A Time to Speak Out: Independent Jewish Voices on Israel, Zionism and Jewish Identity

In A Time to Speak Out, a collection ofstrong Jewish voices, drawing on an established tradition of Jewish dissidence, come together to explore some of the most challenging issues facing diaspora Jews, notably in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine.

Nearly all contributors were associated with the Independent Jewish Voices declaration which,when launched in Britain in 2007, opened a floodgate of responses. This book bears witness to the urgency of that continuing debate.

With articles on such topics as international law, the Holocaust, varieties ofZionism, self-hatred, the multiplicity of Jewish identities, and human rights, these essays provide powerful evidence of the vitality of independent Jewish opinion as well as demonstrating that criticism of Israel has a crucial role to play in the continuing history of a Jewish concern for social justice.

At once sober and radical, A Time To Speak Out reclaims an often intemperatedebate for those both inside and outside Israel who prefer to confront uncomfortable "truths."

With contributions from: Julia Bard, Geoffrey Bindman, Emma Clyne, Stan Cohen, Howard Cooper, D. D. Guttenplan, Abe Hayeem, Anthony Isaacs, Gabriel Josipovici, Anne Karpf, BrianKlug, Francesca Klug, Tony Klug, Richard Kuper, Michael Kustow, Antony Lerman, Antony Loewenstein, Mike Marqusee, Jeremy Montagu,Jacqueline Rose, Anthony Rudolf, Donald Sassoon, Lynne Segal, Richard Silverstein, Gillian Slovo, Eyal Weizman, and Sami Zubaida.

Independent Jewish Voices is a group of Jews in Britain from diverse backgrounds, occupations and affiliations who have in common a strong commitment to social justice and universal human rights. Visit the Independent Jewish Voices website at http://www.ijv.org.uk/.

Jacqueline Rose is Professor of English at Queen Mary University of London. Her books include Sexuality in the Field of Vision; The Question of Zion ; and the novel Albertine.

D. D. Guttenplan, journalist and essayist, lives in London. He has written on the Irving trial for Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

Mike Marqusee‘s books include Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, War Minus the Shooting, Anyone but England and If I Am Not for Myself. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and writes a fortnightly column for the Indian newspaper The Hindu. He lives in London.

Gillian Slovo, author of the novel Red Dust, now a feature film, and co-author of the play Guantanamo, as well as a memoir and nine other novels, lives in London.

Eyal Weizman is Professor of Spatial and Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he directs the Centre for Research Architecture and the European Research Council funded project Forensic Architecture. He is also a founder member of the collective Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency (DAAR) in Bethlehem, Palestine. He is the author of Hollow Land, The Least of All Possible Evils, and co-editor of A Civilian Occupation. He lives in London.