Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History (w/ Benjamin Moser)

About this episode

Benjamin Moser's provocative, exquisitely written new book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, couldn't be a more timely intervention in debates over Israel, Zionism, and the U.S.-Israeli relationship. It's a series of portraits of various Jewish people who came to oppose Zionism. Some are religious, some secular; some began as Zionists then changed their mind, others found it dubious from the get-go. Arranged in rough chronological order, together they make for a bracing tour of arguments against a Jewish state, especially in Palestine, along with the sordid history of the modern nation's origins. It's not a short conversation, but it's a necessary one (and with a great conversationalist). Sources: Benjamin Moser, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History (2026) — "We Have Talked Enough About Ourselves," Equator, Oct 29, 2025 — Sontag: Her Life and Work (2019) — Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector (2009) Isaac Chotiner, "How Hamas Used Sexual Violence on October 7th," New Yorker, Dec 10, 2023 — "Is Zionism’s Moral Crisis About Roads Not Taken—or Original Sin?" New Yorker, Sept 13, 2026 Barnaby Raine, "Encountering Zionism," Ideas Letter, Oct 1, 2026. Sam Adler-Bell, "Jews