Divided Self

David J Goldberg OBE is Rabbi Emeritus of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, having served Europe's largest Progressive congregation for nearly thirty years. Well-known for his longtime involvement in Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives and pioneering activity in the field of interfaith dialogue, he is a regular media commentator on Jewish and Middle Eastern issues. He is the author of an acclaimed study of Zionism To the Promised Land: A History of Zionist Thought.

• Introduction.1. The Zionist version of Jewish history2. Relativism and Absolutism in Biblical times3. Dependency on more powerful neighbours4. Learning the lessons of exile5. The Roman disaster6. The shifting groun of diaspora existence7. Factors in survival8. Emerging from the ghetto9. Redefining the Jew10. Zionists, Socialists, old Jews, 'new' Hebrews11. Zionism for the few, integration for the many12. The Golden Age of German Jewry13. Liberal values and political realities14. Zionism's radical demands15. Holocaust survivors and Zionist incomprehension16. From destruction in Europe to redemption in Israel17. A false sense of security18. Israel, the Diaspora and Likud19. The sea change20. From optimism to disillusionment21. Taking stock; Israel and the diaspora today22. 'The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing'

"'David Goldberg's vivid, provocative and witty book should be required reading for anyone who cares about the future of the Jewish people, and the peace of the Middle East.' - Max Hastings. 'Surveying clearly and concisely the history of both Jewish life in the diaspora and of diaspora relations with Israel, David Goldberg reopens a debate that has laid dormant, if not suppressed, for decades: is Zionism good for the Jews? This is no anti-Zionist rant, but a careful, impeccably fair questioning of the Zionist assumption that diaspora living is neurotic and doomed' - Jonathan Freedland, journalist and author.