With Friends Like You: What Israelis Really Think about American Jews

Israeli journalist Golan asserts that American Jews have no right to criticize Israel, for it is the Israelis, and not the Americans, who face destruction every day. American Jews, he charges, are in danger of total assimilation and are preoccupied with Israel's image in the U.S. media. Claiming that American Jewish philanthropic aid to Israel is corrupt and humiliating to recipients, he urges diaspora Jews to make investments in Israel instead of sending charity. He also labels Reform and Conservative Judaism diluted and ersatz. Attacking Elie Wiesel for speeches that allegedly encourage American Jews to stay firmly settled in the U.S., Golan calls for the emigration of two million well-trained American Jews to Israel, a move that he claims would greatly improve Israel's security. Written in the form of an angry, pointed dialogue between an Israeli and an American Jew, this provocative book airs strong opinions that Israeli Jews seldom express so openly about their American coreligionists. (Nov.)