ours is an ancient albeit imperfect civilization worth preserving. That the buck stops with today's generation. That democracy must be crafted to take human nature into account. And that Israel lies at the core of Jewish civilization.
9.     What kind of Israel?
One with democratic values.
Democratic values are not synonymous with pure majority rule.
The kind of Israel where the Jewish people are strategically secure. An Israel that has a political culture that is Jewish and tolerant. Right now, the threat to Israel's future from within is on par with the external threat. So, foremost, Israel needs a new political system that undermines parochialism, hyper-pluralism, fanaticism, chauvinism, and intolerance. One that glues the tribes together, not one that endorses runaway tribal autonomy.
10. Do you want people to be religious?
I feel that Judaism provides a framework for living. I don't need anyone to be religious – whatever that means – though I would like my readers to be Jewishly literate so they can sensibly decide what speaks to them.
And if they are "religious," I don't want them to think their Jewish tribe has all the answers or has a monopoly on political or theological Truth.
11. Tell me about yourself.
I am a Lower East Sider – a neighborhood below 14th street in Manhattan – a planet unto itself. What Irving Howe called The World of our Fathers.
But spare me any nostalgia. I grew up in a crime-ridden working-class housing project in the section called Alphabet City and later found asylum on Grand Street.
I was born when Eisenhower was president and a very elderly Churchill was back as prime minister in Britain. I went to Yeshiva Chasan Sofer, and later Mesiftha Tiffereth Jerusalem, and worked in New York City government for 23 years while making my way through Brooklyn College and NYU.
12. You worked at The Jerusalem Post for 11 years.
Yes. A rather different newspaper at the time. Then, I helped get Jewish Ideas Daily off the ground. Did a stint at Newsmax. Wrote a book about the Balfour Declaration. Before that The Pater, a memoir about what it means for a Jewish man not to have children.
But what interests me most is the intersection between politics and Judaism.
Over the years, I have thought obsessively about Jews and politics. I taught political science at New York University for years as an adjunct during and after my PhD. After making aliya in 1997, I retooled as a journalist.
13. How would you characterize your political views?
I have a section that explains what ideology is. I used to be ideological. Now, I try to make the case for scrapping ideology if it straitjackets your thinking. If it closes your mind to uncomfortable realities and unpleasant facts.
I do feel that Israel is the core of Jewish civilization and the only place where Jews can live authentically Jewish lives. And that is why I find the failure of Israel's political and clerical class to live up to their elite responsibilities utterly reprehensible.
14. How can readers obtain your book?
Through Amazon. It is available in softcover and digital editions. If you buy the Kindle digital version, you can access the hyperlinked footnotes. Besides getting a copy for yourself, consider gifting an edition to the Millennials and Zoomers in your life.
Order Jewish Civilization and its Discontents in paperback or e-Book format (or both!) from Amazon. The advantage of the e-Book is that footnotes are hyperlinked.
