In 1948 an Israeli leader assured the U.N. that American Jews would be Israel’s “hostage” to the world to guarantee that Israel behaved itself well. But Israel didn’t behave well, and after failing to change Israel’s conduct, American Jewish organizations soon interpreted their role to mean denying Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, and labeling all criticism antisemitic. Abba Solomon shares how the mission of American Jewish organizations, once centered on the rights and welfare of Jews in the United States and elsewhere, was affected and — ultimately — distorted by the success of militant Jewish nationalists in Palestine.