The Netanyahus Summary
Joshua Cohen

The Netanyahus Overview

In Joshua Cohen's novel The Netanyahus, when history professor, Ruben Blum, is tasked with the responsibility of guiding prospective teaching candidate Ben-Zion Netanyahu's interview process, he panics. He knows the university has only chosen him for this task because both he and Netanyahu are Jewish. Throughout the months of September, October, November, and December, Ruben becomes increasingly agitated as he anticipates Netanyahu's arrival. Contrasting assessments of Netanyahu's character have augmented Ruben's already fragile emotional state. Throughout the winter holidays and Netanyahu and his family's stay in Corbindale with the Blums, Ruben begins to question who he is in the context of the Jewish past. The novel explores themes including history, belief, and change.