Reading Moby Dick in the 51st state

There has always been an affinity between Israel and the United States, on a political, social and ideological level - at least for the last 64 years since Israel was established. First of all, Israel considers itself (and is often considered by Americans - especially American politicians) as the 51st state of the United States. It has close and dependent ties on U.S. support and has maintained an unwritten agreement with all US governments, since its establishment, for oftentimes unquestioned support in the international diplomatic arena. 

There is also a social affinity between the two countries, which can be said to be based on the idea that both countries have deep rooted capitalistic social structures, that they profoundly identify with the Horatio Alger rich of rags to riches, and that they have never been a monarchy or a communist country (though Israel did have socialist communities). Finally, both countries were established on the idea that their claim to the land is by right of divine providence, and that they serve as beacons of democracy, each in their own right (US in the world, Israel in the Middle East).

Therefore, to read Moby Dick in Israel, in 2012, as the quintessential, canonical American novel, the novel that defined and was defined by the idea of what it means to be American, is quite a natural thing to do. In fact, it is quite telling not only of the roots of what was considered, and still is considered to be American, it is also in this sense telling of what it is to be Israeli.
Even Melville himself loomed the histories of these cultures together (I am referring especially to cultures, as I mean the Jewish people and the Americans - as distinct from Israelis and Americans), with a multitude of biblical references throughout the texts - thUs bringing the geographical history of the Jewish people into the narrative of the American people.