Selling Israel

“In this incisive study, English literature scholar Malinowitz examines foundational myths of Israeli history … [she] writes persuasively of the strength of hasbara, recalling how, as a Jewish American, she grew up with ‘stories, aphorisms, and creeds’ that ‘recirculated’ and self-reinforced within her community. It makes for an impressive and meticulous challenge to established narratives.” – Publishers Weekly“Deeply informative and carefully nuanced, Selling Israel shines a clear light on patterns of distortions and outright lies that remain grimly powerful. Harriet Malinowitz deftly refutes timeworn myths and provides a cogent analysis of how propaganda about Israel has continued to defend the indefensible.” – Norman Solomon, author of War Made Invisible“In this splendid, wide-ranging, and exhaustively researched book, Harriet Malinowitz provides an answer to how the cult of messianic Zionism, starting in the 19th century, conquered the minds of generations of western elites … Read this invaluable book to understand why.” – Sut Jhally, professor of communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst“A systematic dissecting of how the Zionist movement and Israeli state have ‘sold’ us that which we as a society claim to loathe, all the way to genocide—a task that Harriet Malinowitz has tackled brilliantly.” – Thomas Suárez, author of Palestine Hijacked: How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea“This eminently readable book shows a consistent pattern of lies and distortions feeding horrendous atrocities since the foundation of the Zionist project. Exposing the lies begins the needed process of reckoning that is a key to peace and justice for all people.” – Mazin Qumsiyeh, professor and author of Sharing the Land of Canaan“Selling Israel disentangles many of the ubiquitous narrative distortions and is indispensable reading for any serious understanding of the Palestine/Israel wars.” – Daphna Levit, author of Wrestling with Zionism“An eye-opener … Global in approach and powerfully comprehensive in scope, Selling Israel traces the history, the strategies, the institutions, the cultural figures, the lobbies, and the money that continue to empower Israel’s hasbara.” – Phyllis Bennis, author of Understanding Palestine and Israel“In the more than two years since October 7th, the conflation between Judaism and Zionism has ramped up. Efforts to decouple them remain ongoing, but Selling Israel provides both the hard facts and historical background necessary to contest Zionism as the best and only way to combat hatred of Jews. In parsing Zionism’s 19th-century roots and the heinous pogroms the movement was responding to, Malinowitz has given readers ammunition for fighting anti-Semitic bigotry. It’s a vitally important book.” – The Indypendent“Selling Israel provides both the hard facts and historical background necessary to contest Zionism as the best and only way to combat hatred of Jews. In parsing Zionism’s 19th-century roots and the heinous pogroms the movement was responding to, Malinowitz has given readers ammunition for fighting anti-Semitic bigotry. It’s a vitally important book.” – Pearls and Irritations

Harriet Malinowitz, a retired professor of English, specializes in writing, rhetoric, Palestine studies, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She is the author of Textual Orientations: Lesbian and Gay Students and the Making of Discourse Communities as well as articles and reviews in Mondoweiss, Common Dreams, Slate, The Women’s Review of Books, Radical Teacher, College English, The Right to Literacy, and elsewhere. She co-founded a Palestine film series at her local independent cinema, is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, and has worked with Palestine solidarity groups in the Hudson Valley and Central New York. She lives in Ithaca.