Joan Scott, Professor Emerita at Princeton and an expert on historical narratives, joins Chris Hedges to explore the complex relationship between Israel and the U.S. They delve into how the Holocaust shapes Jewish identity and influences perceptions of Palestinians. Scott discusses the narratives developed around Israel, including comparisons to Native American dispossession. They also critique portrayals of Zionism in popular culture and the political ramifications of Christian Zionism, especially in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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insights INSIGHT
Shared Myths Bind US and Israel
Israel and the United States share intertwined national myths of exceptionalism and divine destiny.
This cultural bond exempts both from international law and fosters disdain for perceived 'lesser' peoples.
insights INSIGHT
Biblical Roots of US-Israel Bond
The biblical idea of America as 'Our American Israel' fuels political and religious support for Israel.
Christian Zionists see Israel as central to the second coming of Christ, intertwining American identity with biblical prophecy.
insights INSIGHT
Invincible Victim Narrative
Jews are framed as "invincible victims," resilient despite historic persecution.
This rhetoric justifies Israeli resistance and military strength, appealing to leftists and feminists through socialist ideals like kibbutzim.
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From Beirut to Jerusalem is a detailed and insightful book by Thomas L. Friedman, chronicling his ten years as a reporter in the Middle East. The book covers his time in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and in Jerusalem during the first year of the Intifada. Friedman provides a rich narrative filled with anecdotes, history, analysis, and autobiography, offering a nuanced view of the political and personal conflicts in the region. The book includes updates on critical events and a fresh discussion of the Arab Awakenings and their impact on the area. It is a vital resource for understanding the complexities and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East[1][2][5].
From Time Immemorial
Joan Peters
In 'From Time Immemorial', Joan Peters presents a thesis that much of the Arab population in Palestine during the early 20th century was not indigenous but rather recent immigrants drawn by economic opportunities created by Jewish settlers. The book sparked intense debate and criticism regarding its demographic claims and historical interpretations. Despite initial positive reviews, it was later widely criticized for methodological flaws and misinterpretation of data.
Neighbors
The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
Jan Gross
On July 10, 1941, in Nazi-occupied Poland, half of the town of Jedwabne brutally murdered the other half: 1,600 men, women, and children—all but seven of the town's Jews. The book reveals how Jedwabne's Jews were murdered not by faceless Nazis but by people who knew them well—their non-Jewish Polish neighbors. Gross pieces together eyewitness accounts and other evidence to reconstruct the horrific events, highlighting the complicity of non-Germans in the extermination of the Jews. The book also explores the wider truths about Jewish-Polish relations, the Holocaust, and human responses to occupation and totalitarianism[1][2][4].
Our American Israel
The Story of an Entangled Alliance
Amy Kaplan
This book examines the profound cultural ties that bind America and Israel together. It tells the story of how a Jewish state in the Middle East came to resonate profoundly with a broad range of Americans in the twentieth century, beginning with debates about Zionism after World War II. Kaplan challenges the associations underlying this special alliance, highlighting how both nations share a belief in their own exceptional nature and how this has shaped their relationship. The book delves into the impact of popular narratives, literature, and film on this alliance, and how it has been influenced by shared origin myths, the Holocaust, and contemporary political realities.
Exodus
Leon Uris
The novel 'Exodus' by Leon Uris is a historical fiction account that explores the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. It follows the stories of Jewish refugees, many of whom are Holocaust survivors, as they attempt to reach Palestine despite British opposition. The book delves into the back stories of its characters, the history of Jewish settlement in Palestine, and the broader political context of the time, including the struggle for independence and the conflicts between Jewish and Arab populations.
The narratives surrounding Israel and their genocidal campaign against the Palestinians took decades to create and embed into the West’s psyche. The Holocaust, decades after its end, became a central part of the Jewish and Israeli identity. Enemies of the Israeli state were conflated with Nazis. The physical location of Israel became essential to Christian evangelicals who believe the second coming of Jesus Christ was to take place there.
The late Amy Kaplan, in her book, Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance, explored how these narratives developed through popular culture and the media’s reporting on the Israeli government’s actions throughout the 20th century, particularly in the United States. Professor Joan Scott, professor emerita in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and adjunct professor of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, joins host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to discuss Kaplan’s book and how prevalent it is in the face of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians.
“Part of the invincible victim story is that Jews have to always be alert about defending themselves against any sign that the Holocaust is about to reappear and then attribute it to Palestinians, the possibility that they will bring another Holocaust,” Scott says. “So the whole defense industry of Israel, the whole occupation of Gaza and the West Bank become a way of arguing against the possibility of another Holocaust.”
When it comes to Christian Zionism, Scott explains that cynicism in the Israeli government tolerates the antisemites within these groups “because they're bringing a large sector of the American population, a powerfully politically influential sector of the American population, certainly now with Trump, to support the activities that Israel is engaging in.”
The Chris Hedges Report 
