Review of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning by Peter Beinart (Penguin, 2025)
The New Yorker once described American political commentator Peter Beinart as the most influential liberal Zionist of his generation. Now, however, Beinart argues for the Palestinians’ right of return and calls on readers of the New York Times to shake free of beliefs in their comfortable legends painting Zionism as a liberal cause.
His public journey toward a foundational critique of Israel and commitment to Palestinian liberation has been heartening for those Palestinians and their allies who see winning over the American Jewish community as vital. Even after the genocidal horrors unleashed after October 7, 2023, led many self-styled liberal Jews to cling to a defensive, tribalistic sense of endangered identity, Beinart’s stance held firm. An editor at Jewish Currents, fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and host of a lively podcast, he has used all his forums to call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and to bring Palestinian and other voices critical of Israel to as broad a public as will listen.
His latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, has a more targeted audience: “traditional Jewish communities.” It is oriented toward his “tribe.” Drawing on biblical stories and Jewish tradition, he challenges the myths that have encouraged Jews to “stop wrestling with what our sacred texts say about Jewish ethical responsibility” that have turned them “into tales of Jewish innocence.” In reconsidering popular Jewish narratives, Beinart counters claims of Jewish victimhood that excuse violent Zionism and Israel’s unethical behavior. Through…
Auteur: Lori Allen
