In this unconventional book, The Suicide of the Jews, Tsvi Bisk asks: Is the purpose of Zionism to recreate the Jewish past, or to create an alternative Jewish future that serves to redeem the past? Do the events of history determine how we must act by mindlessly following its tracks, or is their role to inspire us in how to manage the future?
The Suicide of the Jews is a fable from the future; a cautionary tale about one of the noblest and bravest endeavors in human history - a story of unsurpassed idealism, heroism, invention and imagination. It is the story of a country which, in its infancy, inspired the entire world with its achievements and ability to survive in the face of overwhelming odds, but which may yet self-destruct as a result of policies that cling to the past rather than respond to the demands of the 21st century. The Suicide of the Jews is a ruthlessly logical extrapolation of current events that will please neither the left nor the right - a wake-up call to be heeded by all.
Tsvi Bisk is an American Israeli Futurist and social critic. He is contributing editor to The Futurist magazine with over 100 essays and articles to his credit. His previous books were Futurizing the Jews and The Optimistic Jew.
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The Suicide of the Jews: A Cautionary Tale by Tsvi Bisk
Tel Aviv, Israel: ContentoNow (October 11, 2015)
ASIN: B016IPRPAS, Kindle
ISBN: 978-965-550-486-6
Retail price: $16.00
Amazon.com
Excerpt from the Preface
I was born and educated in America and came to Israel in my early 20’s – one day before the 6 Day War. I became a Zionist not because of ideological conviction but because I fell in love with Israel and the potential of its people. My motivations for writing the book as well as the views expressed in it are derived from an intense feeling that there is something exceptional about Jewish peoplehood; that we betray our ancestors, ourselves and human history when we turn our backs on that exceptionality. I believe that the modern State of Israel is not only a framework to guarantee the physical survival of the Jewish people; it is also a vessel by which we can give modern expression to the energy, idealism and creativity that has characterized so much of Jewish history. I also believe that unless we strive to achieve this second aspect of Israel’s mission we will not succeed in sustaining the first and thus will not survive.
The book is, therefore, a manifestation of a wider Jewish and Zionist vision which asserts that: If Israel will not be a light unto the nations it will not be a light unto the Jews and thus will not be able to mobilize the energy and passion needed to survive. 