The Arc of a Covenant

June 27, 2022
Mead (God and Gold), a professor of foreign affairs at Bard College, delivers a sweeping study of the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. Stretching from the colonial era to the present day, Mead’s comprehensive history analyzes the impacts of Christianity’s changing attitudes toward Judaism and Jews; broad political trends that enabled the acceptance of Jewish people “as active members of the American commonwealth,” exemplified by George Washington’s 1790 letter to the congregation of Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I.; and economic developments such as the rise of labor unions. Revealing inconvenient facts for both Palestinians and Israelis (“Most of the land that Zionists settled before 1947 was freely sold to them by Arabs”), Mead forcefully critiques Yasser Arafat for rejecting a peace agreement proposed by the Clinton administration and contends that U.S. foreign policy toward Israel is governed by self-interest. Though he declines to offer detailed prescriptions for how American leaders should handle Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Iranian funding of Hamas, and other contentious matters, Mead provides more than enough context to understand them. The result is a valuable resource for policymakers and voters alike.