Shlomo Avineri (1933–2023)

Why Zionism? That’s Avineri’s question. What made 19th-century Jews, living in the best time to be a Jew since the destruction of the Temple, suddenly decide to return to sovereignty in their ancient, destroyed homeland? The usual answer, antisemitism, doesn’t suffice. Jews had faced that scourge before. No, Avineri says. The reason lay in the failure of Emancipation and the rise of nationalism, the former a push factor (to leave Europe), the latter a pull (to the Land of Israel). show more Through concise portraits of the main Zionist thinkers, he shows how the idea of a Jewish state arose and what animated its architects. In a time of much ignorance about Zionism, this brief and elegant book is essential reading. show less

Herzl might as well be the literary Washington given that he single-handedly ignited the passionate culmination of Zionism and its predecessors which, hitherto, had been lapsing in theoretical paradigms before he lent them pragmatic dimensions.

But-where Avineri's volume is concerned-don't get your hopes up that 'Herzl' is a comprehensive volume on the man's life. Nowhere close. It only charts his life through his significant achievement: his advocacy of Zionism and an independent Jewish show more homeland. Nonetheless, it is still critical reading for all hobbyists and seasoned veterans of either historical studies or political studies. show less

An excellent, systematic overview and reconstruction of Marx's work. Avineri does much to dispel many over-simplifications and mischaracterizations of Marx's thought. The book suffers occasionally from an overly polemicist bent which, I believe, leads Avineri to a somewhat-too-easy acceptance of Marx's distorted view/criticisms of Hegel, and also of an overly charitable account of Marx in the Marx vs. Weber debate.

Compendium of writings