The Netanyahus

“Eliminate the Diaspora, or the Diaspora will surely eliminate you.” — Ze’ev Jabotinsky

This is a work of fiction by Joshua Cohen, author of The Book of Numbers and other works. I just finished it and can't say enough about it. It’s the most comprehensive critique of everything that is wrong in Judaism, and in the same breath, the most elaborate insult imaginable to the neo-fascist political bosses who rule Israel.

I’m tickled to note that before winning assorted prizes and reviewers’ accolades, the book was rejected by twelve different publishers.

The story fictionalizes the visit of Benjamin (‘Bibi’) Netanyahu’s family to the U.S. when he was just a kid. His father was angling for an academic position in the U.S. In real life he did apply for and get such a position. While some central details are made up, my impression is that the story strives to convey the essential truth of what happened. In the process we learn that Bibi’s parents are absolutely horrible people, while his academic father espoused the most toxic version of Zionist ideology imaginable. Fiction or not, all that appears to be true.

The father was one of the foremost exponents of what used to be called Revisionist Zionism, in violent opposition to the founders and early leaders of Israel. The quote above is from the original leader of this movement, Ze’ev Jabotinsky. What is uncovered in the story, if not fabricated, is the psychological underpinning of that outlook.

I have to say that we have all heard of people — Jews — like the elder Netanyahus. The story is very funny in this respect. But I can’t say I have ever known anybody like them. One analogy is Bernie Sanders, an old grouch par excellence. I’m one myself. But Bernie is smooth compared to the characters in this book. I am too.

Eventually the Revisionists clawed their way to power and now their descendants dominate Israeli politics. From the Palestinian standpoint, their competition in the Israeli Labor Party was no bed of roses either, but that’s a subject for another day.

One interesting dimension for me is the resemblance of Revisionist Zionism vividly embodied by the elder Netanyahu in the book to what is disparagingly called, including by me, “race-essentialism” among certain African-American writers. (I’ve named names elsewhere.) In both cases — antisemitism and anti-black racism — hate is held to be primordial, everlasting, and unchanging. In other words, essentialisms of this sort are ahistorical and are used to promote terrible politics.

When I say the book is a critique of everything that is wrong in Judaism, I don’t just mean from a liberal point of view. The elder Netanyahu is not a cartoon character, as far as intellect is concerned. Quite the contrary. As such, his views on the history and fate of the Jews also pack a punch.

When you put it all together, it becomes clear at the end of the book that what we in the Diaspora think of Judaism is all coming to an end. It’s difficult to take.