当前位置: X-MOL 学术American Jewish History › 论文详情
Our official English website, www.x-mol.net, welcomes your feedback! (Note: you will need to create a separate account there.)
Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.–Israeli Relations by Daniel G. Hummel, and: Israel in the American Mind: The Cultural Politics of U.S.–Israeli Relations, 1958–1988 by Shaul Mitelpunkt (review)
American Jewish History Pub Date : 2021-03-18
Shalom Goldman

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:

  • Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.–Israeli Relations by Daniel G. Hummel, and: Israel in the American Mind: The Cultural Politics of U.S.–Israeli Relations, 1958–1988 by Shaul Mitelpunkt
  • Shalom Goldman (bio)
Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.–Israeli Relations. By Daniel G. Hummel. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019. 317 pp. Israel in the American Mind: The Cultural Politics of U.S.–Israeli Relations, 1958–1988. By Shaul Mitelpunkt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. xvii + 385 pp.

While the academic study of US—Israel relations has a long history and a very long bibliography, most books on this topic are skewed to the study of one side of the relationship. And within that one-sided emphasis, these histories focus on its diplomatic, military, or religious aspects. Mitelpunkt's book focuses on what he terms the "cultural politics" of U.S.—Israel ties and the ways in which both Americans and Israelis "turned to the sphere of ideas and imagination in order to make sense of the relationship between their countries, influence one another, and constitute their countries place in the wider world" (19–20).

Israel in the American Mind describes itself as "a truly transnational history of US—Israeli relations," a history that contextualizes those relations "within the changing domestic concerns in both countries." The scope of this valuable study is further defined by the historical period covered, 1958 to 1988. According to the author, it was in those three decades that "influential American commentators saw Israel first and foremost as a society of citizen-soldiers" (3). Israel thus functioned as an inspirational model for American policy makers and members of the cultural elite. What these Americans saw as Israel's "fighting spirit" was precisely what they saw was missing in the post-World War II US. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the era of the Vietnam War, the marked contrast between American dissension about that war and Israeli unity and enthusiasm for fighting its own wars troubled many influential Americans. Why couldn't the US be more like Israel, they asked.

Mitelpunkt could have illustrated such "Israel envy" on the part of Americans by quoting any number of policy makers or pundits. Instead he artfully, opens his book with the story of novelist John Steinbeck's mid-1960s engagement with Israel. In 1966, Steinbeck and his wife [End Page 631] Elaine spent a few months in Israel, and in 1967 Steinbeck reported on the Six Day War for the New York newspaper Newsday. Early in his Israeli sojourn, Steinbeck wrote a letter to his friend Jack Valenti, a White House advisor in the Johnson administration, that "the Israelis are the toughest and most vital people I have seen in a long time … their army is superb" (1). Steinbeck, one of the few American literary figures who supported the Vietnam War, wondered aloud why the US couldn't be more Israeli. In his view anarchy reigned on US campuses and streets, while Israel was orderly and disciplined. The I.D.F. was not the only Israeli institution that attracted American attention and approval. Other Israeli institutions, chief among them the kibbutz, were widely admired by liberals. But, as Mitelpunkt notes, "the Kibbutz way of life contradicted a chief tenet of American modernization theories: the proscription of free market capitalism in developing countries" (89).

Life Magazine's May 7, 1973 issue was dedicated to coverage of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Israel's independence. In his incisive analysis of the magazine's reporting Mitelpunkt notes that "Even as the Vietnam War wrecked the post-World War II American citizen-soldier model, the piece suggested … that the Israelis managed to maintain that model and execute it in full harmony" (119). In that same period, the early 1970s, the Israeli Army attracted American readers' attention for more primal reasons. In the American press Israel's female soldiers were admired for their "ever more shapely uniforms" and their "feminine charm" (156–7). Mitelpunkt also gives us the Israeli reactions to this American envy and admiration. He notes that American dissent and dissension about the Vietnam War had an effect on Israelis. "An image of...



中文翻译:

圣约兄弟:丹尼尔·G·赫默尔撰写的福音派,犹太人和美以关系,以及:美国思想中的以色列:1958-1988年的美以关系的文化政治(Shaul Mitelpunkt)(评论)

代替摘要,这里是内容的简要摘录:

审核人:

  • 圣约兄弟:丹尼尔·G·赫默尔(Daniel G. Hummel)的福音派,犹太人和美以关系,以及:美国思想中的以色列:1958-1988年的美以关系的文化政治(Shaul Mitelpunkt)
  • 莎洛姆·高德曼(生物)
圣约兄弟:福音派,犹太人和美以关系。丹尼尔·G·赫默尔(Daniel G.Hummel)费城:宾夕法尼亚大学出版社,2019年。317页,美国思想中的以色列:美国与以色列关系的文化政治,1958年至1988年。由Shaul Mitelpunkt撰写。剑桥:剑桥大学出版社,2018年。xvii+ 385页。

尽管美以关系的学术研究历史悠久,书目也很长,但有关该主题的大多数书籍都偏向于研究这种关系的某一方面。在这一方面的强调下,这些历史集中在其外交,军事或宗教方面。Mitelpunkt的书着重于他所说的美国的“文化政治” —以色列的关系以及美国人和以色列人“转向思想和想象力的领域,以理清两国之间的关系,相互影响”的方式。 ,并在更广阔的世界中构成自己的国家”(19-20年)。

美国思想中的以色列将自己描述为“美国与以色列关系的真正跨国历史”,是在“两国内部不断变化的国内关切中”将这些关系作为背景的历史。这项有价值的研究的范围进一步由1958年至1988年的历史时期来定义。根据作者的说法,正是在这三十年中,“有影响力的美国评论员首先将以色列视为公民士兵社会”(3 )。因此,以色列成为美国决策者和文化精英成员的鼓舞人心的榜样。这些美国人视为以色列的“战斗精神”,正是他们所看到的是第二次世界大战后美国所缺少的。从1960年代中期到1970年代中期,越南战争时代,美国对这场战争的分歧与以色列对自己的战争的团结与热情之间形成鲜明的对比,这困扰着许多有影响力的美国人。他们问,为什么美国不能更像以色列。

Mitelpunkt可能引用了许多决策者或专家的话,就说明了美国人的这种“以色列嫉妒”。取而代之的是,他巧妙地打开了小说家约翰·斯坦贝克(John Steinbeck)1960年代中期与以色列订婚的故事。1966年,斯坦贝克(Steinbeck)和他的妻子[结束第631页]伊莱恩(Elaine)在以色列呆了几个月,1967年,斯坦贝克(Steinbeck)为纽约报纸《新闻日报》( Newdayday)报道了“六日战争。斯坦贝克在他的以色列旅居初期,给约翰逊政府白宫顾问杰克·瓦伦蒂(Jack Valenti)写了一封信,他说:“以色列人是我长期以来见过的最坚强,最重要的人……他们的军队精湛”( 1)。斯坦贝克是为数不多的支持越南战争的美国文学人物之一,他大声地想知道为什么美国再也不能像以色列那样多了。在他看来,无政府状态统治着美国的校园和街道,而以色列则井然有序。以色列国防军不是唯一吸引美国关注和认可的以色列机构。其他以色列机构,其中包括基布兹家族首长,受到了自由主义者的钦佩。但是,正如米特尔蓬克特(Mitelpunkt)所指出的那样,“基布兹的生活方式与美国现代化理论的主要宗旨相矛盾:

生活杂志1973年5月7日,该杂志专门报道以色列独立20周年。Mitelpunkt在对该杂志的报道进行的敏锐分析中指出:“即使越南战争破坏了第二次世界大战后的美国公民士兵模式,该文章也暗示……以色列人设法维护了该模式并以完全和谐的方式执行了该模式”( 119)。在同一时期,即1970年代初,以色列军队出于更为主要的原因吸引了美国读者的注意力。在美国媒体中,以色列的女兵们以“越来越匀称的制服”和“女性魅力”而受到钦佩(156-7)。Mitelpunkt还使我们对美国的这种嫉妒和钦佩感到以色列的反应。他指出,美国人对越南战争的异议和异议对以色列人产生了影响。”

更新日期:2021-03-18
down
wechat
bug