Peter Beinart’s new book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” confronts his “horror” - even as a long-time harsh critic of Israeli policies - at the devastation that has taken place over the past 15 months. 

“In 2023, I wrote about my concerns about the possibility of ethnic cleansing on a large scale, as opposed to the small scale ethnic cleansing that has been going on for years,” Beinart said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. “But I really could not imagine what we've seen in Gaza - which is basically the destruction of an entire society, most of the buildings destroyed, most of the hospitals, schools, universities, agriculture, the necessities of life.” 

But even worse, he explained, was the “widespread embrace of mass expulsion, not just by people on the Israeli and American right, but by people who were considered moderate, centrist, reasonable, and thoughtful. That's the catastrophe, the horror - and I would even say the evil - that I could not imagine.”

Peter Beinart&rsquo;s new book, &ldquo;Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning&rdquo; confronts his &ldquo;horror&rdquo; - even as a long-time harsh critic of Israeli policies - at the devastation that has taken place over the past 15 months.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In 2023, I wrote about my concerns about the possibility of ethnic cleansing on a large scale, as opposed to the small scale ethnic cleansing that has been going on for years,&rdquo; Beinart said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. &ldquo;But I really could not imagine what we've seen in Gaza - which is basically the destruction of an entire society, most of the buildings destroyed, most of the hospitals, schools, universities, agriculture, the necessities of life.&rdquo;&nbsp;
But even worse, he explained, was the &ldquo;widespread embrace of mass expulsion, not just by people on the Israeli and American right, but by people who were considered moderate, centrist, reasonable, and thoughtful. That's the catastrophe, the horror - and I would even say the evil - that I could not imagine.&rdquo;

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

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