Can We Talk About Israel?
A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Sokatch
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By:
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Daniel Sokatch
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents Can We Talk About Israel? written and read by Daniel Sokatch.
National Jewish Book Award finalist
An essential and accessible introduction to one of the most complex, controversial topics in the world, from a leading expert on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When it comes to Israel and Palestine, it can be hard to know what to say. Daniel Sokatch gets it. He heads the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis—Arab, Jewish, and otherwise. The question he gets asked, on an almost daily basis, is, "Can't you just explain the Israel situation to me? In, like, 10 minutes or less?" This book is his timely and much-needed answer.
Can We Talk About Israel? tells the story of that country and explores why so many people feel so strongly about it without actually understanding it very well at all. Sokatch grapples with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as (and indeed are) victims. And he explains why Israel (and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) inspires such extreme feelings—why it seems like Israel is the answer to “what is wrong with the world” for half the people in it, and “what is right with the world” for the other half. As Sokatch asks, is there any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated, and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?
Can We Talk About Israel? is an easy-to-read yet penetrating and original look at a subject we could all afford to better understand.
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From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice has served on the front lines of history. As a child, she was an eyewitness to a third awakening of freedom, when her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, became the epicenter of the civil rights movement for black Americans. In this book, Rice explains what these epochal events teach us about democracy.
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A Case for Democracy
- By Jean on 05-18-17
By: Condoleezza Rice
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Armed Struggle
- The History of the IRA
- By: Richard English
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The IRA has been a much richer, more complexly layered, and more protean organization than is frequently recognized. It is also more open to balanced examination now - at the end of its long war in the north of Ireland - than it was even a few years ago. Richard English's brilliant audiobook offers a detailed history of the IRA, providing invaluable historical depth to our understanding of the modern-day Provisionals, the more militant wing formed in 1969 dedicated to the removal of the British Government from Northern Ireland and the reunification of Ireland.
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A comprehensive history of the IRA
- By Stefan Filipovits on 02-04-20
By: Richard English
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Fascism
- A Warning
- By: Madeleine Albright
- Narrated by: Madeleine Albright
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of the 1980s, when the Cold War ended, many, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, believed that democracy had triumphed politically once and for all. Yet nearly 30 years later, the direction of history no longer seems certain. A repressive and destructive force has begun to reemerge on the global stage - sweeping across Europe, parts of Asia, and the United States - that to Albright, looks very much like fascism.
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Warning!
- By JAL on 04-19-18
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The Cold War
- A World History
- By: Odd Arne Westad
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 22 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Cold War, Odd Arne Westad offers a new perspective on a century when a superpower rivalry and an ideological war transformed every corner of our globe. We traditionally think of the Cold War as a post-World War II diplomatic and military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. But in this major new work, Westad argues that the conflict must be understood as a global ideological confrontation with roots in the industrial revolution and with continuing implications for the world today.
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A lenghy treatise on the Cold War
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Odd Arne Westad
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The Crisis of Zionism
- By: Peter Beinart
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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A dramatic shift is taking place in Israel and America. In Israel, the deepening occupation of the West Bank is putting Israeli democracy at risk. In the United States, the refusal of major Jewish organizations to defend democracy in the Jewish state is alienating many young liberal Jews from Zionism itself. In the next generation, the liberal Zionist dream - the dream of a state that safeguards the Jewish people and cherishes democratic ideals - may die.
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Urgent call to save the Jewish state from itself!
- By Mushon on 07-02-12
By: Peter Beinart
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The Jakarta Method
- Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World
- By: Vincent Bevins
- Narrated by: Tim Paige
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1965, the US government helped the Indonesian military kill approximately one million innocent civilians. This was one of the most important turning points of the 20th century, eliminating the largest communist party outside China and the Soviet Union and inspiring copycat terror programs in faraway countries like Brazil and Chile. But these events remain widely overlooked, precisely because the CIA's secret interventions were so successful.
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Great book, but the narration has serious flaws
- By Prof. Neil Larsen on 08-03-20
By: Vincent Bevins
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The Shadow Commander
- Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions
- By: Arash Azizi
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
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Until his assassination by US drone strike in January 2020, commander Qassem Soleimani was one of the most powerful men in Iran and the military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, enacting the wishes of the country's Supreme Leader in the region. A widely popular but also feared maverick operator, he helped to establish the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East, with interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This was a long way from where he began as a youth, living on the margins in a country ruled by a monarch supported by the United States.
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Rather disappointing
- By Aliz on 01-19-21
By: Arash Azizi
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Never Alone
- Prison, Politics, and My People
- By: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy
- Narrated by: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy, Peter Lownds
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted of treason against the state. Never Alone reveals how Sharansky's years in prison, many spent in harsh solitary confinement, prepared him for a very public life after his release. As an Israeli politician and the head of the Jewish Agency, Sharansky brought extraordinary moral clarity and uncompromising, often uncomfortable, honesty.
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Fantastic
- By Danna Azrieli on 02-06-21
By: Natan Sharansky, and others
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America and Iran
- A History, 1720 to the Present
- By: John Ghazvinian
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 27 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In this rich, fascinating history, John Ghazvinian traces the complex story of the relations between these two nations back to the Persian Empire of the 18th century - the subject of great admiration by Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams - and an America seen by Iranians as an ideal to emulate for their own government.
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Distortions Galore
- By Chuck S. on 03-15-21
By: John Ghazvinian
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Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
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Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
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Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Serhy Yekelchyk
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians.
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Everyone Should Read This Book in 2022
- By Theo Horesh on 03-09-22
By: Serhy Yekelchyk
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One sides, telling half of the truth
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Who is this narrator?
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What listeners say about Can We Talk About Israel?
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- Ezra
- 08-09-23
Enjoyable, informative introduction to Israel and Palestine
Takes an even handed approach, I may have veered to other directions but is good to those wanted to understand the last century of war and conflict in the region.
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- Haim Shalom
- 07-24-23
An interesting read
Sokatch presents an interesting overview. He probably should make his various biases more explicit while describing what he understands to be the causes of conflict. And he should spend more time talking about the general problematic nature of the place of American Jews and his motivation of shame.
He occasionally falls into the trap of thinking that he represents some kind of objective/ neutral position.
His reading of his own book adds a lot.
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- Yun Fong Loh
- 03-20-24
A fair treatment of a very difficult nuanced subject.
Fraught history of the region explained well. Ending with some hope much needed in today’s world. I hope he writes an addendum including the most recent history and situation currently going on between Israel and Hammas.
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- elizabeth yelen
- 08-28-23
Are these really the facts?
Well written and performed, this book proposes fairness in its reporting. In my opinion, it describes events from an extremely biased stance. Though it is true that both sides have errored in many ways, the writer washes over Arab led atrocities, and violence while heavy handedly focusing on Israel’s wrongdoings and acts of aggression. The rigid unwillingness to negotiate honestly on the part of the Palestinians is not discussed and this is curious to me. To pose that this book clearly outlines the “facts” and events is misleading and disturbing. The author’s bias is clear if one has some knowledge of history but if not can go unnoticed. Very problematic in my opinion.
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3 people found this helpful
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- CD
- 02-13-22
Worth your time
Daniel Sokatch has pulled back the veil, succinctly, on one of the most fraught discussions (and reality) of many a people and interested parties. As a Jewish American I found this often triggering and insightful book so worth my time that when I finished it, I started it again. I’m so grateful to have found this resource that has validated my pride as a Jew, my empathy as a humanitarian, and my sorrow as a witness of this extreme example of complex situations.
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- Brianne Hope Agatep
- 12-20-23
Now I Understand
This was a very compelling and thoughtful distillation of the modern history of Israel and the West Bank. This book gave different aspects entirely chapters, so it did not get bogged down with side explanations and history. It was so clear and obviously written from a place of love and humanity.
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- Buretto
- 10-30-21
Not completely sincere in its promise
At the start, after hearing the introduction, I merely hoped that the book wouldn't be a mass of wishy-washy equivocations, of the 'bad people on both sides' vein. I don't think you can't get the truth by presenting a balance of biased accounts. But, by the end, I would have gladly accepted that. I can't be sure if the author is being disingenuous, or honestly is blind to his own prejudices, but this book is deeply slanted. For example, Palestinians are repeatedly referred to as terrorists, or in one way or another purveyors of terror, whereas even the most heinous of Israeli bad actors are merely presented as overly stressed IDF soldiers or ultranationalist settlers (read: lone nut). There is almost no effort made to personalize Palestinians, or dive into the psychology of occupation (at least the perspective from those who see it as such), and no prominent Palestinians are presented aside from Yasser Arafat. On the other hand, numerous Israeli political figures are detailed and their actions deeply analyzed, Along the way the author worships Yitzhak Rabin and vilifies Benjamin Netanyahu. This is significant, as it underscores the running theme that questionable actions on this side of the conflict are the unfortunate results of political intrigue, or the perhaps overly strong response to unprovoked Palestinian aggression. The author also conveniently fails to acknowledge Israel's role in helping create Hamas. The massive rationalizations become hard to take after a while. I had been hoping for an honest account, but this singularly fails on that count. The author only really seems motivated to lean the other way when discussing the quick trigger on claims of anti-semitism. He rightfully distinguishes between honest criticism of government and policy and historical prejudice. But by then, we've moved away from Palestinians, and are taking evangelical Christians in America to task. Again perhaps rightfully, but what happened to presenting the story from the perspective of the people inhabiting the land that they consider to be Palestine? It's lacking, and the book suffers because of it. I've edited to give the book 3 stars, as it does give a good deal of background, just not quite circumspect enough for my liking.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Dalia
- 06-10-22
Mixed feelings
I came into this as someone very knowledgeable in history and this conflict and thought many of his historical event descriptions were lack luster and left out important details. Overall I think you would be better off listening to the podcast ‘Unpacking Israeli History’ hosted by Noam Weissman. Noam gives you much more nuance and detail into historic events related to israel and the conflict. Also, I think Noa Tishby‘s ‘Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth’ is better than this book for people new to this topic. I will say that I really liked Daniel Sokatch‘s ending and focus on peace and coexistence. I can tell he really cares about both nations and hopes for a better future.
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