Jack Cohen: “Zionism: A Love Story” is the title of my new book (300 pp), that I just published on CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon. The story is that of a friend, which I told in a previous posting entitled “An Amazing Story” on April 4, 2014.
Jack Cohen
I met him first in 1963, over 50 years ago, and remembered him, even though we lost contact for 43 years. I described how I came to meet him again last year in the previous posting. But, I was so taken with his story and he had written several short memoirs of his life, that I asked him if I could edit them into a book, and he agreed, but he wishes to remain anonymous.
I am confident that everyone interested in Israel (for and against) would enjoy reading this story of amazing fortitude and human dedication. We rarely think of “love” in the context of “Zionism,” but the return to Zion has come about not only through the actions of Jewish ideologues, but also through the actions of ordinary people motivated to do extraordinary things. Love can be a strong force to make people change their whole life, their loyalty and their identity.
Here is what I wrote in the Preface to the book:
“This is the remarkable true story of a young Anglo-Chilean Christian who went to England to get an education, fell in love with a Jewish girl, then fell in love with socialist Zionism and ended up living on a kibbutz in Israel. After many years his children became ultra-Orthodox Jews (haredim) and finally the story has a very unusual twist.
The book is based on the memoirs of this individual, who prefers to remain anonymous. Therefore the names of the people involved have been changed, although the details of the story and the verisimilitude of the events and places attest to its authenticity.
This is the story of someone, with no connection to anything Jewish, who for love, threw his fate in with that of the Jewish people. He served in the Israeli Army (the IDF) and lived a very modest existence in the young State of Israel.
The author met this individual some 50 years ago and remembered his fascinating story. When they re-met many years later and he was given some memoirs to read he was convinced that this account should be published as a little known and neglected period of Zionist history.”
The icon I developed for the cover of this book shows two hearts intertwined as in a Magen David but in place of the triangles, in blue on a white background. They represent love and Zionism.
To order copies of the book, here is the url for the CreateSpace version (print on demand, price $12): https://www.createspace.com/5268156
The book is now also available (for $12) on Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1507801181
Here is the url for the Kindle version (price $7.99): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T0UDIOQ
Jack Cohen
Please buy the book, I am sure you will find it a good read, and if you are so moved please write a nice review that can be posted on Amazon.com. I also take this opportunity to remind the readers about my previous books also available on Amazon.com: my autobiographical novel, “Amanuensis” (2009); my short story collections, “Discovering America” and “Trove” (2009); my experiences in the Soviet Jewry movement, “Confessions of a Jewish Activist” (2010); and my story of scientific research and intrigue “Antisense” (2014).
Jack Cohen
