On the Border

On the Border chronicles a radical political education in a time and place charged with idealism and danger. A Polish Frenchman and a rabbi's son, Michel Warschawski left for Israel at the age of sixteen to to study the Talmud, and eventually became one of the most renowned figures of the Israeli left. Warschawski's involvement in radical politics led to inspiring alliances with Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Marxists. Yet as the border lines hardened, he became targeted by the Shin Bet, Israel's notorious intelligence agents. Finally arrested, incarcerated and interrogated for 20 days, Michel gives his readers an insider's view of the psychological and political pressures that Shin Bet brought to bear, even on Jews, and never lets you forget the severity of treatment that his Palestinian colleagues faced. In touch with the Jewish diaspora, and inspired by a socialism without borders, the book mixes sharp analysis of the ongoing conflict with deep personal insight into the events of the last three decades. The lessons he draws from his experience on the border between Israel and Palestine should be instructive for all the places where cultures rub against each other for better and worse. Warschawski's perspective offers hope for the rich cultural and political exchange that these places offer their inhabitants, and hope for his adopted land. On the Border is a beautiful and stirring book, revealing that heroism continues to inform lives even in our unherioc time. -- Science & Society Michel Warschawski is a non-Jewish Jew, a non-Zionist Israeli and a non-Arab Palestinian: an embodiment of trans-border loyalty to the higher values of human solidarity. -- Gilbert Achcar, author of The Clash of Barbarisms and Eastern Cauldron Michael Warshawski, 'Mikado' as he is universally known to Israelis and Palestinians, is a powerful voice that deserves to be heard in this country. His courageous critique in this book of the forces he believes are systematically destroying Israel, even as they harm the Palestinians, should be carefully considered by all those who want peace and justice, or who care for the future of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. -- Rashid Khalidi, author of Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness This is the most important book on Israel that will be published this year, or, I dare say, for many years to come. Anyone who cares about justice for Palestine and about the fate of the Jewish people should read it. -- Daniel Boyarin, Taubmann Professor of Talmudic Culture, University of California at Berkeley Equal parts theory, memoir and post-Zionist historiography, this monumental piece of writing on Israel is destined to become a classic in the literature of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Warshawski's criticisms of the Zionist left have particular relevance for Diaspora Jewish critics of the Occupation in need of truly progressive Israeli allies. I can't recommend On the Border more highly. -- Joel Schalit, author, Jerusalem Calling Not only is On the Border a page-turner, it's also essential reading for anyone working for peace and justice in the Middle East. Warschawski gives people of conscience and activists a powerful framework for understanding the ground we must stand on if we want to build a just peace. -- Liat Weingart, Co-Director Jewish Voice for PeacePreface Introduction PART I The desert Interlude The discourse about the border 1. Border cities 2. David becomes Goliath 3. Preaching in the Wilderness 4. Socialism without borders 5. Against The Current 6. Smugglers 7. Encounters 8. Prisoners And Banished PART II Openings Interlude The two Rabbis 9. Earthquake 10. "There is a limit!" 11. Together 12. No man's land 13. The Trial 14. The Settler of the Left PART III The internal borders Interlude M. Dankner and M. Shemesh 15. Separation at last? 16. Jews and Israelis 17. The Periphery Becomes The Center 18. Hallel's Prayer 19. Beyond Judea and Israel 20. Homecomings 21. Border Identities Index