Cary Nelson, Dreams Deferred: A Concise Guide to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & the Movement to Boycott Israel. MLA Members for Scholars Rights and Indiana University Press, 2016. 396 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-253-02517-3
It is not an exaggeration to say that the diverse community of supporters of Israel sees the movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [BDS] as one of the greatest challenges it currently faces. This is particularly so within the academy, for the BDS leadership has specifically targeted campuses in Europe and North America as well as numerous academic associations like the Modern Languages Association [MLA] with its demonstrations, proffered resolutions, and incessant propaganda.
Those desiring to oppose anti-Zionism and BDS in all its forms need to be armed with both the courage of their convictions and, importantly, with a base of knowledge concerning the often vexed, conflictual, and complex issues surrounding Israel and Zionism. Even many of those who have made their business to study the subject do not always possess the full range of information and opinion necessary to counter the arguments of BDS proponents and assert their own pro-Israel positions.
That is why Cary Nelson’s newly published book, Dreams Deferred, is so timely. It stems from his experience as a pro-Israel activist within the MLA opposing the BDS resolution that came before that association. He is a leading figure in the group “MLA Members for Scholar's Rights” that in 2014 published a book of collected essays which he co-edited entitled The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel. Nelson has followed up the 2014 volume with the present book that, in effect, offers within less than 400 pages a concise encyclopedia of the ideas, places, events, movements, policies, distortions, and outright falsities that together make up current public discourse of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He has done so by presenting well-chosen excerpts from authoritative sources so that, for instance, anyone wishing to get the main idea of the intellectual issues surrounding the accusation that Israel is an example of “Settler Colonialism” can find an admirably concise and jargon-free exposition of the people and issues involved (284-291). Those wishing to know more about that or any other subject covered in the book can go to the bibliography at the end of the book and find the reference to the article or book chapter that was excerpted. The same can be said about any of the more than 60 topics covered in the book.
This volume is far from a simple pro-Israel narrative. The authors Nelson utilizes are diverse in their viewpoints on Zionism and Israel but all of them tell the truth as they see it in all its complexity and do not avoid criticizing the mistakes they feel Israel has made. They nonetheless are united in their support for Zionism and Israel and their opposition to BDS in all its forms.
For Nelson, the ultimate goal of his anti-BDS activism and this publication is “to define the terms of…a progressive Zionism for our own time. This is a Zionism that honors the reality of the Naqba…looks for ways to promote a two-state solution…Its critique of Israeli government policy is unstinting, while it embraces the right of the Jews to a nation in their ancient homeland.” (339)
Whether you agree with Nelson’s Zionist philosophy or not, he has edited a book that gives pro-Zionist, pro-Israel, and anti-BDS activists, and particularly those within the academy, much food for thought and much valuable information that will be of material help in the major task of confronting contemporary anti-Zionism and BDS in all its forms.
Ira Robinson is a Professor of Judaic Studies at Concordia University and a CIJR Academic Fellow
