Jews and the Left The Rise and Fall of a Political Alliance [Hardcover]

The historical involvement of Jews in the political Left is well known, but far less attention has been paid to the political and ideological factors which attracted Jews to the Left. After the Holocaust and the creation of Israel many lost their faith in universalistic solutions, yet lingering links between Jews and the Left continue to exist.Introduction 1. The Beginnings of the Jewish Attraction to the Left 2. Anti-Semitism and Support for Jewish Rights: an Analysis of Socialist Attitudes to the Jews 3. Socialism, Zionism and the State of Israel 4. From the Universalist to the Particular: Examining the Extent of Jewish Involvement in the Political Left 5. A Critical Analysis of the Myth of Judeo-Communism 6. The post-World War Two Decline of the Jewish/Left alliance: From the International to the National Solution 7. Exceptions to the Rule: the Continuing Prominence of Left-wing Jews in the Post-World War Two Period 8. Left-wing Jewish Critics of Zionism and Israel 9. Conclusion

'Philip Mendes charts the rise and fall of the alliance through the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to its decline in the 20th century and a possible shift to the Right key factors being the Holocaust (''which destroyed the Jewish Left constituency''), Soviet persecution in the 1950s, the 1967 Six Day War and the consequent shift from the Left's previous support for the state of Israel to today's ongoing debate.' - Steven Carroll, The Sydney Morning Herald

'In charting the evolution of left-wing ideas about Jews from the French Revolution onward and Jews' natural affinity for left-wing politics, Mendes traverses familiar terrain but he does so with succinct, learned aplomb.' - Tibor Krausz, The Jerusalem Report

'A fine systematic work of history and analysis that avoids oversimplification, recognizes exceptions to general trends, and is international in coverage.' - The American Culture

'In his Jews and the Left: The Rise and Falll‹