If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew

By Elizabeth Garrett

If I Am Not For Myself is a passionate, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be Jewish in the twenty-first century. It traces the author’s upbringing in 1960s Jewish-American suburbia, his anti-war and pro-Palestinian activism on the British left, and life as a Jew among Muslims in Pakistan, Morocco, and Britain. Interwoven with this are the experiences of his grandfather’s life in Jewish New York of the 1930s and 40s, his struggles with anti-Semitism and the twists and turns that led him from anti-fascism to militant Zionism. In the course of this deeply personal story, Marqusee refutes the claims of Israel and Zionism on Jewish loyalty and laments their impact on the Jewish diaspora. Rather, he argues for a richer, more multi-dimensional understanding of Jewish history and identity, and reclaims vital political and personal space for those castigated as “self-haters” by the Jewish establishment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781844678549

Elizabeth Garrett

Mike Marqusee (1953–2015) was a journalist, political activist and author who was born in New York City, and who emigrated to Britain in 1971, where he developed a love of cricket. As well as his many books, Mike published articles in the Guardian, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, BBC History Magazine and India Today. He also was a columnist for the Indian newspaper The Hindu and for the British left-wing magazine Red Pepper. In 1995, Mike helped set up 'Hit Racism for Six', a campaign against racism in cricket and in 2005 was named an Honorary Faculty Fellow by the University of Brighton in recognition of his 'contribution to the development of a critically-based form of journalistic scholarship in the social, cultural and political nature of contemporary global sport.'