Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist: The Story of a Transformation

An ex-radical traces his life in right-wing Jewish politics, his traumatic family history, and his spiritual transformation in this insightful memoir.

"Engrossing. . . . A profound look at the child of a Holocaust survivor burdened with the knowledge that his very existence is a miracle and the need to prove that the miracle wasn't squandered on him." — Kirkus Reviews

The child of a Holocaust survivor, Yossi Klein Halevi grew up in 1960s Brooklyn perceiving reality through the lens of his family's brutal past. Increasingly identifying with their history of suffering, he regarded the non-Jewish world with fear and loathing. Determined to take action—and seek retribution—he became a disciple of the late rabbi Meir Kahane and a member of the radical fringe of the American Jewish community.

In this wry and moving account, Halevi explores the deep-rooted anger of his adolescence and early adulthood that fueled his militant politics. He reveals how he began to question his beliefs and see the world from his own clear perspective, freeing himself from being a hostage to rage.

As an award-winning journalist and author, Halevi has dedicated himself to fostering interfaith reconciliation. Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist explains how such a transformation can happen—giving hope that peaceful coexistence between faiths is possible.

"Klein Halevi's narrative is quite moving. The account of his relationship with his father, his development as a journalist, and his recent visit to Holocaust-scarred Eastern Europe is compounded of a fine mixture of humor and pathos." — Booklist