Bad Jew: A Family’s Quest from the Minsk Ghetto to Netanyahu’s Israel

As a French journalist with Polish forbears, Piotr Smolar’s memoir details his peripatetic career, serving as a reporter for years in Moscow, in Washington, and as the Le Monde senior representative in Jerusalem. Most recently, he writes from Gaza, providing a forceful, emotional new introduction, voicing strong disapproval for Israel’s right-wing action.

Hersh Smolar, his grandfather, is a legendary figure, a leading member of the resistance in the Minsk ghetto in World War II. His father’s political involvement demonstrated strong opposition to Poland’s postwar Communism. Their legacy is a central element in Bad Jew—a bizarre, even displeasing title.

The author writes vividly, in a choppy, journalistic manner appropriate for his rebellion against Israel’s politics, taking a deft chronological path through recent decades of Israel’s history. He denies his Jewish identity, for justifiably practical and political motives, enabling him to gather information essential for his assignments. His personal life demonstrates a strong, fundamental, secular Jewish lifestyle.

One of the author’s several books, Bad Jew was published first in French in 2015. The new introduction, with Anthony Roberts’ masterly translation, is the first of his books available to English language readers.