In this Book

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In his courageous book, Israel's Dead Soul, Steven Salaita explores the failures of Zionism as a political and ethical discourse. He argues that endowing nation-states with souls is a dangerous phenomenon because it privileges institutions and corporations rather than human beings.

Asserting that Zionism has been normalized--rendered "benign" as an ideology of "multicultural conviviality"—Salaita critiques the idea that Zionism, as an exceptional ideology, leads to a lack of critical awareness of the effects of the Israeli occupation in Palestinian territory and to an unquestioning acceptance of Israel as an ethnocentric state.

Salaita's analysis targets the Anti-Defamation League, films such as Munich and Waltz with Bashir, intellectuals including Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson, gay rights activists, and other public figures who mourn the decline of Israel's "soul." His pointed account shows how liberal notions of Zionism are harmful to various movements for justice.

Table of Contents

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  1. Contents
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xi-xiv
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  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-12
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  1. Chapter 1. Israel as Cultural Icon: The Vacillating Boundaries of Jewish Identity
  2. pp. 13-40
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  1. Chapter 2. Is the Anti-Defamation League a Hate Group?
  2. pp. 41-70
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  1. Chapter 3. Ethnonationalism as an Object of Multicultural Decorum: The Case of Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson
  2. pp. 71-94
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  1. Chapter 4. Sexuality, Violence, and Modernity in Israel: The Paradise of Not Being Arab
  2. pp. 95-116
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  1. Chapter 5. The Heart of Darkness Redux, Again
  2. pp. 117-140
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  1. Epilogue A Eulogy to Israel’s Dead Soul
  2. pp. 141-142
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  1. Notes
  2. pp. 143-156
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 157-161
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