Herzl Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State Shlomo Avineri Weidenfeld and Nicolson 274pp £20 The Idea of Israel A History of Power and Knowledge Ilan Pappe Verso 288pp £16.99 The founder of the modern Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl, was politically active for less than nine years before his death at 44 in … Read more
Author: Simon Schama Publisher: The Bodley Head Reviewed by: Colin Shindler Price (RRP): £25 In his new book, Simon Schama traces the remarkable odyssey of the Jews through the records of ordinary people of the time – from the papyri of the Jewish garrison at Elephantine near Egypt in the sixth-century BC to the collection … Read more
Like Dreamers By Yossi Klein Halevi Published by Harper Collins (New York 2013) pp.584 Everyone’s life is interesting. Excerpts can easily be turned into a soap or a tabloid saga. Like Dreamers follows the lives of several paratroopers, belonging to the 55th Reserve Brigade, who participated in the conquest of Jerusalem during the Six … Read more
Uncivil War: The Israel Conflict in the Jewish Community by Keith Kahn-Harris (David Paul London 2013) The angst and anguish of British Jews in comprehending and coping with Israel’s political and military actions are documented and dissected in Keith Kahn-Harris’s book. It attempts to disentangle the different types of reaction to a specific event. Indeed the author … Read more
The Invention of the Jewish People, by Shlomo Sand. London: Verso, 2009. 332 pp. This book has been promoted as “an international bestseller” that demolishes all previous connotations of the Jews as a people. Shlomo Sand approvingly quotes the French historian, Marcel Detienne, “How can we denationalise national histories?”— and this seems to be the … Read more
Simon Sebag-Montefiore, One Night in Winter (Century 2013) pp456 Several years ago, when I read Simon Sebag-Montefiore’s books on Stalin, I had approached them with preconceived notions about such ‘popular’ works. I quickly realised how wrong I was and literally could not put them down. Sebag’s new novel, based in part on real events … Read more
Extremist firebrand Rabbi Meir Kahane embraced by supporters in 1984 (Photo: Getty images) The Triumph of Israel’s Radical Right By Ami Pedahzur Oxford University Press, £18.99 In 1969, 32 per cent of the Israeli electorate voted for the centre right and its allies. Forty years later, this had increased to more than 52 per cent, … Read more
Mordechai Bar-On, Moshe Dayan: Israel’s Controversial Hero (Yale University Press 2012) pp.247 Patrick Tyler, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite who run the Country and why they can’t make peace (Portobello Books 2012) pp.562 Reviewed by Colin Shindler Moshe Dayan was charismatic, courageous and innovative as well as conniving, ruthless and devious. … Read more
Ian J. Bickerton, The Arab-Israeli Conflict: a History Published by Reaktion Books (London 2009), pp. 244, price £15.95 This is a broad and familiar narrative of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The author believes that violence has not solved anything and argues concisely that only concerted diplomacy will bring results. While this is clearly logical and … Read more
The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict By Jonathan Schneer Published by Random House, (New York 2010), pp. 432 price $30 The Balfour Declaration was the British charter of November 1917 that viewed “with favour” the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Of course, David Lloyd George and … Read more