Militant Zionism in America

This in-depth look at a controversial faction of American Zionism fills

a void in the story of American Zionism--and in the story of American Judaism.

This book recounts the fascinating and little-known story

of the militant American Zionists who lobbied Congress, rallied American

public opinion, and influenced British-American relations in their campaign

for Jewish statehood in the 1930s and 1940s. Although these activists have

been dismissed as fanatics who fragmented the American Zionist movement,

Rafael Medoff reveals that the faction--which included an Academy Award-winning

screenwriter and several future members of the Israeli parliament--was

more influential than has been previously acknowledged.

These militants stirred America’s conscience by placing

controversial newspaper ads, lobbying conservative as well as liberal members

of Congress, and staging dramatic protest rallies. Through these tactics,

Medoff shows, they attracted a wave of support from an extraordinary cross-section

of leading Americans, including comedians Harpo Marx and Carl Reiner, actors

Vincent Price, Marlon Brando, and Jane Wyatt, musician Leonard Bernstein,

and rising young politicians Jacob Javits and Hubert Humphrey. Medoff also

describes the shadowy underground division that smuggled weapons to the

Holy Land in caskets, naming and interviewing for the first time members

of this gunrunning network.

Based on years of archival research and interviews and

written in a compelling style, Militant Zionism in America documents

events that reshaped the American Jewish community, influenced American

foreign policy, and contributed to one of the most extraordinary events

of modern history: the creation of the State of Israel.

Rafael Medoff is a Visiting Scholar at the State University of New York -- Purchase College.