Bad Jew

Praise

“A poignant, engaging, important, and personal perspective of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, in which Smolar cleverly combines political and historical aspects with elements of memoir.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Solid on-the-ground reporting combines with memoir to offer a revealing look at life in a deeply conflicted Israel.” —Kirkus Reviews

“In this powerful and probing memoir, Smolar interrogates the shibboleths of his family and identity. He provides astute analysis of the changed world in which we find ourselves in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. Moving us beyond simplistic binaries, Smolar’s story of his family’s journey is an allegory for our times.” —Rebecca Ruth Gould, author of Erasing Palestine: Free Speech and Palestinian Freedom

“[Smolar is] an excellent and courageous journalist, curious, cultivated, and measured…[In] this wrenching, intimate, beautiful book…he undertakes a captivating journey through time and space, from the Second World War to the present, from Belarus to Poland, from France to Israel.” —L’Obs

“Smolar is a strong critic of the current Israeli government, and writes with great empathy about the conditions under which Palestinians are living. All the while, he fastidiously avoids polemic and invective. The tripled structure of his narrative is put to excellent use when he brings his historic and contemporary materials into dialogue…Smolar’s elegantly matter-of-fact reporting style only underscores the horror…[He] successfully raises urgent questions of wide relevance.” —Haaretz