Against Our Better Judgment: Weir, Alison 2014

Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel - Weir, Alison | 0884862811789 | Amazon.com.au | Books
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Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel
by Alison Weir (Author) Format: Paperback
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,356)


"Prodigiously documented... Alison Weir must be highly commended for throwing such a brilliantly hard light on the relationship between the United States and Israel. I hope this marvelous book gets all the attention it deserves." - Ambassador Andrew Killgore

Soon after WWII, US statesman Dean Acheson warned that creating Israel on land already inhabited by Palestinians would "imperil" both American and all Western interests in the region. Despite warnings such as this one, President Truman supported establishing a Jewish state on land primarily inhabited by Muslims and Christians.

Few Americans today are aware that US support enabled the creation of modern Israel. Even fewer know that US politicians pushed this policy over the forceful objections of top diplomatic and military experts.

As this work demonstrates, these politicians were bombarded by a massive pro-Israel lobbying effort that ranged from well-funded and very public Zionist organizations to an "elitist secret society" whose members included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT brings together meticulously sourced evidence to illuminate a reality that differs starkly from the prevailing narrative. It provides a clear view of the history that is key to understanding one of the most critically important political issues of our day.

"This provocative book documents a history that is essential in understanding today's world. Scholarly, yet readable, it is a must for all Americans." - Senator James Abourezk

"If you never read another book, read this one." - The Daily Kos diaries
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About the Author
Alison Weir is the president of the Council for the National Interest and executive director of If Americans Knew, a think tank that provides information on Israel-Palestine and the American connection. She is a former journalist.

Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 21 February 2014
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요청하신 앨리슨 위어(Alison Weir)의 저서 <우리의 더 나은 판단에 반하여: 미국이 어떻게 이스라엘 건국에 이용되었는가에 대한 숨겨진 역사>(Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel)에 대한 1,000단어 규모의 요약 및 평론입니다.

책 소개 및 요약

앨리슨 위어의 <우리의 더 나은 판단에 반하여: 미국이 어떻게 이스라엘 건국에 이용되었는가에 대한 숨겨진 역사>는 19세기 말 시오니즘 태동기부터 1948년 이스라엘 건국 전후까지, 미국 외교 정책이 어떻게 시오니스트 로비 세력에 의해 좌우되었는가를 파헤친 정치·역사 논픽션이다. 저자는 언론인이자 '이프 아메리칸스 뉴(If Americans Knew)' 대표로, 통상적으로 알려진 "미국과 이스라엘의 공유된 민주적 가치"라는 공식 서사를 정면으로 반박한다. 저자는 방대한 외교 전문, 기밀 해제 문서, 당시 정치인 및 외교관들의 회고록을 근거로 삼아, 미국의 이스라엘 건국 지원이 국가적 국익이나 도덕적 판단에 기반한 것이 아니라 소수 엘리트 로비 집단의 체계적인 압박과 기만에 의해 성사되었음을 입증하고자 한다.

책의 핵심 요약은 크게 세 부분으로 나뉜다.

첫째, 초기 미국 시오니즘 네트워크의 비밀결사적 조직화다. 20세기 초 미국 내 시오니즘은 전체 유대인 사회에서도 소수파에 불과했다. 그러나 루이스 브랜다이스(훗날 미 연방대법관)와 같은 유력 인사들이 주도한 엘리트 네트워크 '파루심(Parushim)' 등 비밀 조직이 결성되면서 권력 핵심부에 침투하기 시작했다. 이들은 우드로 윌슨 대통령의 참모진에 접근하여 제1차 세계대전 당시 미국 참전과 영국의 밸푸어 선언(1917년) 조율에 막후 영향력을 행사했다.

둘째, 제2차 세계대전 전후 미국의 주류 외교·국방 전문가들의 강력한 반대와 이를 무력화한 정치적 압박이다. 조지 마셜 국무장관, 제임스 포레스탈 국방장관, 딘 애치슨 등 당시 미 행정부의 최고 안보 전문가들은 팔레스타인 땅에 배타적인 유대인 국가를 세우는 것에 대해 만장일치에 가까운 우려를 표했다. 이들은 기존 아랍 원주민의 권리를 침해할 뿐 아니라, 중동 내 아랍권과의 외교 관계 단절, 석유 수급 불안, 소련의 역내 영향력 확대 등 미국의 전략적 국익에 치명적인 재앙을 초래할 것이라 경고했다.

셋째, 해리 트루먼 대통령의 정치적 굴복과 1947년 유엔 분할안 통과 과정의 압력이다. 재선을 앞둔 트루먼 행정부는 대선 자금과 선거인단 표심을 쥔 시오니스트 로비스트들의 전방위 압박에 직면했다. 결국 트루먼은 외교 관료들의 판단("우리의 더 나은 판단")을 묵살하고 유엔 분할안(결의안 181호) 통과를 위해 중소국가들에 대한 원조 중단 협박 등 노골적인 강압 외교를 단행했으며, 1948년 이스라엘 독립 선언 직후 11분 만에 사실상 이를 승인했다.

비판적 평론

이 책이 지닌 가장 큰 미덕은 냉전 초기 미국 외교가의 주류 현실주의 시각을 생생하게 복원해 냈다는 점이다. 오늘날 미국 정계에서 이스라엘에 대한 무조건적 지지는 초당적 불문율처럼 굳어져 있으나, 저자는 건국 초기만 해도 조지 마셜 같은 최고의 전략가들이 이를 국익에 대한 심각한 위협으로 규정했음을 1차 사료를 통해 명확히 환기한다. 책 제목 자체가 보여주듯, 이 정책은 처음부터 미국의 전략적 '더 나은 판단'을 꺾고 시작된 구조적 왜곡이었음을 밝혀내는 대목은 통찰력이 번뜩인다.

그러나 학술적·역사적 균형의 측면에서는 뚜렷한 한계와 맹점도 공존한다.

우선, 인과관계의 단선적인 환원주의다. 저자는 미국 외교의 대이스라엘 정책 변화를 지나치게 '시오니스트 로비의 음모와 압박'이라는 단일 변수로 설명하려는 경향을 보인다. 트루먼의 결정에는 국내 선거 공학 외에도 홀로코스트 생존자에 대한 미국 내 인도주의적 여론, 대영제국 해체기 중동 진공 상태에 대한 냉전적 우려, 영국과의 패권 경쟁 등 복합적인 지정학적 요인이 얽혀 있었다. 이를 로비스트의 막후 공작만으로 단순화하는 서술은 역사적 복합성을 훼손한다.

또한, 저자의 서술 방식은 비판적 평자들로부터 '이중 충성'이나 '비밀 결사 음모론'과 같은 전통적인 반유대주의적 클리셰의 경계선을 위태롭게 넘나든다는 지적을 피하기 어렵다. 브랜다이스 판사나 초기 로비 조직을 다룰 때 정당한 정치적 영향력 행사와 국가 전복적 막후 공작 사이의 구분이 모호해져, 설득력 있는 정책 비판이 자칫 편향된 음모론으로 오독될 여지를 남긴다.

결론적으로 <우리의 더 나은 판단에 반하여>는 미국 중동 정책의 금기시된 이면을 파헤치는 매우 도발적이고 가치 있는 텍스트다. 단선적 시각에 대한 비판적 거리두기를 유지하며 읽는다면, 오늘날 미국-이스라엘 특수관계의 기원과 로비 정치가 대외 정책에 미치는 구조적 문제를 이해하는 데 탁월한 문제의식을 제공하는 저작이라 평가할 수 있다.

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저자의 주장과 확인 가능한 역사적 사실을 분리해서 읽는 것이 특히 중요합니다. 아래에서는 그 점을 중심으로 요약과 평론을 함께 묶었습니다.

<Against Our Better Judgment — 미국은 어떻게 이스라엘 건국에 동원되었는가>

Alison Weir, <Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel>, 2014

앨리슨 위어(Alison Weir)의 <Against Our Better Judgment>는 이스라엘 건국사를 팔레스타인이나 유럽 시온주의의 관점에서 설명하기보다 “미국은 왜 이스라엘 건국을 지지하게 되었는가”라는 질문에서 출발한다. 저자는 언론인 출신으로 2001년 서안지구와 가자지구를 방문한 뒤 <If Americans Knew>를 창립해 미국의 이스라엘·팔레스타인 정책과 언론 보도를 비판해왔다. 따라서 이 책은 전통적인 의미의 중립적인 외교사가 아니라 분명한 문제의식을 가진 탐사적 역사서에 가깝다.

책은 16장으로 구성되어 있지만 본문은 약 94쪽에 불과하고, 그 뒤에 100쪽이 넘는 주석과 방대한 참고문헌이 붙는다. 브랜다이스와 초기 미국 시온주의에서 시작하여 밸푸어 선언, 파리강화회의, 미국 시온주의 운동, 트루먼 대통령, 유엔 분할결의, 1948년 전쟁과 팔레스타인 난민, 미국 언론에 이르기까지를 압축적으로 추적한다.

1. 책의 중심 명제: 미국이 이스라엘을 필요로 한 것이 아니라 시온주의가 미국을 필요로 했다

위어가 뒤집으려는 일반적인 이야기는 이렇다. 미국이 중동의 전략적 이해관계와 민주주의적 가치 때문에 자연스럽게 이스라엘을 지지했고, 이스라엘은 그 결과 미국의 가장 중요한 중동 동맹국이 되었다는 설명이다.

위어는 인과관계를 반대로 놓는다. 1948년 이전 미국 외교·군사 전문가 상당수는 유대국가 수립을 지원하면 아랍세계에서 미국의 입지를 손상시키고 지역적 충돌을 초래할 것이라고 우려했는데도, 국내 시온주의 운동의 정치적 영향력이 결국 정책을 바꾸었다는 것이다.

이 주장의 중요한 부분은 실제 역사기록과 일치한다. 미 국무부 자료와 트루먼 도서관 자료를 보면 국무부와 국방 관계자들이 팔레스타인 분할 및 즉각적인 이스라엘 승인에 심각한 우려를 제기한 것이 확인된다. 국무장관 조지 마셜과 백악관 보좌진 사이에는 실제로 격렬한 의견충돌이 있었으며, 트루먼은 1948년 5월 14일 이스라엘 독립 선언 직후 신생국가를 승인했다.

따라서 “미국 정부 내부에 상당한 반대가 있었다”는 위어의 주장은 음모론적 주장이 아니라 문서로 확인되는 역사적 사실이다.

2. 루이스 브랜다이스와 미국 시온주의

위어가 상당한 지면을 할애하는 인물은 연방대법관 루이스 브랜다이스(Louis Brandeis)이다.

20세기 초 미국 유대인 전체가 시온주의를 지지했던 것은 아니다. 오히려 많은 미국 유대인들은 자신들의 조국은 미국이며 유대인을 하나의 별도 민족으로 규정하는 시온주의가 미국 사회의 반유대주의를 강화할 수 있다고 우려했다.

그 상황에서 브랜다이스는 “미국인인 것과 시온주의자인 것은 모순되지 않는다”고 주장하면서 시온주의를 미국적 애국주의와 결합시키는 데 중요한 역할을 했다.

위어는 특히 호러스 칼렌(Horace Kallen)이 만든 비공개 시온주의 조직 <Parushim>과 브랜다이스의 관계를 강조한다. 이 조직 자체는 위어가 만들어낸 이야기는 아니다. 미국 유대사 연구에서도 Parushim의 존재와 칼렌 및 브랜다이스 주변 네트워크는 확인된다.

문제는 위어가 이러한 비공개 네트워크를 미국 정책 형성의 핵심 기제로 해석한다는 데 있다. 이때부터 책에는 “공개적인 정치운동”과 “은밀한 엘리트 네트워크”라는 두 개의 이야기가 동시에 진행된다.

3. 제1차 세계대전과 밸푸어 선언

다음 단계는 영국이다.

위어는 시온주의 지도자들이 유대 국가를 스스로 건설할 군사적·정치적 능력이 없었기 때문에 강대국의 후원을 확보하는 것을 가장 중요한 전략으로 삼았다고 설명한다. 영국이 1917년 밸푸어 선언을 통해 팔레스타인에 “유대 민족을 위한 민족적 고향” 건설을 지지하면서 결정적 전기가 마련되었다.

여기서 위어는 한 걸음 더 나아가 영국의 시온주의 지지와 미국의 제1차 세계대전 참전 사이에 시온주의 지도자들이 일정한 중개 역할을 했다고 주장한다.

그러나 이 부분은 보다 신중하게 읽어야 한다. 시온주의 지도자들이 미국과 영국의 정책결정자들에게 접근했고 전쟁 중 시온주의를 연합국의 전략적 이해와 연결하려 했다는 사실과, “밸푸어 선언의 대가로 시온주의자들이 미국을 전쟁에 끌어들였다”는 강한 인과관계는 동일하지 않다. 후자는 훨씬 더 많은 증거를 요구하는 주장이다.

따라서 이 부분에서는 위어가 제시하는 자료와 그 자료로부터 끌어내는 인과적 결론을 구별해서 볼 필요가 있다.

4. 홀로코스트 이후 미국 시온주의의 급성장

1930~40년대에는 상황이 완전히 달라진다.

나치의 유대인 박해와 홀로코스트, 그리고 전후 유럽에 남은 수많은 유대인 난민은 팔레스타인을 유대인 피난처로 만들어야 한다는 주장에 엄청난 도덕적 힘을 부여했다. 미국 유대인 사회에서도 이전까지 존재했던 반시온주의와 비시온주의가 크게 약화되고 유대국가 건설에 대한 지지가 증가했다. 미국 시온주의 단체들은 광범위한 지역조직을 건설하고 의회와 백악관을 대상으로 적극적인 정치운동을 벌였다. 이 변화는 최근 미국 유대사 연구에서도 확인된다.

그러나 위어는 이 난민 문제에 대해서도 상당히 비판적이다. 그는 시온주의 조직들이 유럽 유대인들에게 미국이나 다른 국가로 이주할 기회를 확대하기보다 팔레스타인 이주를 우선시했다고 주장한다.

이 지적에는 실제 역사적 논쟁거리가 있지만, 책에서는 시온주의자들의 행동을 지나치게 일관된 하나의 전략으로 설명하는 경향이 나타난다. 유럽 유대인의 생존, 난민정책, 영국의 이민제한, 각국의 반유대적 이민정책, 시온주의 운동 내부의 다양한 견해를 함께 놓으면 실제 상황은 책에서 제시되는 것보다 훨씬 복잡하다.

5. 트루먼과 1947년 유엔 분할결의

이 책에서 가장 설득력 있는 부분 중 하나는 트루먼 행정부에 관한 대목이다.

위어는 미국 시온주의 단체들이 백악관과 의회에 강력한 압력을 행사했다고 서술한다. 미국의 유엔 분할안 지지 과정에서도 여러 국가에 대한 미국의 외교적 압력이 있었다고 강조한다.

트루먼 도서관 자체도 1948년 대통령 선거에서 유대계 유권자의 중요성과 국내 정치적 압력이 팔레스타인 정책에 영향을 미쳤음을 명시하고 있다. 트루먼의 정치보좌관 클라크 클리퍼드는 분할과 이스라엘 승인을 지지했고, 마셜과 국무부의 여러 전문가는 이에 반대했다.

1947년 11월 29일 유엔 총회는 팔레스타인을 유대국가와 아랍국가로 분할하는 결의 181호를 통과시켰다. 미국은 이 결의를 지지했고, 이듬해 이스라엘이 독립을 선포하자 트루먼은 불과 몇 분 뒤 신생국가를 사실상 승인했다.

위어에게 이 사건은 책 전체의 결론을 압축한다. 즉 전문 외교관들이 장기적 미국 국익을 이유로 반대했음에도 국내 정치운동이 대통령을 움직였다는 것이다.

6. 팔레스타인인의 추방과 난민 문제

책의 후반부에서는 시선이 미국에서 팔레스타인으로 이동한다.

위어는 1947~49년 전쟁을 단순히 “아랍국가들이 새로 태어난 이스라엘을 공격한 전쟁”으로 설명하는 미국의 전통적인 서술에 반대한다. 그는 이스라엘 건국 과정에서 이미 팔레스타인 마을의 파괴와 주민 추방이 진행되고 있었으며 그 결과 대규모 난민 문제가 발생했다고 강조한다.

이 부분은 오늘날에는 과거보다 훨씬 덜 논쟁적인 역사적 주제가 되었다. 이스라엘의 이른바 “신역사학자”들을 포함한 많은 연구자들도 1948년 전쟁 과정에서 대규모 팔레스타인 주민의 도피와 추방, 마을 파괴가 일어났다는 사실 자체는 인정한다. 다만 각각의 지역에서 자발적 피난, 전투로 인한 탈출, 추방 명령 등이 어느 정도씩 작용했는지를 놓고 해석이 갈린다.

위어는 이 가운데 강제추방과 시온주의의 영토확장 논리를 특별히 강조한다.

7. 언론과 ‘숨겨진 역사’

마지막으로 위어는 왜 이러한 역사가 미국인들에게 거의 알려지지 않았는가를 묻는다.

그는 친이스라엘 조직이 언론, 학계, 출판계와 정치권에 영향력을 행사하면서 팔레스타인인의 경험과 미국 내 반시온주의 목소리가 주변화되었다고 주장한다. 특히 한때 미국에서 매우 유명했으나 시온주의를 비판한 언론인 Dorothy Thompson의 사례를 들면서 비판적 인물들이 공적 담론에서 사라지는 과정을 설명한다.

여기서 책의 제목에 들어 있는 “hidden history”의 의미가 드러난다. 위어에게 이 역사는 문서가 없어서 숨겨진 역사가 아니라, 자료가 존재하면서도 미국의 대중적 역사서술에서는 거의 다뤄지지 않은 역사이다.

평론

이 책의 가장 큰 공헌은 미국의 이스라엘 지원을 처음부터 필연적이었던 것처럼 보는 역사관을 흔든다는 데 있다.

1940년대 미국 행정부 내부에서는 실제로 심각한 논쟁이 있었다. 국무부와 국방 관계자들은 팔레스타인 분할이 전쟁을 초래하고 아랍세계에서 미국의 이해를 손상시킬 것을 우려했다. 반대로 백악관 정치보좌관과 시온주의 조직들은 유대국가 수립을 적극 지지했다. 따라서 미국의 선택을 단순한 “도덕적 합의”로 설명해서는 당시 정책결정의 갈등을 이해하기 어렵다는 위어의 지적에는 상당한 역사적 근거가 있다.

또한 이 책은 “유대인=시온주의자”라는 단순한 등식을 깨뜨린다는 점에서도 중요하다. 초기 미국 유대사회에는 강력한 반시온주의·비시온주의 전통이 존재했고, 홀로코스트 이후에야 시온주의 지지가 크게 확대되었다. 이는 미국 시온주의를 유대인 전체의 본래적 의지로 보는 해석과 상당히 다른 역사이다.

그러나 이 책의 가장 큰 약점도 제목에 그대로 나타난다.

“The United States was used”라는 표현은 미국이라는 거대한 국가가 소수의 시온주의 조직에 의해 수동적으로 이용당했다는 인상을 준다. 하지만 미국-이스라엘 관계에 관한 역사 연구는 그보다 복합적인 설명을 제시한다. 홀로코스트 이후의 인도주의적 문제, 미국 국내 선거정치, 기독교계의 친시온주의, 냉전과 중동의 전략적 변화, 미국 대중여론, 의회의 역할, 이후 이스라엘의 군사적 가치 등 여러 요인이 시기별로 다르게 작동했다. Oxford의 미국-이스라엘 관계 연구 역시 로비뿐 아니라 도덕적·정치적·전략적 요인을 함께 강조한다.

특히 “Israel Lobby”라는 말을 사용할 때 시대 구분이 필요하다. 오늘날 우리가 알고 있는 AIPAC의 전신인 American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs가 만들어진 것은 이스라엘 건국 이후인 1954년이다. 현대적인 친이스라엘 로비 체제가 1948년 이전부터 완성되어 있었다고 생각해서는 안 된다. 미국에는 그 이전에도 강력한 시온주의 조직과 정치운동이 존재했지만 그 조직 형태와 영향력은 이후와 달랐다.

위어가 “secret society”, “infiltration”, “manipulation” 같은 표현을 빈번하게 사용하는 것도 조심해서 읽어야 한다. Parushim 같은 실제 비공개 조직이 존재했다는 것과, 소수의 비밀조직이 미국 정부를 통제했다는 것은 전혀 다른 명제다. 전자는 문헌으로 입증할 수 있지만 후자는 훨씬 폭넓은 인과적 증명을 필요로 한다. 이 둘을 구별하지 않으면 정치적 로비와 네트워크에 대한 정당한 역사 연구가 “비밀세력이 국가를 조종한다”는 식의 지나치게 단순한 설명으로 변할 위험이 있다.

따라서 이 책을 가장 생산적으로 읽는 방법은 <이스라엘 건국에 대한 균형 잡힌 종합사>라기보다 <미국이 이스라엘 건국을 지원한 과정에서 상대적으로 가려져 있던 국내 정치와 시온주의 운동의 역할을 집중적으로 복원한 반론서>로 읽는 것이다.

위어가 던지는 질문은 여전히 중요하다.

“미국의 이스라엘 지지는 처음부터 미국의 전략적 국익에 따른 자연스러운 선택이었는가?”

역사자료를 보면 그렇게 단순하게 말하기는 어렵다. 1948년 당시 미국 내부에는 실제로 강력한 반대가 있었으며 국내 정치와 조직화된 시온주의 운동이 정책결정에 상당한 영향을 미쳤다. 그러나 그 사실로부터 “이스라엘은 시온주의 로비가 미국을 조종하여 만들어낸 국가였다”는 단일한 설명으로 곧바로 넘어가는 것도 역사적 과정을 지나치게 단순화한다.

그 점에서 <Against Our Better Judgment>의 가치는 최종적인 답을 제공하는 데 있기보다, 미국-이스라엘 관계가 처음부터 자명하고 필연적인 것이 아니었다는 사실을 강하게 환기시키는 데 있다.

이 책을 읽고 나면 1948년을 “이스라엘 대 아랍”이라는 양자구도만으로 볼 수 없게 된다. 그 뒤에는 영국 제국주의의 퇴조, 유럽의 반유대주의와 홀로코스트, 유대 난민 문제, 팔레스타인 아랍인의 자기결정권, 미국 국내정치, 미국 유대사회 내부의 논쟁, 시온주의 운동의 국제적 조직력, 그리고 미 국무부와 백악관의 정책투쟁이 겹쳐 있었다.

바로 그 복잡성 가운데 한동안 상대적으로 덜 조명되었던 <미국 내부의 시온주의 정치운동>을 전면에 끌어냈다는 것이 이 책의 가장 중요한 역사적 의미라고 할 수 있다.

이 책은 최근 보신 Tom Segev의 <A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion>과 함께 읽으면 특히 흥미롭습니다. 위어는 <미국 쪽에서 이스라엘 건국을 바라보고>, Segev는 <벤구리온과 시온주의 지도부 내부에서 국가 건설을 바라보기> 때문에 두 책을 겹치면 같은 사건의 안과 밖이 상당히 선명해집니다.

==

 존 미어샤이머(John J. Mearsheimer)와 스티븐 월트(Stephen M. Walt)의 저서 <이스라엘 로비와 미국의 대외 정책>(원제: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, 국내 번역서명: <이스라엘 로비> / <왜 미국은 이스라엘 편에 서는가>)에 대한 요약 및 앞서 논의한 앨리슨 위어 저작과의 비교 평론입니다.

책 소개 및 요약

<이스라엘 로비와 미국의 대외 정책>은 현실주의 국제정치학의 거두 존 미어샤이머(시카고대)와 스티븐 월트(하버드대)가 공저한 기념비적 저작이다. 2006년 발표한 하버드 케네디스쿨 연구 논문과 런던 리뷰 오브 북스(LRB) 기고문이 미국 지식인 사회에 거대한 파장을 일으킨 뒤, 이를 대폭 확장·보완하여 2007년 단행본으로 출간했다.

저자들은 전통적인 공격적·방어적 현실주의 관점에서 국가의 대외 정책은 자국의 전략적 안보와 국익에 부합해야 한다고 전제한다. 그러나 미국의 중동 정책, 특히 이스라엘에 대한 무조건적이고 천문학적인 지원은 미국의 국익에 심각한 해를 끼치고 있다고 진단한다.

책의 핵심 논증 구조는 다음과 같다.

첫째, '전략적 자산' 및 '도덕적 의무'라는 신화의 해체다. 냉전기에는 이스라엘이 소련의 남하를 저지하는 전략적 교두보 역할을 일부 수행했을지 모르나, 냉전 종식 이후 이스라엘은 미국의 전략적 자산이 아니라 오히려 '전략적 부채(strategic liability)'로 전락했다. 미국의 편향된 지원은 아랍·이슬람권 전역에서 반미 감정을 격화시키고 테러리즘의 표적이 되는 결과를 낳았다. 또한 도덕적 관점에서도 팔레스타인 민간인에 대한 점령과 탄압을 고려할 때, 미국의 일방적 옹호는 민주주의와 인권이라는 가치와도 모순된다고 논증한다.

둘째, '이스라엘 로비(The Lobby)'의 정의와 작동 메커니즘이다. 저자들은 로비를 비밀 음모 조직이 아니라, 전미총기협회(NRA)나 전미은퇴자협회(AARP)와 다름없는 합법적이고 강력한 미국식 이익집단 연합체로 정의한다. 핵심 주체인 AIPAC(미국-이스라엘 공공문제위원회)을 비롯해 싱크탱크, 미디어, 기독교 시오니스트 세력이 의회와 행정부에 선거 자금 지원과 낙선 운동이라는 지렛대를 사용하여 정책 결정을 유도한다.

셋째, 대외 정책의 구조적 왜곡과 중동 개입의 실패다. 저자들은 2003년 이라크 전쟁, 시리아 및 이란에 대한 강경 압박, 이스라엘-팔레스타인 분쟁의 평화적 해결(2국가 해법) 무산 등의 배후에 친이스라엘 네오콘과 로비 세력의 지속적인 정책 유도가 있었음을 실증적으로 파헤친다.

비교 평론: 앨리슨 위어 vs 존 미어샤이머·스티븐 월트

앨리슨 위어의 저작과 미어샤이머·월트의 저작은 모두 "미국의 대외 정책이 친이스라엘 세력에 의해 심각하게 왜곡되었다"는 기본 결론을 공유한다. 그러나 분석의 층위, 학술적 엄밀성, 설명의 틀에서 뚜렷한 대조를 이룬다.

1. 연구의 성격과 학술적 접근법

위어의 책이 19세기 말부터 1948년 건국기까지를 다룬 탐사보도 성격의 역사 서술이라면, 미어샤이머와 월트의 책은 탈냉전기부터 2000년대 테러와의 전쟁 시기까지 현대 국제정치 현실을 해부한 정통 현실주의 학술 분석이다. 위어는 특정 비밀 조직(파루심 등)의 인적 연결망과 막후 공작에 초점을 맞추는 반면, 미어샤이머와 월트는 정당한 미국 헌법 체계 내에서 작동하는 합법적 로비 시스템과 선거 공학, 지식 유통 구조라는 구조적 권력에 초점을 맞춘다.

2. 음모론적 편향에 대한 경계

위어의 서술은 종종 로비의 전능함을 강조하면서 국가 전복적 음모론의 경계를 넘나든다는 비판을 받는다. 반면 미어샤이머와 월트는 이스라엘 로비가 단일 통제 본부를 지닌 거대한 괴물이 아니라, 느슨하게 연결된 다양한 단체들의 집합체임을 명확히 규정한다. 저자들은 이를 '미국 정치 제도의 전형적인 부작용'으로 분석함으로써, 비판자들의 전형적인 공격 무기인 '반유대주의 음모론' 프레임워크를 정면으로 돌파하고 정책 토론의 장으로 끌어올리는 학술적 설득력을 확보했다.

3. 비판과 한계

두 저작 모두 "로비의 영향력을 과대평가하고 미국의 자체적인 제국주의적·군사적 야욕(예: 석유 패권, 군산복합체의 이해관계)을 과소평가했다"는 비판에 직면한다. 특히 좌파 비판자들은 미국이 이스라엘에 끌려다니는 것이 아니라 중동 패권을 위해 이스라엘을 전초기지로 활용하는 공생 관계라고 지적한다. 그럼에도 미어샤이머와 월트의 책은 미국 아카데미즘 내에서 수십 년간 금기시되었던 이스라엘 로비의 영향력을 제도권 중심 학술 담론으로 공론화했다는 점에서 훨씬 무게감 있는 평가를 받는다.

==

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Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel

548 customer reviews

From Australia

Nicola

5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough and well composed

Reviewed in Australia on 7 October 2022

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Excellent book on the subject; with excellent clear audio. Despite the obvious salient moral issue, these people were & certainly remain extremely well organized to the point it is mind-boggling (which is contrary to the continued farcical 'Arab', particularly past Egyptian, responses to this dilemma, for example, leading to the Pan-Arab-PLO wreckage of Lebanon in the 1970s). Unfortunately, those assuming the 'moral' position lacked the organization & sheer purpose of the colonizers. As the book ironically mentions, many of the dispossessed 'Palestinians' were Christians and even of Armenian heritage.

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Grant G

5.0 out of 5 stars A pretty wild look into Israel and the people who created it

Reviewed in Australia on 16 September 2022

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There's a lot of information packed into Weir's book but she keeps concise and flowing, making it easy to read. If you look at the creation of white Australia, not many people would try to say that the English were there first or that the land wasn't stolen yet in Israel, years of astroturfing, lobbying and propaganda has made a lot of people deny how Israel was formed. This book goes quite a bit of the way into breaking the propaganda whilst also providing solid historical context and well sourced information.

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Ronald Ostrowski

5.0 out of 5 stars Answers many questions about American risking its prestige for Israel and only Israel

Reviewed in Australia on 26 July 2021

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To understand how American foreign policy has so spectacularly failed in the Middle East due to American Jewish pro-Israel lobbying power this book is a must-read. As a non-American looking on in amazement one imagines as one American Congressman once observed that if the Prime Minister of Israel proclaimed that the world is flat then the American Congress would stand up and applaud him for this illuminating discovery.

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ellabella

4.0 out of 5 stars A great waste of human endeavour.

Reviewed in Australia on 18 March 2015

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Excellent ,if disturbing, account of Israel's influence on America .Tragic glimpses of what might have been ,if so many ideals had not been compromised.

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Melissa

5.0 out of 5 stars Giving perspective

Reviewed in Australia on 12 November 2023

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Should be mandatory reading. An outline of events that happened to give perspective other than the propaganda driven view.

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bluevapo

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely shocking

Reviewed in Australia on 4 July 2024

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A revelation of the underhand methods Zionism used to promote Palestine as a home for a Jewish state, and the even more underhand methods Zionists used to conceal their own atrocities.

BE WARNED: this is a very early work of an author well-known known for her many books on mediaeval queens (assuming it is the same one, of course), put together from various articles. On some pages the text becomes a jigsaw of misplaced phrases, most of which this reader was able to reassemble - but only most.

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Sandra Irvine

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent read. For anyone interested in the creation of ...

Reviewed in Australia on 22 February 2016

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This is an excellent read. For anyone interested in the creation of the State of Israel and the consequential conflict in Palestine today. As a supporter of the Jewish cause over a long period, reading this book about the history of the region of Palestine has added depth and complexity to my understanding of current human rights concerns for both the Palestinian people and Israeli security. Weir clearly unambiguously documents the events on the world stage and particularly forces at play in the US that culminated in the establishment of the state of Israel.

Weir's style is accessible, intelligent and balanced. Highly recommended.

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CharlieRed

5.0 out of 5 stars Always good to read both sides of an issue

Reviewed in Australia on 7 January 2020

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Well researched and all facts reviewed and demonstrated - well worth reading to grasp the history of this hot spot of the world

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Virginia

5.0 out of 5 stars The disgrace of Zionism

Reviewed in Australia on 21 September 2017

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I knew quite a lot about the Arab Israeli conflict and the machinations of Zionism before reading this book. What outraged me was the revelation that Zionists in the UK and USA dragged the US into WW1 on the British side in order to secure British support for a Jewish state in Palestine. Furthermore, Zionists scuppered a possible early end to the war against Turkey because Britain had yet to conquer Palestine. Obviously, if Britain did not possess Palestine, it could not give it to the Jews. SO - thousands of young Americans died in Europe, and thousands of British, Australians and Turks died in Palestine just to satisfy Zionism. Sickening.

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Trevor Reeves

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 29 April 2015

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Brilliant detailed account of how the state of Israel was created and how the USA created a monster.

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karen

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

Reviewed in Australia on 14 October 2014

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This book is a must read! I could not put this book down so well written and researched. to Thank you Alison.

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Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read

Reviewed in Australia on 6 December 2016

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A must read for anyone interested (and everyone should be interested, because all are impacted) in the Palestine-Israel issue.

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John Wear

5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative and Well Documented Book

Reviewed in the United States on 14 June 2015

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A number of books have been written documenting the Zionist control of the U.S. government and how Zionists manipulated world events in order to create Israel. “Against Our Better Judgement” by Alison Weir is one of the very best books ever written on these subjects. The following are some things I learned from reading this book:

I had never heard of the elitist Zionist secret society called the Parushim, or that Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis was the head of this organization. Brandeis recruited ambitious young men to work for the Zionist cause and further their careers in the process. Brandeis recruited Felix Frankfurter, then a professor at Harvard Law School, as his paid political lobbyist and lieutenant. This highly unethical arrangement allowed Brandeis to keep his considerable political endeavors hidden from the public. Frankfurter used similar methods when he later became a Supreme Court Justice.

On pages 54-57 of “Against Our Better Judgement,” Weir documents how Zionists pressured numerous nations in the UN General Assembly into supporting the Zionist partition plan of Israel. For example, Bernard Baruch told France it would lose U.S. aid if it voted against partition. David Niles recruited Harvey Firestone to tell Liberia that Firestone would revoke his planned expansion in Liberia if Liberia voted against partition. Zionist Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and others pressured the Philippines, while the Latin American delegates were all threated and bribed into voting yes for the partition. The UN General Assembly Resolution 181 creating partition passed as a result of this intense Zionist pressure.

“Against Our Better Judgement” also has a number of extremely interesting quotes from Jewish authors. For example, on page 58 of the book, Israeli historian Tom Segev states, “Israel was born of terror, war, and revolution, and its creation required a measure of fanaticism and cruelty.” On page 86, Alfred Lilienthal explained in 1953: “The capture of the American press by Jewish nationalism was, in fact, incredibly complete. Magazines as well as newspapers, in news stories as well as editorial columns, gave primarily the Zionist views of events before, during, and after partition.”

As other reviewers have noted, “Against Our Better Judgement” has only 93 pages of text, and by my count 109 pages of endnotes. Weir’s book is thus succinct and easy to read, while providing extensive documentation and additional material for readers who want to study the subject matter in more detail. I highly recommend “Against Our Better Judgement” to anyone interested in how Zionists took over control of the U.S. government and established the nation of Israel.

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Jonathan

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should be on the US High-School curriculum

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2014

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I think this book should be on the High-School curriculum not only in the United States, but in Europe and around the World. At just 100 pages, it is concise and easily readable. Detailed source material in endnotes, allowing the reader to focus on the key findings.

Compared to most people, I am comparatively well informed on the origin of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but when I read this book I learned many new things and confirmed others of which I had rather vague knowledge, as follows:

* the growth of Zionism in the USA from the late 19th Century and how it became a largely secret movement, working both outside and within the Governmental apparatus

* that the Balfour Declaration was largely fashioned to get the Zionist movement to persuade Woodrow Wilson's government to enter the First World War.

* that there is substantial evidence that Harry Truman secured his famous win-from-behind in the 1948 Presidential election by supporting the partition of Palestine, at the behest of Zionists

* that there was large-scale US pro-Israel pressure on UN General Assembly members in the run up to the November 29th, 1947, vote on partition. Weir specifically mentions pressure on France, Liberia, Philippines, Haiti and on Latin American countries expecting the benefits of the Pan-American highway that was currently under construction.

* that Menachem Begin came on a tour of the United States six months after congratulating the Irgun on the Deir Yassin massacre, and that Truman overruled a State Department attempt to reject his visa. Weir shows the Irgun and other such groups to have operated extensively in the USA since the 1930s

* that one such group hatched a plot to drop bombs on the British Foreign Office, assassinating Aneurin Bevan in the process

* that notwithstanding all this, a long list of distinguished Americans opposed Zionism, in the same way they opposed European colonialism and other forms of racially exclusive endeavours, but were outmanoeuvred and outgunned by the mighty and coordinated movement that has become today's AIPAC. Notably the King-Crane commissioners of 1919 reported that "the Zionists looked forward to a practically complete dispossession of the present non-Jewish inhabitants of Palestine" and recommended that the project for making Palestine distinctly a Jewish commonwealth should be given up. Apart from this, Weir cites a long list of high placed opponents such as Secretary of State Philander Knox (in 1912), George C. Marshall (Truman's Secretary of State), the CIA, the National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and numerous prominent Christian leaders.

* that Israel and its supporters used questionable tactics to persuade for Jewish people to migrate to Palestine like: provoking "anti-Semitic" incidents, including fake "hate" attacks on Jews in Iraq; attempting to exploit the rise of Nazism to the same effect; sabotaging efforts to find other safe havens for Jewish refugees, and; pressure on Jews in post-WWII refugee camps, from confiscation of food rations to one case of a public flogging.

* of the career and character assassination of Dorothy Thompson, the first journalist to be expelled Adolph Hitler, but who later dared speak up about the ills of Zionism.

Of course, it is possible that some of the evidence is flawed or there are counterarguments, but the three negative Amazon reviews I have so far seen contain nothing of real substance - unless you count a dispute over the population of New Jersey!

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Pedro Martins de Oliveira

5.0 out of 5 stars Boa experiência

Reviewed in Brazil on 26 April 2021

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O produto chegou rápido e em ótimas condições de entrega

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Ferri

5.0 out of 5 stars Fakten, Fakten, Fakten

Reviewed in Germany on 13 August 2014

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.

Hier liest man wissenswertes über ein Konflikt, das nun über 60 Jahre andauert.

Alison Weir erklärt mit verständlichen Worten, warum die meisten Menschen es nicht verstehen können, warum es keine Lösung zu diesem Konflikt gibt.

Sie unterstellt, dass skrupellose Amerikanische Politiker, aus Eigeninteresse, die Palästinenser geopfert haben, damit sie die Gunst der Israel-Lobby gewinnen. Die westlichen Medien sollen, aus dem selben Grund, all diese Jahre Falsches verbreitet haben und somit ein trügerisches Bild dargestellt haben. Die von Ihr angegebenen Fakten unterstützen diese generelle Aussage; was die tatsächlichen Fakten sind, muss jeder für sich entscheiden.

Wer gut Englisch versteht kommt mit diesem kurzen Buch zurecht. Besser wäre eine Deutsche Übersetzung.

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Laurence Bolduc Landry

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read with good information

Reviewed in Canada on 20 August 2023

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The book is well done. It is easy to read and not to dense. The content is interesting.

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Raza muqri

5.0 out of 5 stars Razor sharp!! Cuts through our political correctness

Reviewed in India on 15 November 2020

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A well researched and detailed book. Although in no ways exhaustive as it felt I was reading more a news article rather then a book. The author does include comprehensive list of references and footnotes which are very useful.

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Ferjani feriel

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book

Reviewed in France on 7 December 2023

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A must read

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Rita Gago da Câmara

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposing Zionist lobby

Reviewed in Spain on 13 October 2025

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This book challenges the conventional narrative and provides readers with a deeper understanding of the factors that led to the establishment of Israel. It's a compelling read for anyone interested in the complexities of international relations and the influence of lobbying on governmental decisions.

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BOUNAFA Mohamed Amine

5.0 out of 5 stars À lire

Reviewed in France on 1 May 2022

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Un livre très intéressant et révélateur.

Je recommande vivement.

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S.A.Haliim

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in India on 16 August 2014

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Excellent book, A must read for every truth seeker

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A mediator's view

5.0 out of 5 stars If Americans Knew....

Reviewed in Canada on 16 April 2015

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This excellent book provides surprising information about America's entry into World War 1 and the behind-the-scenes influence of the nascent "Israel Lobby". Lawyers reading this will be shocked at the private influence of Supreme Court Justices selling Zionist policy to the Executive branch of government.

Alison Weir sets the book up beautifully with a short, fact-filled story in the first section, followed by a larger section of detailed footnotes backing up her every statement. She is a careful and tenacious journalist, exposing history that should make Americans extremely wary of following the dictates of Zionists (whose first loyalty is to the State of Israel) entrenched in the corridors of power in the United States.

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PurpleRose14

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this book!!

Reviewed in the United States on 18 June 2016

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This book surpassed my expectations by far. I learned something new on every page. Alison Weir has assembled an unparalleled critical presentation and analysis of the long standing relationship between the US and Israel. Beginning with the birth of Zionism, she details the history of support for Zionism, the characters that used their power, influence and access to some of the highest and elite politicians, public servants and private citizens to fund and further the creation of the State of Israel, and the ousting of the people already living within its new borders. Most of the information has been discovered and recognized only recently. Minutely detailed and painstakingly researched, the conclusion that evolves is a new narrative of history, Israel and Palestine. This new narrative is uniquely interesting, beyond thought provoking, and diametrically opposed to the traditional stories that most Americans grew up with. Many people will not admire or accept the data and conclusions that Weir presents. However, each statement, claim, relationship and event is based upon the facts she discovered, and whose sources are exhaustively cited in the back of the book. (The story narrative is first 90-some pages; while the remaining of the 227 pages contain reference material, endnotes, works cited.) Readers will question what they have been taught, and believe about Zionism, Israel and Palestine. After reading this work, some of the current events, skirmishes, and warfare of the region will make more sense, and your opinion of Israel and of Palestine and the Palestinian people may change dramatically - but change is inevitable and having all of the facts allows one to make better choices. Thank you, Ms. Weir for going out on a limb, doggedly researching and presenting the facts of this story. Peace, Salaam, Sholom, Namste

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Iceberg

5.0 out of 5 stars ausgezeichnete Informationen..

Reviewed in Germany on 8 May 2014

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Zeit dieses Buch auch in deutscher Sprache anzubieten. Fakten die jedem mündigem Bürger bekannt sein sollten. Die Wahrheit macht immer frei !

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Virginia Dominguez de la Torre

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

Reviewed in Spain on 14 April 2015

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A real discovery , well documented with little known facts . An interesting historical review of Zionism. A must for those interested in history, Middle East, Israel and US relations, or the conflict between Israel and Palestine reading. Excellent

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Aaron Dover

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for the truth seeker; a great introduction to the truth for those who are awakening from Zionist mind control

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2015

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I was taken aback when I realised the main part of this book was only around a hundred pages, given the ambitious scope of the material. After reading I now appreciate that this was an excellent choice by Alison Weir. The main part of the book is, as a result, stripped down and terse, so it will not deter those of a short attention span, which these days includes almost everyone.

The content is explosive, revealing as it does the ruthlessness of the Zionists not only in putting the interests of the Israel project before their own countries, in scandalous betrayals, but also highlights some of the deep betrayal of the Jewish people over the decades by the Zionists. Give the dominant control of our culture and media by Zionists, few people have any awareness that few Jews were Zionists a century ago. These Zionists were happy to see Jews murdered, and had them murdered, whenever they needed to stoke up the fear, to create the modern day political construct of “anti-Semitism”. Nothing has changed in this regard.

Jews were coerced to move to Palestine in large numbers, by Zionists who were collaborating with the Nazis, from Europe and other Middle Eastern states. Many Jews, perhaps the majority, who participated in the influx to Palestine were driven by fears stoked up by anti-German propaganda and terror attacks.

What is really striking in reading about the underhand means by which Zionists promoted “anti-Semitism” through intensive propaganda and false flag incidents (such as attacks on Iraqi Jews to scare them to Israel) is how much of this playbook is familiar.

The ruthless deceits of Zionists, their willingness to create and perpetuate and inflate the social construct of “anti-Semitism” by any and all means, their willingness to sacrifice lives of any nation, including world Jewry, in pursuit of their fascist racist aims have not changed.

I hope this book receives widespread attention and that it is read around the world particularly in the USA and Europe. Those who enjoy it should read Lenni Brenner’s Zionism in the Age of the Dictators as a follow up, which goes deeper into the collaboration between the two fraternal ideologies of Nazism and Zionism.

These books reveal the true evil of this doctrine of Zionism that dominated the 20th century and made it the most destructive and catastrophic period humankind has ever experienced, with human society the world over grotesquely distorted in service of its aims.

Anyone who cares to really understand political life today at a deeper level must acquaint themselves with the reality of the 20th century, and not be satisfied with the false victors’ narratives that we are spoon-fed throughout our Zionist-directed education and media. This book is a great place to start.

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ensign4Him

5.0 out of 5 stars OY VEY!!!

Reviewed in the United States on 26 October 2014

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I've had this book since the end of May and finally had the time to sit & read it today. I couldn't put it down. Alison Weir has put into a book the facts that have been flying in my face as of late. In the past I have been an avid "Pro-Israel" advocate, even lived in Israel for a couple years while married to a Jewish Israeli tour guide,... been involved in the "Hebraic Movement",etc. But something has haunted me for at least 10 years now & as I prayed to Father for truth (good, bad, or ugly),I have had my eyes opened to some pretty hard facts. I had asked Him how Israel could have come about when the vast amount of Jews were/are against Him... and certainly His Son. Honoring them with their own land while turning their backs on Him does not line up with Scripture. I got heavy duty into the understanding of the Illuminati, the NWO & what "Zionism" truly is. A few years ago my mother read all the books on Golda Meir and I remember her telling me how Golda came to the US begging for money for Israel's conception & how so many of the so called "Jewish Mafia" sent loads of money in support of Israel. I thought .... "then HOW can this be of the Father.... that is certainly NOT His way of doing things"... One question led to another & the more searching I did, the sicker I got. OY! EVERYTHING we've learned as Truth regarding this world is nothing but deception in reality. Most of the Prime Ministers of Israel have been atheists & have very shady pasts in regards to the Bolshevik Revolution, Communism, etc..... certainly not what's been proclaimed throughout this land. The Rothschild's, Rockefeller's & their ilk have played an unscrupulous part in Israel's becoming a nation.... and they're Luciferians. It's all a set-up for "their messiah" to rule & reign from Jerusalem. (check out the Supreme Court Building in Jerusalem donated & built by the Rothschilds). The bible mentions a few times to beware of those who say they are Jews but are of the Synagogue of Satan. Alison does not get into all of that, but all she writes comes up to the same basic conclusion.... Israel as we know it today came about for all the wrong reasons. But learning what I have & reading this book has caused a lot of pieces to fall into place even more than before. I pray many Believers who stand with Israel would read this book & understand what is actually before them. The Zionist propaganda has been going forth for a long time & has it's tentacles everywhere. I suggest going to Youtube & searching out the Zionist agenda.... many "True" Jews are against Zionism. Also research the London Olympics opening & closing ceremonies to learn more of what is involved in "Zionism". By the way, one thing Alison did not mention is that all of the media is owned by 6 individuals.... all involved with the New World Order. As long as they can dictate what can or cannot be reported, we had better get our "news" elsewhere. "Truth" is getting tougher & tougher to find. Pray for discernment.

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Minisoft, Lda

5.0 out of 5 stars A view in some dark events in the history of the Middle Orient

Reviewed in Spain on 20 December 2016

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A book that will uncover the root of so much hate in the Middle Orient.

A tribute to all innocents that fall under the hate and criminal war actions.

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R. mir

5.0 out of 5 stars The author has gone to great lengths to back up every claim with vehemently researched ...

Reviewed in Canada on 5 August 2014

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This is a book that should be read by everyone. The author has gone to great lengths to back up every claim with vehemently researched data. I will describe it as book of facts unknown to most people today.

Read it and understand why Israel was called "the illegitimate child of the west" by a world leader in 1947. This book deserves seven stars for treading on a path less trodden and for being an excellent read. Thank you, Alison.

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Baraniecki Mark Stuart

5.0 out of 5 stars America's Shadow Government

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2014

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In this excellent book, Alison Weir shows how Zionist Jewish "Americans" have gained costly and almost unconditional military and economic support for their country of first loyalty (Israel) while harming the United States on many levels.

The story goes back some way and she looks at the influx of immigrants who arrived in the United States at the turn of the century and after WW1 and WW2. Most came from Europe and took American citizenship becoming Americans first with their various languages and countries of origin a distant second . This was the famous American "melting pot".

The author shows that Jewish immigration to the US had a different characteristic, with many Jews having no intention of intermarrying with Gentiles (becoming Goys) and developing a first loyalty to the ethnically exclusive Jewish state of Israel (ie becoming Zionists). For many, their preferred solution was a Jewish "state within a state" in the US and a rejection of the "melting pot". There wasn't actually anything new in this as Jews had traditionally lived apart from local populations guarding their racial integrity and religion and being quite distinct from Russians, Poles , Hungarians, Germans etc. despite having lived in these countries for generations.

The confusion in the US was that they were introduced into American society in the same way as all other immigrants on the unwritten understanding that they would adopt a new American loyalty and identity. This didn't happen of course, and Weir catalogues the persistent Jewish tribal patronage and self-selection that appeared in the US at all levels inside and outside government. Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, for example was a hidden political Zionist, for many years promoting fellow Zionists while officially renouncing all political affiliations. It is more than obvious that as a Supreme Court justice he should have been putting the interests of the United States first rather than those of Israel (Jews were about 2% of the US population in 1930's and are about the same proportion today).

Weir conclusively shows how US society was and is being drained economically (over 200 billion dollars since WW2) and militarily to support the Israeli economy, fight their enemies, provide them with the latest military technology and defend their decades long abuse of Palestinians in the UN with an automatic veto.

An obvious question after reading the book is, Where does the US go from here? The author doesn't look to provide an answer, which isn't a criticism, since the object of the book is to illuminate the way in which the US administration and media have been hijacked by militant Zionists.

If this reviewer is obliged to take a guess, the first observation could be that it's rather late in the day.

Truman in the 1940's and 50's could probably have defended American interests and faced off Zionist pressure, but he took the bribe and promoted his own electoral chances and personal gain. Repeat this story for 70 more years of political Zionist threats and bribes and one has the present corrupt and subservient US congress and a cowed media trumpeting Zionist scripts.

The situation is also probably more dangerous than it appears for the 98% non-Jewish majority of the US population, since, despite the Zionists best efforts, there is a rising awareness of the Zionist abuse of US institutions. Their lobbyists have been unsuccessful in initiating a US attack on Iran (Iraq exhaustion + a weak economy + failed candidate McCain) and have also failed to overcome the 2nd Amendment (Colorado recall experience) to remove guns from the US population, so in a sense things are on a downward slope.

If history is any guide, and if one accepts that past actions are the best guide to future actions, then Jewish activists could take a gamble and fix the problem by using their power to launch a coup/emergency regime in the US in the same way that they did in Russia in 1917 (when they saw that they couldn't gain absolute power through the All Russia Constitutional Convention).

They could then bomb Iran at will and disarm US citizens without having to play any more Democratic games.

UPDATE 13th May 2015:

It's becoming increasingly clear that 9/11 was the coup d'état. It didn't go exactly as planned and we're living in the messy aftermath. See Christopher Bollyn's revealing book, Solving 9-11: The Deception That Changed the World or as a start Google "WTC Building 7".

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John Brennan

4.0 out of 5 stars Zionism and the U.S.A.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2014

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A very interesting, if short, book on the efforts of Zionists to create the state of Israel. The most interesting part of the book, for me, is the evidence of the efforts taken by Zionists to persuade the U.S.A. to enter the First World War and thus, seemingly, a reason for the deep hatred of Jews by Germans after the war.

I had always seen the U.S.A's acceptance, by Truman, as purely a political reason and was surprised to read that the State Department's objections were overridden. Subsequent Presidents have often used the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a sounding board for Middle East policy. (Check out the number of times that presidential candidates, both Democrat and Republican, address AIPAC).

As an aside to the book, I am always bemused by the term anti-Semitic to mean anti-Jew, as the word Semite embraces all the ancient Middle East races, including Arabs. An Arab cannot, therefore, cannot be anti-Semitic. On a similar vein, according to Shlomo Sand in his book "The Invention of the Jewish People", the DNA of Eastern European Jews is Turk not Semite. Draw your own conclusions.

The book is a worthwhile read, and I would also reccomend "The Israel Lobby" by Mearsheimer and Walt.

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Georges Melki

4.0 out of 5 stars Important book

Reviewed in the United States on 11 January 2024

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This is a very good book, especially for the American reader, who should know where all this unlimited support by the US for Israel comes from. As a matter of fact, the Zionist movement was so powerful at the turn of the 20th century that it was behind the US entry into WW I. The price for this "lobbying" was the Balfour declaration in 1917, which was the main reason for the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. But even the terms of the Balfour declaration were not adhered to, because they stipulated that the "Jewish homeland" should not affect the lives of the indigenous population. What happened from 1948 onwards is the exact opposite...

Unfortunately, the Kindle edition of this book is garbled, and sometimes whole paragraphs are truncated at the beginning, e.g. the end of Chapter 4 which ends thus: "Zionists often..." and Chapter 5 follows immediately. Many more examples could be given, this is why I had to return this book, and I will order the paperback edition. I even suspect intentional sabotage, to prevent access to this very valuable information...This is also the reason for the missing fifth star!

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Jim Miles

4.0 out of 5 stars Great primer!

Reviewed in Canada on 24 August 2015

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This work serves as a great primer for palestine/israel/zionist studies. It is not comprehensive nor sequential, but it does cover the main topics - in particular by using contemporary historical sources, it readily exposes Zionist influence in the White House, Congress, and the mainstream media in the U.S. After this, for a more complete history/analysis of Palestine read Ilan Pappe's several books on the topic.

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Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Good wake up book to teach someone about the new world order conspiracy

Reviewed in Canada on 18 April 2024

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excellent!

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Mamlukman

5.0 out of 5 stars Censored by the American Historical Association?

Reviewed in the United States on 18 April 2015

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I heard of this book on the American Historical Association blog--the AHA had refused to accept a paid advertisement for the book, the author wrote to the president complaining of censorship, and the discussion went from there. The AHA claimed the right to reject any ad for any reason, but it expanded on that and said it was not a peer-reviewed book, was self-published, and lacked reviews in the mainstream press. The AHA cut off further comment after a week or so. Censorship? I personally would say yes, but it's one of these cases where you're not given enough information to make a reasoned decision (how many book advertisements have they rejected in the past five years? Who made the decision? Was the decision reviewed? Is there a pattern in the refusal to advertise? etc. No answers were forthcoming from the AHA. (I should add I've been an AHA member for 45+ years.)

To the book itself: It clearly would have benefited greatly if Alison had run it by an editor. The main gaffe is saying that the Lusitania was "an American ship." As we all know, it was British. This is particularly unfortunate in a book like this since it calls into question her other facts, which, I suspect, are correct. There are other curious things an editor would have caught: apostrophes or single quotation marks are more often than not printed backwards. There's also a typo toward the end where it reads "two hundreds" with an 's' that shouldn't be there, and a header "Endnotes" where it should be the chapter title. Beyond those minor issues, it reads more like a term paper than a book; statements are made quickly and then she moves on to the next point. It's all heavily documented, so it's not a problem of statements not being backed up. They're just not elaborated on in enough detail in the text itself. It was almost as if she were being paid by the number of issues she brought up rather than the flow or coherence of the book. Again, an editor (I used to be an editor…) would have fixed all that.

The book itself is really two books of equal size: the text itself (93 pages) and the endnotes (108 pages). Most of the endnotes are substantial, and some go on for more than a page. If you don't read the endnotes, you miss half the book. I think I understand what Alison was trying to do: write a short book that quickly summarized how the Zionists influenced the US policy on Israel up to 1948. She's done that. But for most of us--even those who, like myself, are Middle East specialists, but not in this field--much of the information she presents is new. It's all published, readily available information, so it's not like she discovered some secret cache of long-lost letters or anything like that, but in the political climate of the last 70 years, the anti-Zionist point of view (or better: the facts behind the Zionist point of view) has not been widely publicized. So I give her 5 stars for an excellent summary of the subject, and certainly using her notes and bibliography, readers could delve as deeply into the subject as they wanted.

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Safia J Khetab

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 September 2014

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A must read for anyone interested in learning about the creation of political Zionism & Israel and the (still) far reaching influence of the Zionist Masterminds. Especially interesting for all those in the UK or US who think, "this conflict has nothing to do with us", on the contrary we are up to our eyeballs in it....or to put it correctly, our leaders are.

The book seems very well researched with citations and references equalling about half the length, should you wish to go into deeper detail. The text is relatively short and can be read In a few short hours, the author mentions that it started out as an article.

I would highly recommend it as, no matter what your political views on the subject are, it will definitely give you some food for thought.

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johnnip

5.0 out of 5 stars You need to read this book

Reviewed in the United States on 1 May 2014

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If you are at all interested in the history behind the creation of Israel, you owe it to yourself to read this book. As the author says in the introduction, the book is brief and to the point. It is written as a quick summary of how Zionist Jews worked industriously to create a homeland for the Jews in lands of their ancient kingdom and of the the country's birthpangs (including that of its indigenous population). If you want more details, the footnotes are extensive and provide authoritive documentation of the author's statements and assessments.

Some reviewers have criticized the book for being “very poorly written”, but that is largely a matter of opinion. It is brief and succinct; the language is not flowery, but straight-forward. (Ms Weir is a journalist)

Some reviewers have accused the author of lying, but a closer examination of these criticisms reveals that it is not the author who is having trouble with the truth. For example, one recent reviewer - apparently taking exception to Ms. Weir’s assertion that UN General Assembly Resolution 181 was a “recommendation and did not create any states” - claims that “The UN declared Israeli statehood on May 14th, 1948. I remember the day well as I listed to the UN vote on the radio”. But that would have been impossible as the UN did not pass any resolutions on May 14, 1948. An examination of the UN General Assembly’s resolutions (at [...], in fact, reveals that the General Assembly did not vote on anything in May 1948, and that the Security Council was already calling for a truce in Palestine in April 1948 and a cease-fire by May 22, 1948 [...]. To reiterate: this is an excellent book about the creation of Israel, full of facts and references and yet short and to-the-point. (You should get the book and see for yourself. It’s not that expensive…or check your local library).

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Simon Shepherd

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and superbly argued

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2021

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She provides massive of evidence to support her arguments (despite what the one-star reviews say from dishonest and triggered Zionists - have you noticed that they never supply examples?) so it's impossible to argue against her. And it's a story that needs to be told and one the world desperately needs to hear. Succinct, well written, brilliantly argued. Everyone should read it. It saddens me to hear that she's received death threats and equally saddened that the British historian with the same name has also received threats! As with all extremist ideologies, Zionism attracts lots of violent cranks with a grudge against the world.

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S.

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opener!

Reviewed in Canada on 19 February 2024

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This is history that needs to be better known, so that we, in the West, today, can steer our recalcitrant governments to do right by the long-suffering Palestinian people. We have to open our eyes to our complicity, change course, and begin saying collectively: Not in Our Name!

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Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars A great summary of the conflict

Reviewed in Canada on 11 January 2024

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This thin book encapsulates the problem succinctly aided by copious notes . A great starting point for anyone wanting a concise introduction to the development of US / Israeli policy .

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MR. S. VON NOVAK

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs to be re-Kindled!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2024

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Informative book. The Kindle version needs re-doing in my opinion - although the book is still readable, there are lots of part sentences , mis-placed words and gaps.

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Senrats

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on 17 September 2026

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Great book! Gave a good list of history, and includes sources.

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Iron Mike

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity. Exposes false narratives.

Reviewed in the United States on 3 September 2026

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Read it. The world has been exposed to false narratives. This book provides clarity.

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paul fenton

5.0 out of 5 stars Good but...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 May 2024

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An excellent and short history of how the Palestinians were shafted by the Zionists and why the whole middle east is the disaster it is today. The only problem is that on every second page ( of the kindle version) there is a sentence fragment that belongs somewhere else. This makes it difficult to read.

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K. Brothers

5.0 out of 5 stars A short but stunning must- read

Reviewed in Canada on 15 September 2019

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Alison Weir has struck a home run with this very short book, which provides stunning insight into the role of the Balfour Declaration deal in the US recognition of Israel. It looks like we were had.

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Brushtac

5.0 out of 5 stars Alison Weir vs. Joan Peters, or fact vs. fiction

Reviewed in the United States on 18 April 2015

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One should be acutely aware of “who” controls the media then and now in America. I’ve always known that Truman took a massive amount of money during his campaign but only suspected it was from the Zionist lobby, but until now there hasn’t been anyone brave enough or diligent enough to come forward with the evidence. It is costly to expose the shenanigans, chicanery and misbehaviors of the Israel (Zionist) Lobby. There’s a huge graveyard of careers broken and destroyed of those who expose the facts. Some years ago (1984) there was a book written by a pseudo writer, named Joan Peters which proclaimed to address the origins and history of the Arab-Jewish conflict over Palestine. The book validated what the Israeli Lobby had long argued and was greeted with great acceptance and academic fanfare. Notable historians like Barbara Tuchman all greeted it as gospel. The major premise was that “a people without a land, came to a land without people”. Trouble is the whole book is nothing but lies, obfuscations and distortions of the actual history and the facts. It was exposed for the academic fraud that it was by, none other than a studious then graduate school scholar named, Norman Finkelstein. The full weight of the Israel Lobby came down on him with both hobnailed boots. He was accused of all manner of offense, not the least of which is a tired old accusation leveled against any Jew who doesn’t conform to the prescribed propaganda , that they’re a self hating Jew, that despite the fact that “both” of his parents were holocaust survivors. He was mercilessly crucified by the Jewish intelligencia, and their vast pervasive propaganda lobby. Their fraudulent account of history had been exposed as were the lies behind the narrative they worked so diligently to promote. The book is a fraud, albeit well camouflaged by numerous citations and footnotes which seemingly add credibility to the rigor of research, trouble was an impoverished grad student had the time to research all 2000 or so footnotes and found them to draw completely irrelevant. unwarranted and untrue conclusion from the data. It was a gigantic hoax, and from an academic standpoint not worth the paper it was printed on. Now as a study in promoting propaganda and obtaining funding and domestic American support for the Israeli agenda and effecting policy, well that’s another matter and one that had the book not been exposed would likely have achieved greater success. But as a book which purports to tell some truths about the historical context of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, it is total rubbish.

Now Allison Weir writes a book which is well and credibility researched, and the Israel Lobby seems to be exerting a measure of its considerable influence to make sure it gets as little attention as possible. She can’t even buy an add in the AHA! Doesn’t that speak volumes?

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DBH

4.0 out of 5 stars Hidden History No More

Reviewed in the United States on 10 August 2015

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All of history is often taught from the point of view of the controllers or the victors. We have finally reached the point in human history where truth is being released, albeit slowly, into the public domain. This book is a prime example of that. A multitude of U.S statesman in that era warned of the consequences of creating Israel in Palestine. On page 50, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal also tried, unsuccessfully, to oppose the Zionist. He was outraged that Truman's Mideast policy was based on what he called 'squalid political purposes', asserting that the United States policy should be based on United States interests and not on domestic political considerations. Forrestal represented the general Pentagon view when he said that 'no group in this country should be permitted to influence our policy to the point where it could endanger national security'. In the book the National Security Council, the CIA, and others also expressed their warnings and apprehensions. Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's grandson and a legendary intelligence agent, was also disturbed by the impending events, noting (from pages 50-51) : "The process by which Zionist Jews have been able to promote American support for the partition of Palestine demonstrates the vital need of a foreign policy based on national rather than partisan interests...Only when the national interests of the United States, in their highest terms, take precedence over all other considerations, can a logical, farseeing foreign policy be evolved. No American leader has the right to compromise American interests to gain partisan votes".

So what were the partisan votes for? Truman's reelection. and on page 51, the following: Truman wrote in his memoirs:

"I do not think that I ever had as much pressure and propaganda aimed at the White House as I had in this instance". There were now about a million dues-paying Zionists in the U.S. And the next paragraph says it all.

Then, as now, in addition to unending pressure there was financial compensation, Truman reportedly receiving a suitcase full of money from Zionists while on his campaign around the country.

So all this 'compensation or blackmail' started with at least the Wilson administration, and has been fine-tuned throughout the years.

Continuing from chapter nine:

Under Secretary of State James E. Webb in a dispatch to Secretary of State Dean Acheson noted the obvious: "Past record suggests Israel has more influence with U.S than has U.S. with Israel."

As this book will demonstrate, politicians of that era were bombarded by a massive pro-Israel lobbying effort that ranged from the well-funded and very public Zionist organizations to an elitist secret society who's members included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.

Judging by what's going on today, nothing has changed.

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Michael Green

3.0 out of 5 stars There are better books on the subject

Reviewed in the United States on 29 August 2016

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As a well-informed anti-Zionist I bought this book because of the stellar reviews and was badly disappointed. To understand the perverse deceit, cruelty, hypocrisy and often simple evil at the heart of the Zionist enterprise, it cannot hold a candle to at least half-a-dozen books that occur off the top of my head: Sami Hadawi, Bitter Harvest; Ralph Schoenmann, The Hidden History of Zionism; Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine; Ben Hect, Perfidy; John Loftus, The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People; or, Lenni Brenner, Zionism in the age of the Dictators. All these books take you in one form or another into the dark hearts and souls of the Zionists, repulsive as they are. By contrast, Weir is a small town newspaper reporter with a good heart but little or no psychological or spiritual depth whose book reads like a well-intentioned high school term paper. If you do not know much about Zionism, this book won't tell you what is important and it gives off a slight whiff of anti-Semitism by portraying Jews as incredibly sneaky and underhanded.

Here’s a concrete example of incapacity that she demonstrates throughout the book. One of the deep and vicious ironies of Zionism is its service to imperial powers, the upper-class ties it had to ruling elites in England and Great Britain, and its wholesale disdain if not contempt for the actual Jewish people suffering through the Holocaust. Hecht’s whole book is about this, Schoenmann underscores its wickedness. The Zionists cut off sanctuary for Jews fleeing the Holocaust to Allied nations in order to force emigration to Israel and then refused to take the old or infirm because they needed the young and strong to build a new nation in a hostile land. The cold-hearted rot at the core of Zionists aches to be exposed and has been exposed by others, while Weir treats us to such commentary as:

“Some at the time and since have considered the [Irgun] Delegation’s efforts heroic, but critics point out that it did not manage to rescue any Jews during the Nazi holocaust, though it may have helped contribute to the pressure on President Roosevelt to later create a War Refugee Board.” (p.65)

Other parts of the book have hints at the other parts of the picture but she cannot pick them up. Worse, the picture of Zionist scheming is vaguely anti-Semitic—cf. The Creature from Jekyll Island for equally clandestine plotting without such overtones—and Weir suffers from a naive picture of true American patriotism in the national interest vs. Zionist scheming to undermine same, to which Harry Truman falls victim. Thus she quotes from State Department heroes (e.g., Dean Acheson) who bemoan the loss of American prestige and power when the US allegedly betrayed its principles and supported the partition of Palestine to get Truman votes. She would do better reading Loftus, pp.166-170 to read how David Ben-Gurion blackmailed Nelson Rockefeller for support for creating Israel just before the crucial vote by threatening to expose the latter’s full-scale support for the Nazis, to understand that the “heroes” of her narrative are the very ruling elite who have turned our country into a totalitarian state.

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S. D. Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise Documentation of Extreme Perfidy

Reviewed in the United States on 5 May 2014

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This excellent book documents the extreme level of disloyalty, dishonesty, illegality, corruption, terrorism, and outright perfidy committed by Zionist Jews against the people of the United States, Great Britain, Palestine, and indeed, the entire world.

For example, sitting Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter covertly and illegally worked behind the scenes to further the Zionist cause. Both men used their influencial positions to maneuver Zionist Jews into key, unelected positions in the government, where they could use their positions to further the Zionist cause. One example was a Jewish White House aide who used his position to intercept memos from the State Department critical of the partition plan, preventing Truman from seeing the predominant opposition to the creation of Israel. Meanwhile, Truman had already sold himself and the United States to the Zionists, taking a "suitcase full of money" for his support of the Zionist cause.

Another excellent example is the fate of Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish diplomat who had worked during the war to save thousands of Jews from the Nazis. What was his reward? He was murdered by the Lehi (Stern Gang) terrorist group, which included future Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

Another example is the documentary evidence of the Deir Yassin and other massacres committed by the Zionists forces, which included the Lehi and Irgun terrorist groups. Irgun, it should be noted, included both future Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin and ironically, the future Nobel Peach Prize winnner for his work on behalf of persecuted peoples, Elie Wiesel.

The actions of these men included murdering children by bashing their heads in with stick, lining up entire families and shooting them, and shooting a pregnant woman then cutting her stomache open. Future Israeli historian Colonel Meir Pa'il remarked, "They didn't know how to fight, but as murderers they were pretty good."

The terrorism they committed was deliberate, planned, and something they were quite proud of. During an interview on American television, Begin was asked, "How does it feel, in light of all that's going on, to be the father of terrorism in the Middle East?"

Begin's reply was: "In the Middle East? In the whole world!"

This book is extensively documented. The chapters are short and easy to read. The entire narrative of the book is contained in a mere 93 pages, with 108 pages of end notes and 24 pages of bibliography. Those who claim this is all invented or false are on the wrong side of the facts.

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Nelda

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but too narrow in focus and viewpoint?

Reviewed in the United States on 16 February 2024

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Even I, with my limited knowledge of the Middle East, would have known that the Jewish desire to claim their old homeland of Canaan after centuries of Palestinian ownership, had to be a disaster waiting to happen. According to Alison Weir, author of “Against Our Better Judgment,” US State Department and Pentagon officials knew it as well. They advised against having anything to do with the plan as it would be a major security risk, lead to resentment against America, war, and perpetual turmoil in the region, but Truman had his way and recognized Israel as a state very quickly. It sounds as if Truman was “bought” with donations coming in from Zionists at nearly every train stop on his long campaign trip across the U.S. Plus, Zionists had infiltrated places of power in the government and business. She names Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis as one of many.

Weir also gives examples of Zionist secrecy, manipulation, antisemitism accusations, job losses or reassignments of some opposition officials, bribery, murder, outright kidnapping, and assassinations, not to mention donation fraud to get weapons into the hands of Zionists. All this unethical behavior aided in the establishment of the Jewish state and the partition and ousting of Palestinians who became refugees in their own land. Furthermore, through boycotts, ads (and the pulling of ads), and threats of antisemitism accusations, Zionists also controlled the media.

It may be that the author narrowly chose her research to back up some of these claims; however, through more study of my own, I fear she may be right in the bulk of these assertions. Time will tell. At any rate, the book is well researched, with 133 pages of works cited and end notes to just 93 easy-to-read pages of text. It’s worth a read, but the book is very narrow in its focus. Hamas and its rise is not brought up, and not enough is said of the British control of Palestine before Israeli statehood. The Balfour Declaration gets a good amount of mention, however, as it should.

Even if you don't agree with much of the book, it's worth looking at the other darker side of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict. --From my Goodreads review

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Stanley

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Hard to Argue Against the Facts!

Reviewed in the United States on 18 March 2014

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Author Weir candidly states in her preface that her book has "unusual aspects." It certainly does with 93 pages of text and 107 pages of endnotes. That being said, there can be no argument that her book is not well researched with its 373 references.

In brief, Weir documents the efforts of Zionists to first cut a deal with England to support the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine contingent upon Jewish efforts to bring America into the Great War. After the second war Jewish efforts to gain American support for the creation of Israel are documented. Among the main players here are Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfuter, and Bernard Baruch.

Most interesting to me was the buying of Harry Truman. Remember that campaign railroad trip? At one stop Weir tells of a Zionist giving Truman $2,000,000 in cash. Others also gave money to the point that Truman was bought and paid for. Also interesting was the Zionist efforts to get UN approval of the Jewish homeland. Threats against places like The Philippines and Liberia were made by the likes of Brandeis. It was play ball or we will see that you get no aid. Obviously the pressure was effective.

Finally, there are references to folks who opposed the Zionists. Guess what happened to the Saturday Evening Post. Remember Dorothy Thompson? Of course not. How about Hugh Gibson? Doesn't ring a bell does it. Well, how about James Forestal? Funny about his suicide. Kind of like Patton's auto-er-accident.

The book is short but effective. It explains very well why the Palestinians are angry to this day. It's funny how the truth always leaks out.

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Badazz

5.0 out of 5 stars A Study and History of Zionism

Reviewed in the United States on 30 March 2014

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This book, Against Our Better Judgment, is a study of Zionism as well as Israeli influence on US Government Policy. The book's author is Alison Wier, who is an entirely different person than the author of the same name who writes about British Royals.

This author has the website "ifamericansknew *dot* org" which documents the negative impacts that Zionism and Israel has on the United States and the world.

This book describes the history of Zionism and its influence on American policy. Indeed Zionism was resisted by many American State Department officials and other notables, including prominent American Protestant clergy. The influence of Zionism starts with American Jewish activism in the 1880s-when Americans were still healing from the wounds of the Civil War and continues to the present day. Zionist pressure was most intense on President Truman in the formative months following the Second World War.

Most interesting is the tale of Louis Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter, these two Jews were US Supreme Court Justices and they used their influence to aggressively support Zionism. The negative results of their projects are so vast that it might be time to raise the idea that Jews should not be allowed in positions of influence anywhere in the American System.

Perhaps the most interesting idea is that the Christian Zionist movement is birthed from deliberate Jewish effort.

One must admire the Zionists in a way after reading this. At every turn they stay on message and no detail is too small. From footnotes of Bible Concordances to support their aims, to infiltrating Jewish School Boards, to low political bribes, to terrorist acts of varying levels of success, the Zionists have aggressively pushed for their aims.

The book is organized in a unique way. Its central arguments are in concise, short Internet-age chapters with many footnotes and references. These references lead back to end notes which make up half the book. Therefore, the reader must get more information by flipping to the later pages. This organization of the data is unique in many ways and both adds and detracts from the work.

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John S. Reid

5.0 out of 5 stars A History of Zionist Bullying of America 1889-1949

Reviewed in the United States on 29 January 2019

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This book is essentially a history – generally not known – of Zionist bullying of American politicians, and Americans, in order to bring about the state of Israel, covering the period 1889-1949. The vast number of citations and references (covering 136 pages in a book of only 229 pages) indicates that this book is not an anti-Semitic rant, but rather a well researched history of the subject.

The author covers not only the bullying of American politicians (Truman, in particular), but also lies presented to the American public about the Zionists’ true agenda. I applaud the author for staying well-clear of suggesting that the “Holocaust” was used for propaganda, but at pg. 30 she hints to the possibility. Obviously, saying more on this subject might have caused her book (like so many others) to be “banned by Amazon”. (Can’t find “Debating the Holocaust” by Dr. Thomas Dalton on Amazon? Just Google the title, and take the red pill. Also try “Dissolution of Eastern European Jewry” by W. Sanning – another red pill. See last paragraph of review for “red pill” reference.)

As of the time of my review, there are already 525 other reviews. I reviewed the one-star reviews (14%), and found most to be just attacks on the author, with very few offering legitimate criticism of the historical research presented by the author.

My only complaint about this book is with respect to the so-called “Endnotes” (109 pages, against only 93 pages of primary text). Most of the (373) “Endnotes” are in fact citations. The author should have separated actual “endnotes” from “citations”, and placed each in separate sections, as trying to read the book and follow the informative material in the “Endnotes” was a major distraction for me.

Red pill: To quote from "Morpheus" in the movie "The Matrix": “You take the red pill … and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more.” I recommend taking the red pill.

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Leydis

5.0 out of 5 stars Conspiracy not a theory

Reviewed in the United States on 23 January 2026

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A must read if you want to lay your suspicions to rest. The conspiracy is not a theory it's a fact and I wish more people understood the implications behind the actions that have taken place. It's a simple read that give you facts and sources. Definitely recommend for anyone who wants the truth about why things are happening. Even a brief exposure to Hitlers true motive.

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Glenn C. Maxey

5.0 out of 5 stars Need to know work on Israel

Reviewed in the United States on 1 April 2021

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The Middle East and Israel for me, like for most Americans born in the last 50 years, has been so muddled in the press that it quickly becomes a "don't understand / don't care / don't bore me" topic. But in modern times when on occasion we see the massively preferential treatment that the US congress gives Israel, it raises red flags to us ignorant folks that maybe it isn't what it seems. When events like 9/11 are studied, the unmistakable hand of Israel's involvement is hard to ignore. Why is it legislated in certain states that you can't boycott or criticize Israel? Why do politicians kiss AIPAC's ass? How did Israel get such power? Why are they such war criminals with Palestine?

These questions and more are answered in this gratefully short but vastly detailed book, that documents massive deceit going back 150+ years and constant throughout the years.

This is really a must read book for anybody wanting to know who the real powers that be are in the world. Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself, and the reason he was given a pass on his pedophilia for so many many years was that he was an intelligence asset gathering blackmail information. Israel was one of his clients. This isn't covered in the book, but the trend line of the book passes right through the Epstein data point, 9/11, etc.

I'm glad I read this book (even the footnotes), because it gave me not only greater understanding but also greater conviction that Zionists/Israel is, was, and will continue to be a war criminal and manipulating behind the scenes US politics and media.

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mackenzie jones

5.0 out of 5 stars A DIFFERENT AND DISCOMFORTING NARRATIVE

Reviewed in the United States on 8 June 2015

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I too was a media-savvy person and believed the talking points of the American corporate press and was on board with our Middle East policy. However. the brutality of the attack on Gaza last summer compelled me to dig deeper. I could not understand how a people who believe they are God’s chosen people and who suffered unspeakable brutality during the Holocaust, could wreak such death and destruction on a suppressed people with no Army, no Navy and no Air Force and who had nothing at all to do with the Holocaust..

I started by Googling words like Belfour Declaration, the Irgun, the Nakba, the Stern Gang, King David Hotel, Plan Dalet, “mowing the lawn” and USS Liberty, to mention just a few. A new narrative started to emerge. It was a narrative that was very discomforting and at odds with what I had so firmly believed.

Along the way I came across this book, which succinctly summarized and documented all I had discovered by Googling individual terms.

If you have a hard time believing what is written in this book do your own research.

The Zionist goal is to seize as much Palestinian land as possible even if it required the extermination of the Palestinians people on that land—Plan Dalet. It appears that Israel was born of death and destruction by Zionist terrorist groups—an inconvenient and discomforting truth.

Albert Einstein was so incensed by this travesty, he wrote a letter to the NYT in which he presciently warned us against the Zionist fascists. ( You can read it online.) This is a " must read" book for those interested in understanding why we give Israel over 3 billion dollars a year in military aid..

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CuriousOne

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks for answering my questions.

Reviewed in the United States on 16 October 2015

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I was surprised by the US reaction to 9/11, and since I had known Iranians in the 1970s who were sent to study engineering as part of the shah's upgrading the infrastructure. They shared my values of respect for young women, fun-loving, happy. When the propaganda started to divert our hatred from the demised soviets to all Arabs, I read my 1970 Britannica's histories of every country in the Middle East. When it came to Israel, I was surprised that it was a socialist state, which made me wonder why Truman created it if we were supposed to be against communism/socialism, aka government ownership of everything. I turned to other books to fill in the gap between 1970 and 1992....The Europeans who colonized Palestine used the same scorched earth policies that the US used against the native Americans. Now several histories have been published about the ethnic cleansing that occurred....For centuries before the assault on native Palestinians by the European immigrants, Christians, Muslims and Jews lived in harmony. Unlike the 19th Century, the people forced from the land of their ancestors into other Middle East countries raised awareness among the people of a true genocide occurring in their region.....What an epic tragedy that is still playing out today as the US continues to destroy everyone except Israel...Wake up, Americans, and stop the carnage. If you are a Christian you value human life, and seeing so many innocents now being mindlessly murdered by the US forces is too much to bear. Since Russia is now stopping the US-created terrorists in Syria, the media and the central government now are trying to get Americans to hate the Russians...

The most recent question that returns to me again and again is "Why is the US destroying the non-Israeli countries? " Do they think they can transfer the oil wealth to Israel?

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roy donovan m.d.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very educational!

Reviewed in the United States on 11 April 2026

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Excellent! Very educational. A great read especially now with everything going on now in the world.

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Scott Free

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear as a Bell high on a mountain!

Reviewed in the United States on 8 May 2014

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‘They will lie about you when you’re dead’ this phrase popped into my mind as I finished reading the silver bullet that is “Against Our Better Judgement”. The style of this book is what jumps out so quickly, each sentence is as clear as mountain air, inhaling each chapter clears your mind and rejuvenates the soul. Voltaire’s Candid compares in style and punch.

Alison Weir’s concluding statement on page 93 (yes, it is that brief!), is worth reflecting on

“Very few people know this history. The excellent books that document it are largely out of print, their facts and very existence virtually unknown to the vast majority of Americans, even those who focus on the Middle East. Instead, false theories have been promulgated, mendacious analyses promoted, chosen authors celebrated, other assigned to oblivion.”

Weir’s expose' of the hidden history of the pro-zionist forces at work both overtly and covertly in America from as early as the 1880’s is mind blowing. It is time for scholars to really start digging into the secret society known as “Parushim” and its control of the US government. Weir also document’s the completely unsung heroes in the US who opposed the genocidal attack on the Palestinians, who supported the Palestinians against this globalist tribal identity invasion of their home.

The propaganda superstructure that supports the completely insane and cruel Israeli Identity is starting to crack. This book is a hard steel wedge that will drive these cracks even deeper, 93 pages of text, 147 pages of notes. Ms. Weir has taken us this far, it is up to all of us to follow these leads and revelations to their logical conclusions. Alison Weir shows us that our humanity is bound up in the fate of the Palestinians not because of some liberal weepy sentimentality, but because the very nature of history, memory, and political reality are dependent on clearly opening one’s eyes to the truth.

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Florin M.

5.0 out of 5 stars History's as it should be known.

Reviewed in the United States on 22 February 2026

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Voltaire said that "history is the lie commonly agreed upon." That's propaganda very likely.

This's not. So it's got to be the truth only the enlightened ones agrees upon.

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Logan L.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Entry Point to this Topic

Reviewed in the United States on 12 June 2025

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This is a great book for people looking for an entry into this topic. I do not believe it goes in depth enough to answer a lot of the questions people may have, however it is an excellent starting point.

I had to take a star off because it came with a bent page :(.

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Mr Sensible

5.0 out of 5 stars True

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 February 2026

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The truth about the colonisers in Palestine.

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Mister K

5.0 out of 5 stars What Americans Don't Know

Reviewed in the United States on 27 July 2025

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This is a wonderful historical background study on how the State of Israel came about and the impact America has had on it's formation and issues that let up to it. Also see "If Americans Knew" website for more insightful video's and background (Israel-Palestine Essential Facts and Historical context and the media presented on u-tube by Alison Weir the author.

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Interesting Books Reviewed

5.0 out of 5 stars Well sourced, unvarnished, factual Israeli History

Reviewed in the United States on 6 October 2014

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Alison Weir's "Against Our Better Judgment" is a concise, blunt look at the secret history of the founding of the modern Zionist state. This is not a conspiracy book, nor is it speculation, nor is it anti-Semitic. One could argue that Alson Weir, in uncovering the violent activities of early Zionists, shows that European Jewry was just as much a victim of the Nakba as was the indigenous Palestinian population.

If you discovered this book in your search for a more detailed, honest look at Israel's founding, here is some simple advice: Step 1: Read the book, Step 2: read the 1 Star reviews, Step 3 Laugh at the obvious trolls. As an example of this, watch how 5 star reviews become magnets for pro-Israel comments. Note how the comments and 1 star reviews say the book contains lies but they fail to catalog said lies. One negative review mentioned that the information is "nothing new." Does that make it any less true? I believe that Ms. Weir has struck a nerve and the venomous comments and simplistic negative reviews are testament to the import of her writings.

This book is very well researched and properly sourced to a fault. Roughly the first third of the book is the "book" while the remaining two thirds are endnotes backing up every quote or fact in the book.

The bibliography alone is worth double the price of the book. Lots of solid, well documented information. Read this and understand why the middle east is in such turmoil.

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Eileen Boonstra

4.0 out of 5 stars We are being controlled

Reviewed in the United States on 7 May 2015

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This book should be a must read not just for the people on the North American continent but also the European nations. The Jews themselves have been horribly misled by the Zionist sector in the first instance, while the rest of humanity has been lied to and manipulated by the same people with the aid of not just the American, but also by the British, Canadian and many European Governments. The American (especially) and British and Canadian Governments are completely controlled by the Zionist sector and the Zionist control of the mainstream media guarantees that we seldom get to see, read or hear anything negative against Israel, for in any dispute with Palestine it will always be the Palestinians who will be at fault. The "right to defend itself" is spouted ad nauseum by the likes of President Obama and Prime Ministers Cameron and Harper. Alison Weir's revelation dealing with the unholy alliance between the Zionists and the US Government should be an eye opener for the rest of the world. Now, if she could only write a book dealing with the Holocaust and let us know the complete truth rather than what we are told we must believe so as not to be called anti-Semitic as dictated by Zionist controlled regimes. Gerrit Boonstra

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Claude Roessiger

4.0 out of 5 stars A story that Americans must hear

Reviewed in the United States on 10 May 2014

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Slowly, slowly the story of Zionism comes out. For too many years a well orchestrated Greek chorus would ring out with the accusation of anti-Semitism against anyone who asked the least question or raised the smallest doubt. No longer. As Lincoln wisely observed, you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Now, even Americans are beginning to understand the hold that Zionism crafted upon the American establishment, virtually owning the American legislature. And they are understanding what this has cost the United States in blood, in honor and in treasure. Faced with the upending of their constitutional rights, largely on account of wars and the specter of "terror" brought upon them by Zionist interest, ever more voices are asking why. This book, indifferently written but thoroughly documented (there are more pages of footnotes than of text) merits attention. I would say that above all every American Jew should read it. If Israel is to survive, it will have to become more than a theocracy, more than the apartheid state that it is, more than the systematic oppressor of its neighbors. Many Jews in Israel are saying the same thing. Many American Jews are thinking the same thing, and the brave ones are saying it. Every issue has two sides. Americans have almost exclusively heard one side. Peace can only come from knowing--and understanding--both sides.

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Dennis Anderson

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Cannanite

Reviewed in the United States on 26 March 2016

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I have finished the book of Joshua found in the bible and am struck by the amazing similarities of "Jewish" conquest of the land now called Palestine both then and now. Wholesale murder took place during both conquests with similar outcomes. When anyone steals land, merchandise, and possessions from another, that person will surely die in their sins unless they make it right with God and the person offended. I laugh at anyone who says that I or anyone else is an anti-Semite because the term is so untrue. What do I mean? The fact is there are no people of Hebrew blood line alive today. Those who claim to be the "chosen people" are completely ignorant of the DNA evidence that the people who call themselves Jews are really Kazarian Gentiles that converted to Judaism (talmudism) around 800 years ago. The studies were done by Jewish genetic researchers and can be found it today's prestigious DNA and molecular Journals. The whole platform proposed by the Zionists are based on lies. There are no Jews of pure Hebrew DNA alive. Search the titles of books beginning with DNA and the Jewish Bloodline by Texe Marrs and pay attention to his numerous references to books written by Authors from Israel as well as many others. It can be found on Amazon book sources. Truly the cats are out of the bag!

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Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of what the Zionist Lobby and Government of Israel try desperately to hide under the veil of Anti Semitism

Reviewed in the United States on 12 February 2017

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If Americans do nor stand up to the terror state of Israel, and the Zionist Political movement , we will never restore the US , nor the world. I am stunned at the success they have had on hoodwinking American Christians Into the blind support of their Genocide . If Americans and the West in general do not stop this group after 100 plus years of war and infiltration of our our lives , we will suffer the same fate as the Palestinians, and many others. This must not go a step further. They want WWIII, as they did the other two . This time humanity, and the planet will not survive. The Zionist Lobby openly admits that their expansion goes much further than Palestine. The infiltration of the US and Western governments will make it hard to reverse this. We must. Their plans have been made clear. American Christians must fight, and remember they infiltrated your churches too. So that you would not fight back. Never in history as such a vile group cause so much death and worldwide destruction. America you are next ... if you refuse to see the truth, and heed the warnings of those that were and still are silenced, you will

Pay the ultimate price under the deception of the State of Israel.

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Leric ashe

5.0 out of 5 stars Israel/ Palestine Conflict: The one single issue that defines America.

Reviewed in the United States on 2 April 2020

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American and Israel perpetuated the biggest con the world has ever seen. Continues to this day.

Ethic cleansing, murder, terrorism, bombing, extortion, bribery, and thief. The creation of Israel, is just another land grab. For over 70yrs. , the world as tolerated this fraud. With America its biggest investor. I have traveled , and met people from all over the world. 2 countries make me cringe. South Africa, and Israel. As a American I often got the thousand yard stares, when meeting folks of the Middle East. Over the years you kinda figure it out. President Truman, I aways admired. But to go along with the Zionist in this scam, just to be reelected? And what's with the big suitcase of money, the Zionist gave him durning his whistle stops? That's a "Trump" move. The worst foreign policy decision ever. Today, we have a brand of censorship in the media and the U.S. congress falling over each other, to praise some the worse people in the world. Truman has left America with a stench we cannot wash off.

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