Looks at the lives of Israeli prime ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and Menachem Begin, and the events surrounding their leadership in Israel.

Twice Israel’s prime minister, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, bold leader in a war-torn region, Shimon Peres was one of the great statesmen of the modern world. Peres was also a fascinating, complex man–a brilliant intellectual who was entirely at home in the corridors of power; an individual revered by the world and yet highly controversial in his own country; at once a hero and a figure of tragedy. Now, in this definitive biography, Michael Bar-Zohar takes the full measure of a towering, enigmatic leader. Drawing on his decades-long association with Peres, as well as the full cooperation of the leader’s family, friends, supporters, and political rivals, Bar-Zohar has crafted a vibrant, daring, richly textured portrait of a man whose life and career span the entire history of Israel. Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to the Holy Land at the age of twelve, already a fiercely idealistic Zionist. Peres joined a kibbutz and, while still in his teens, became the leader of a major youth movement. When the struggle for Israeli independence broke out, future prime minister David Ben-Gurion tapped him to join his inner circle.As director general of the Defense Ministry under Ben-Gurion, Peres spearheaded a far-reaching campaign to turn Israel into a major military power. He jump-started Israel’s aircraft industry, forged a secret alliance with France, and successfully pursued his dream of making Israel a nuclear power. And yet Peres’s real triumph came not as a man of war but as a peacemaker.Elected prime minister in 1984, Peres brought new hope by pulling Israeli troops out of the quagmire in Lebanon, defusing tensions with Jordan, and, at the risk of his own political future, making serious overtures to the Palestinians. Peres and his longtime rival Yitzhak Rabin together secured the top-secret Oslo Accords of 1993, which won them and Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize–only to see the hope of peace shattered in a resurgence of regional violence.In a half-century of leadership, Peres has worked beside–or fought against–such giants as Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, and, tragically, Rabin, who was slain at the rally that marked his reconciliation with Peres. In this stunning, courageously frank, and scrupulously factual biography, Michael Bar-Zohar gives an eminent man his due.

Danny Danon has been a vocal opponent of disengaging in the Gaza Strip and West bank, and transforming the stalemate "two state/one state" dialogue to include regional partners, at times standing in direct opposition to his own party's leadership. A well-known and frequent speaker in the global arena, he is the rising voice for a fresh movement toward nationalism among the generation of Israelis currently coming to power. Here, Danon shares this vision with the world. It is a bold and uncompromising stance in the face of attacks on Israel's sovereignty by other Middle Eastern nations as the United States sends mixed signals of support to further its own goals in the region. Danon dissects the missteps and wrong turns that Israel's politicians have taken in the past by working to appease the United States and not offend their neighbors, instead of prioritizing their nation's own viability. With electrifying zeal, he tackles the challenges Israel faces today to undo what he sees as a consequence brought on by years of acquiescence to US policy. Danon believes "US pressure on Israel is hurting Israel and will do nothing to advance peace". Danon leads the charge toward a victorious future with an invitation for the United States and the Middle East to participate in, and not just dictate, Israel's international relations and policies (as opposed to an Israel cuckolded with an endless array of caveats toward those who would see it fall). No stranger to controversy, Danon's unabashed insights are a welcome revelation in the current quagmire of Middle-East international relations. A leading speaker to both Jewish groups and Christian Conservatives, the LA Jewish Journal says "What Danny says is what Bibi is actually thinking." For Danny Danon, this is only the beginning.

Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983, principal figure of the Israeli right, co-author of the historic peace between Israel and Egypt, and arguably one of the principal figures in the history of the Jewish People in the 20th century, is carefully portrayed in this extraordinary biography by Harry Hurwitz, a trusted friend and compatriot. Begin the man, the elected leader of Israel, and by force of personality, character and ideas, one of the Israeli Prime Ministers who became a leader of the Jewish People, is what Hurwitz excels at revealing. Here is the story of Begin's life told with the insights of a journalist who was also a close friend of more than forty years. The struggle of Begin's life, his early attachment to the Zionist prophet Vladimir Ze'ev Jabotinsky, his life in Poland, his suffering during the Holocaust, and his leadership of the Irgun Zvai Leumi's revolt against British rule in Eretz Yisrael, is the well-told prelude to his thirty years as a leader of the opposition to Israel's Labor government. Especially rich in detailing the years of Begin's Premiership, the reader will be enthralled by the careful review of these six momentous years, and enriched by the opportunity to read many of Begin's most important speeches and statements. Hurwitz believes that Begin is best understood when he speaks for himself, and he skillfully weaves together a well paced biography with the public utterances of his subject. This biographical portrait succeeds in giving the reader a vivid sense of what motivated Menachem Begin to seek peace with Egypt, to demand much of the 'peace process' and to deal firmly with the enemies of Israel and the Jewish People. Though not a study of ideas, every reader will come away with an understanding of Begin's view of the world, the strategic needs of the State of Israel, the importance of democratic values in Israeli life, and his commitment to the security and continuity of the Jewish People. In the end the author's admiration for his subject is a case well made.

Not since Pearl Harbor has an American president gone to Congress to request a declaration of war. Nevertheless, since then, one president after another, from Truman to Obama, has ordered American troops into wars all over the world. From Korea to Vietnam, Panama to Grenada, Lebanon to Bosnia, Afghanistan to Iraq —why have presidents sidestepped declarations of war? Marvin Kalb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC News, explores this key question in his thirteenth book about the presidency and U.S. foreign policy. Instead of a declaration of war, presidents have justified their war-making powers by citing "commitments," private and public, made by former presidents. Many of these commitments have been honored, but some betrayed. Surprisingly, given the tight U.S.-Israeli relationship, Israeli leaders feel that at times they have been betrayed by American presidents. Is it time for a negotiated defense treaty between the United States and Israel as a way of substituting for a string of secret presidential commitments? From Israel to Vietnam, presidential commitments have proven to be tricky and dangerous. For example, one president after another committed the United States to the defense of South Vietnam, often without explanation. Over the years, these commitments mushroomed into national policy, leading to a war costing 58,000 American lives. Few in Congress or the media chose to question the war's provenance or legitimacy, until it was too late. No president saw the need for a declaration of war, considering one to be old-fashioned. The word of a president can morph into a national commitment. It can become the functional equivalent of a declaration of war. Therefore, whenever a president "commits"the United States to a policy or course of action with, or increasingly without, congressional approval, watch out —the White House may be setting the nation on a road toward war.

Goodman examines the background of the AD 66 Judean revolt against Rome. He attempts to explain both the rebellion itself and its temporary success by discussing the role of the Jewish ruling class in the sixty years preceding the war and in the independent state that lasted until AD 70. The author shows that the revolt's ultimate cause was a misunderstanding by Rome of the status criteria of Jewish society.

"From an award-winning journalist, a perceptive study of how Israel's actions, which run counter to the traditional historical values of Judaism, are putting Jewish people worldwide in an increasingly untenable position. More than a decade ago, the historian Tony Judt considered whether the behavior of Israel was becoming not only "bad for Israel itself" but also, on a wider scale, "bad for the Jews." Under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, this issue has grown ever more urgent. In The State of Israel vs. the Jews, veteran journalist Sylvain Cypel addresses it in depth, exploring Israel's rightward shift on the international scene and with regard to the diaspora. Cypel reviews the little-known details of the military occupation of Palestinian territory, the mindset of ethnic superiority that reigns in the midst of an Israeli "colonial camp" that is largely in the majority, and the adoption of new laws, the most serious of which establishes two-tier citizenship between Jews and non-Jews. He shows how Israel has aligned itself with authoritarian regimes and adopted the practices of a security state, including the use of technologies such as the software that enabled the tracking and, ultimately, the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Lastly, The State of Israel vs. the Jews examines the impact of Israel's evolution in recent years on the two main communities of the Jewish diaspora, in France and the United States, considering how and why public figures in each differ in their approaches"--

Yasser Arafat's incremental conquest of Israel was learned at the feet of the North Vietnamese in 1970. The Vietnamese told the Arab leadership that they accepted the fact that victory in Vietnam would take many years, during which it would be necessary to temporarily accept the division of the country into two states, while they worked for a shift in the balance of power. In this, the Vietnamese were smart enough to permit the Americans to save face. They had no intention of respecting the agreements they signed with the United States; the point was to provide political cover for the American retreat. Today, Barack Obama is giving the Arabs the same opportunity as Nixon gave the Vietnamese. Obama told a Muslim audience in Cairo in the first months of his administration that America's support for Israel was "unbreakable," even as he moved to compel Jerusalem to cede even more territory to its enemies. In, this new broadside, Michael Ledeen asks why the Obama administration has chosen this course, and examines what this betrayal means for Israel and the world at large.

"Shut Up, I'm Talking" is a smart, hilarious insider take on Israeli politics that reads like the bastard child of Thomas Friedman and David Sedaris. Now a political writer for Salon, Gregory Levey stumbled into a job as speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the United Nations at age twenty-five and suddenly found himself, like a latter-day Zelig, in the company of foreign ministers, U.S. senators, and heads of state. Much to his surprise, he was soon attending U.N. sessions and drafting official government statements. The situation got stranger still when he was transferred to Jerusalem to write speeches for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Shut Up, I'm Talking" is a startling account of Levey's journey into the nerve center of Middle Eastern politics at one of the most turbulent times in Israeli history. During his three years in the Israeli government, the Second Intifada continued on in fits and starts, Yasser Arafat died, Hamas came to power, and Ariel Sharon fell into a coma. Levey was repeatedly thrust into highly improbable situations -- from being the sole "Israeli" delegate (even though he's Canadian) at the U.N. General Assembly, with no idea how "his" country wanted to vote; to nearly inciting an international incident with his high school French translation of an Arab diplomat's anti-Israel remarks; to communicating with Israeli intelligence about the suspected perpetrators of suicide bombings; to being offered leftover salami from Ariel Sharon's lunch. As Levey got better acquainted with the personalities in the government's inner sanctum, he witnessed firsthand the improvisational and ridiculously casual nature of the country's behind-the-scenes leadership -- and realized that he wasn't the only one faking his way through politics. With sharp insight and great appreciation for the absurd, Levey offers the first-ever look inside Israel's politics from the perspective of a complete outsider, ultimately concluding that the Israeli government is no place for a nice Jewish boy.

This is an amazing book about Jewish women's rights in the traditional world of religious practice. This is an important ongoing debate in the Jewish world. Women are increasingly claiming the right of religious practice equal to men. In Israel traditional religious practice does not allow women in roles of religious leadership. In this book nine Jewish Reform clergywomen describe their experiences of becoming religious professionals, either rabbis or cantors. Some were born in Israel and others in the United States or Russia, but all found their way to Israel where Orthodox practice is the primary state-supported form of Judaism. Although Orthodox Judaism does not permit women to lead regular services, Reform and Conservative Judaism do. In these nine narratives women tell their personal stories of religious practice within the background of their families and social contexts.

An Israeli government minister is assassinated in the home of his mistress, and in repsonse, Elihu, an ageing Mossad officer, leads his final raid, killing a Hamas leader in his bed. Out of this familiarly cyclical scenario emerges what is perhaps Robert Littell's most heartfelt and suspenseful novel. While the global community, united under the leadership of a visionary female US president, brokers a major compromise between Israel and the Palestinian authority, Isaac Apfulbaum, a well-known fundamentalist Rabbi, is taken hostage by Dr. al-Saath, a legendary Palestinian terrorist, who demands the release of several Palestinian prisoners. As Israel coaxes Elihu out of retirement to hunt down the terrorist who motivated his final mission, al-Saath and Apfulbaum fund themselves building an extraordinary relationship between hostage taker and hostage: parallels between these two battle-hardened partisans become the bonds that could lead to reconciliation. But with the Mossad strike team closing in, has the vicious circle already been closed?

Since its creation in 1948, the State of Israel has survived three major military confrontations with its Arab neighbors, and the lightning counterstrikes of its forces in the face of attacks and constant guerrilla harassment continue to guarantee the State's security. Yet at the turn of the century the Jewish community of Palestine could count for its defense on only a few groups of ill-armed watchmen, mostly farmers. General Allon, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, was one of the architects of the modern citizens' army that evolved from these makeshift beginnings. In The Making of Israel's Army he traces each stage in the story, analyzing the thinking behind the army's make-up and methods of training - before and after statehood - the principles of its leadership, and (not uncritically) the causes, strategies, and aftermaths of the three wars and major campaigns. The first part of the book is devoted to the main story. The second comprises an anthology of authentic contemporary statements, documents, and first-hand accounts of battles and campaigns - selected by General Allon and introduced by him in each instance. These complement the main narrative, adding a further, creative dimension to the book as a whole. The result is a study which will prove as fascinating to the general reader as to the student of military history and Middle Eastern politics.

This book, first published in 1969, presents a comprehensive survey and analysis of the political behaviour of the Arabs in Israel, covering the period from the founding of the State to the Six-Day War in 1967. While the socio-economic background is outlined, the chief emphasis is on the political attitudes of this minority and its reactions to the modernization of political structures. The main chapters deal with adaptation versus alienation; cultural change and its reflection in politics; political organizations; voting behaviour in parliamentary, local, and trade union elections; leadership and the foci of political activity. Materials used for research included the Israeli press, both in Arabic and Hebrew, the literature produced by the Arabs in Israel, official publications and private reports, as well as interviews conducted with Arabs from all over the country.

This is a guidebook on achieving peace in the Middle East. The authors present a framework for American involvement in the peace process and an evaluation of U.S. diplomacy. Kurtzer and Lasensky offer ten core lessons to guide future American negotiators.

I was born the year Hitler came to power. There was no Israel. There was a Holocaust. Six million Jews were slaughtered for the crime of being born, and hardly a blip registered on the world's conscience. The world was indifferent-it pretended not to know. Israel was created in 1948, and I decided I wanted to be part of the rebirth of the Land and the redemption of the People of Israel. That has been my passion ... and my purpose. That was my defining moment. I have had the privilege to work with some extraordinary and courageous people who taught me valuable lessons about leadership and life.

Since its creation in 1948, the State of Israel has survived three major military confrontations with its Arab neighbors, and the lightning counterstrikes of its forces in the face of attacks and constant guerrilla harassment continue to guarantee the State's security. Yet at the turn of the century the Jewish community of Palestine could count for its defense on only a few groups of ill-armed watchmen, mostly farmers. General Allon, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, was one of the architects of the modern citizens' army that evolved from these makeshift beginnings. In The Making of Israel's Army he traces each stage in the story, analyzing the thinking behind the army's make-up and methods of training - before and after statehood - the principles of its leadership, and (not uncritically) the causes, strategies, and aftermaths of the three wars and major campaigns. The first part of the book is devoted to the main story. The second comprises an anthology of authentic contemporary statements, documents, and first-hand accounts of battles and campaigns - selected by General Allon and introduced by him in each instance. These complement the main narrative, adding a further, creative dimension to the book as a whole. The result is a study which will prove as fascinating to the general reader as to the student of military history and Middle Eastern politics.

In 2001, on the heels of the disastrous Durban racism conference and the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States, South African cabinet minister Ronnie Kasrils launched a declaration calling on South Africans of Jewish descent to protest against Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. In so doing, he launched a furious debate within the Jewish community. The debate caused the leadership of the Jewish community to shift its political strategy, from the politics of open debate towards the politics of influence. The Jewish experience resembled that of other minorities and interest groups whose leaders came to be seen as 'representing government in their respective communities rather than the community addressing themselves to government', in the words of historian Hermann Giliomee. The Kasrils Affair: Jews and minority politics in post-apartheid South Africa: Documents the Kasrils declaration and its implications both for the Jewish community and South African politics in general. Places the Kasrils affair in the context of South African Jewish history and of the 'new antisemitism' facing Jews around the world. Gives an 'embedded' account of events, based on public commentary and interviews with South African Jewish leaders.

Less than two years after winning the 2013 elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to dissolve his government, paving the way for general elections. While the initial impression was that the upcoming elections were "pointless" and "unnecessary", the campaign gradually turned into a passionate and dramatic political competition, which reflected - and reenergized - the ideological, social, ethnic and cultural divides of Israeli society. This book describes and analyses a great variety of political, sociological and cultural dimensions of the 2015 elections for the 20th Knesset. Covering issues such as voters' behaviour, coalition formation, figures of leadership, political identities, political communication and persuasion, this rich collection of essays offers a unique and comprehensive perspective on Israeli political culture in general, and on the Israeli society in the midst of the 2015 elections in particular. It also offers theoretical insight to anyone interested in parliamentary politics and party systems in general. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Israel Affairs.