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Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon My Life as a Jew single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 My Life as a Jew
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A multi-award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of a major Australian newspaper searingly explores his Jewish identity at a time when a substantial - and growing - part of the left is opposed to the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state.

'Born in a displaced persons' camp two years after the end of the Holocaust, Michael Gawenda spent his childhood and teenage years in a left-wing non-Zionist Jewish youth group in Melbourne. This shaped the sort of Jew he became - a secular Jew who loved the Yiddish language and Yiddish culture.

'Gawenda went on to become a public figure during his 40 years as a journalist, including his role as editor-in-chief of The Age - the only Jewish editor-in-chief in the newspaper's history. Throughout this time, and since, he became dismayed and pained by the growing hostility of the left to Israel and to Jews like him who were not prepared to declare themselves as anti-Zionists. This has also forced him to examine his own Jewish identity and his relationships with his Jewish friends, and to forensically examine the basis of the critiques of Israel.

'At a time of rising anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, My Life as a Jew is a controversial book. It is also a vital book. It should be read by activists for Israel and Zionism, as well as for the Palestinians. It should be read by readers of all political stripes. It should be read by journalists, as it is in part about journalism and its failings. And it should also be read by people interested in the remarkable life and career of its author, Michael Gawenda.' (Publication summary) 

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 7153085638174250210.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 288p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 3 October 2023
      ISBN: 9781761380471

Works about this Work

Gawenda's Journey : A Deeply Personal Story about Jewish Identity David Trigger , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 460 2023; (p. 19-20)

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography
'Michael Gawenda has written a deeply personal story about his Jewish identity. It comes during a period when conflict in Israel/Palestine has been painful for all. While he remains committed to a two-state future that supports the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in their own countries, the author critiques influential sections of the political left where acceptance has come to require demonising the Jewish state. A key message of the book is that too often on the left the only good Jew is one who publicly rejects Israel’s right to exist and remains silent when it is declared racist and nothing more than a coloniser of an indigenous population.' (Introduction)          
Life as a Left-wing Jew in Times of Hatred and Fear Mark Dapin , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14-15 October 2023; (p. 17)

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography
Universalism or Tribalism? Michael Gawenda’s Memoir Considers What It Means to Be a Jew in Contemporary Australia Dennis Altman , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 October 2023;

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography

'At one point in this book, journalist Michael Gawenda claims “only progressive, secular reviewers are chosen to review books about Jews.” So I need begin my review of My Life as a Jew by acknowledging that I fit this description.' (Introduction)

Universalism or Tribalism? Michael Gawenda’s Memoir Considers What It Means to Be a Jew in Contemporary Australia Dennis Altman , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 October 2023;

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography

'At one point in this book, journalist Michael Gawenda claims “only progressive, secular reviewers are chosen to review books about Jews.” So I need begin my review of My Life as a Jew by acknowledging that I fit this description.' (Introduction)

Life as a Left-wing Jew in Times of Hatred and Fear Mark Dapin , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14-15 October 2023; (p. 17)

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography
Gawenda's Journey : A Deeply Personal Story about Jewish Identity David Trigger , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 460 2023; (p. 19-20)

— Review of My Life as a Jew Michael Gawenda , 2023 single work autobiography
'Michael Gawenda has written a deeply personal story about his Jewish identity. It comes during a period when conflict in Israel/Palestine has been painful for all. While he remains committed to a two-state future that supports the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in their own countries, the author critiques influential sections of the political left where acceptance has come to require demonising the Jewish state. A key message of the book is that too often on the left the only good Jew is one who publicly rejects Israel’s right to exist and remains silent when it is declared racist and nothing more than a coloniser of an indigenous population.' (Introduction)          
Last amended 11 Apr 2023 10:08:47
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