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Rereading Operation Shylock at Philip Roth’s Grave

JL;DR SUMMARY Philip Roth's novel "Operation Shylock: A Confession" is experiencing renewed relevance amidst current debates among young Jews regarding Zionism and Diasporism. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Oslo AccordsHolocaustJewish IdentityZionismPhilip RothSatireOperation ShylockDiasporismMetafiction

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Philip Roth died in New York City on May 22, 2018, and was buried, alongside Hannah Arendt, the poet Anthony Hecht, and several other professors in the Bard College cemetery in Annandale-on-Hudson, a few steps from my office."
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States
"Philip Roth died in New York City on May 22, 2018, and was buried, alongside Hannah Arendt, the poet Anthony Hecht, and several other professors in the Bard College cemetery in Annandale-on-Hudson, a few steps from my office."
Israel
"Diasporism seeks to promote the dispersion of the Jews in the West, particularly the resettlement of Israeli Jews of European background in the European countries where there were sizable Jewish populations before World War II."
Palestinian Territories
"it is remarkable to find the real Roth impersonating the impersonator and passionately lecturing a Palestinian activist and an Israeli soldier on Diasporism."
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Retrieved 2026-06-18 05:42:09 UTC
Curated 2026-06-18 08:31:29 UTC