CAN WE TALK ABOUT ISRAEL?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted
我們能談談以色列嗎？關於這塊奇妙、困惑、矛盾之地的指南
內容介紹
「如果你落入『好奇、困惑和矛盾』的陣營，那麼這本書就是為你準備的。作者蘇卡奇(Daniel Sokatch)向讀者保證：『讀完之後，你能在任何宴會上堅持自己關於以色列的主張。』他兌現了這個承諾，從 19 世紀的起源到 2021 年 5 月以色列和哈馬斯之間最近的小型戰爭，他提供讀者一部引人入勝且不偏不倚的衝突歷史。」——紐約時報書評
這是關於世界上最複雜、最具爭議的衝突—以色列和以巴問題的入門讀物！
《我們能談談以色列嗎？》這本書，由以色列專家—新以色列基金會負責人丹尼爾・蘇卡奇(Daniel Sokatch)，以公正、簡明扼要且易於理解的方式，搭配輕快樂觀的插圖，幫助讀者全面了解世上最複雜主題之一的歷史和基本輪廓，是一本寫給現代困惑者的指南。
「你不能在10分鐘或更短的時間內，向我解釋一下以色列的情況嗎？」這是丹尼爾·蘇卡奇做為新以色列基金會執行長幾乎每天都會遇到的問題，該基金會致力於為所有以色列人而不單為猶太人謀求平等和民主，蘇卡奇是十足精通以色列衝突的專家。
《我們能談談以色列嗎？》是這塊衝突之地，以及為什麼這麼多人對它有如此強烈的感覺，卻根本沒有真正理解它的故事。這本書嘗試去捕捉兩個都認為自己是(並且確實是)受害者的民族，他們之間長達一個世紀的鬥爭。它嘗試去解釋為什麼以色列(和以巴衝突)會激起如此極端的情緒——為什麼以色列對於認為「世界出了什麼問題的」一半人和另一半認為「世界是對的」人來說是答案。正如蘇卡奇所問的，世上還有什麼話題能讓這麼多聰明、受過教育和世故老練的人表達出如此強烈和熱情的信念，而他們實際上卻知之甚少？
搭配記者、插畫家克里斯多夫·諾可松(Christopher Noxon)的迷人插圖，《我們能談談以色列嗎？》為世界上最複雜的衝突之一的歷史和基本輪廓提供了容易閱讀且具有深刻和獨創的視野。
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作者介紹
是新以色列基金 (NIF) 的首席執行長。他曾擔任進步猶太人聯盟(現為猶太正義聯盟Bend the Arc)和舊金山、半島、馬林和索諾瑪縣的猶太社區聯合會的執行董事。蘇卡奇曾四次入選前鋒報的《前鋒 50 人》，這是一份表彰 50 位領先的猶太決策者和意見領袖的年度名單。他的文章刊登在《紐約時報》、《華盛頓郵報》、《洛杉磯時報》和其他出版物上。蘇卡奇擁有塔夫茨大學弗萊徹學院碩士學位、波士頓學院法學博士學位和布蘭代斯大學文學士學位。他已婚，有兩個女兒，住在舊金山。
書評
"If you fall into the camp of the “curious, confused, and conflicted,” then this book is for you. [Sokatch] promises the reader that “after you’ve read it, you’ll be able to hold your own in any Israel conversation, at any dinner party.” He delivers on this promise, providing an engaging and evenhanded … history of the conflict, from its 19th-century origins to the most recent mini-war between Israel and Hamas in May 2021." -The New York Times Book Review
"We live in an age diseased with certainty, but Daniel Sokatch has the bravery to come along with an antidote that suggests that there is always so much more than one truth. Sokatch embraces the Whitmanesque notion that we are large and we contain multitudes. He allows us to understand that it is more difficult-but exceedingly more rewarding-to think kaleidoscopically about others. He disrupts and therefore re-nuances the accepted narratives, and he does this with great generosity of style and spirit. This is an important book, exceedingly well written, full of insight and empathy and even humor in the face of all available evidence." ―Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN and APEIROGON
"Everything that so often seems lacking in our thoughts, feelings, and arguments about Israel and Palestine-clarity, fair-mindedness, and universal compassion-can be found in this elegantly written and surprisingly entertaining book." ―Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman
"Daniel Sokatch has done the impossible-he writes a breezy, sometimes even witty book about the always hot-button, depressing, and controversial topic of Israel and Palestine. His is a calm voice of miraculous common sense. He is sardonic but empathetic. He has an eye for irony and hypocrisy. But somehow he weaves a historical commentary that is both authoritative and entertaining. He must be some kind of wise man-or at least a mensch." ―Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of CROSSING MANDELBAUM GATE and THE OUTLIER
"This is an important overview of Jewish perspectives, both in Israel and in the United States, of Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians. It is balanced, insightful, and highly recommended." ―Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute of Washington
"Israel is a nation, a symbol, a legacy, an enigma, a disappointment, an outrage, and a promise all in one, and untangling those threads can seem overwhelming. If your answer to the question 'can we talk about Israel?' is 'do we have to?' then this is the book for you. It is essential not just for its frank and accessible narrative, but also for Daniel Sokatch's ability to fill the gulf of knowledge that leaves so many of us outside a vital conversation." ―Prof. Juliette Kayyem, Faculty Chair of the Homeland Security Project, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
"Daniel Sokatch has done a remarkable job telling the story of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in clear, understandable terms. No reader will agree with everything he writes. That's good! But every reader should appreciate his honesty, passion, intellect, and humanity." ―Daniel Shapiro, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 2011-2017
"Israel, WTF? Like almost everyone, I can hardly think about Israel without feeling furious, saddened, frightened, righteous and wrong. At last, here is a clearheaded, evenhanded book about a crucial and troubled region that makes all of us bonkers." ―Daniel Handler
"[Sokatch] earnestly and humanely parses the Palestinian-Israeli conflict . . . from the fair-minded position that Israelis and Palestinians are both right and both wrong . . . An optimistic, evenhanded instruction manual, with upbeat illustrations, for anyone trying to understand the conflict." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"[A]n accessible and balanced survey of the Israel-Palestinian conflict … Flashes of humor, including Noxon's witty black-and-white illustrations, lighten the mood without sacrificing in-depth analysis. Readers will welcome this informative and fair-minded primer on one of the world's most fiercely debated issues." ―Publishers Weekly
"One of the best short contemporary guides to the complicated politics of the place" - American Prospect