The authors of The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election, Todd Gitlin and Liel Leibovitz, in conversation with TNI.
Their book addresses the controversial and emotionally fraught question of Israel and the United States’ exceptionalism as two countries not only with a unique friendship but also national histories founded on divine missions. The book is at once deft and unapologetic while also being hopeful. As they write in the acknowledgments section, “Authors are students” and it is in this same spirit of inquiry that we sat down with them in December. Needless to say, it was a great honor.