About the Author:
Marc Aronson is the author of the critically acclaimed Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado, winner of the ALA’s first Robert L. Sibert Information Book Award for nonfiction and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He has won the LMP Award for editing and has a Ph.D. in American history from NYU. He lives with his wife and son in Maplewood, New Jersey.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 9 Up—This slender volume asks more questions than it answers, but that is its goal. Aronson wants to know why people and nations hate Israel. While exploring this question, he looks at history and how Israel came to be; he covers its wars and examines the nation today. He asks how Israel can be both a democracy and a religious state. He compares the lives and attitudes of Jews in America to Jews in Israel—both groups came to their countries from other places, yet they have different attitudes about what a homeland is. Right from the start, Aronson makes it known that he is Jewish and has relatives living in Israel. He writes that he loves the country, but could never live there. He tries to maintain objectivity, and admits his close ties make that hard, but he says that Israeli citizens question their state and are not certain of their own feelings, so he is comfortable questioning them as well. Although the author writes clearly about Israel's history and states his questions and concerns plainly, the issues he raises are complex and potentially confusing. Still, his writing is lively and he includes many interviews and personal stories. For someone who knows almost nothing about Israel, this title gives a lot of information and forces readers to think deeply about morality, bigotry, politics, and religion. It is a fascinating look at a complicated country.—Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT
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