An Analysis of Books About Israel: Using History to Predict the Future?

In the international community, Israel is one of the few countries whose right to exist is still debated. Being raised in a Jewish home, I was always taught to love the small state of Israel. I always celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut, the day of Israel’s Independence, but I never vividly understood the how the state came to be – starting with the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to the formation of the underground movement that fought the British for the land in the 1940s to the present day fight between Israelis and Palestinians.

As I grew up I modified my own thoughts, beliefs, and political affiliation, and I began to question Israel’s actions in the international system. Sure, Israel’s army has been noted as aggressive in attacks back and forth with Hamas in Gaza and has been forceful in building its settlements along the West Bank – but does that really make Israel an illegitimate state in the realm of world affairs?

I read multiple books to gain different views on the state of Israel: The Balfour Declaration, The Prime Ministers, and Saving Israel. These three books work together to explain the current situation that exists between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer is an examination into the Balfour Declaration, which was issued in London in 1917 and is one of the key documents of the twentieth century. It committed Britain to supporting the establishment in Palestine of “a National Home for the Jewish people,” and its impact continues to be felt today. Schneer is not defending Zionism, nor British imperialism nor the Arab revolt of the time; rather, he focused on the myriad of diplomacy, imperialism, nationalismm and Zionism. The book is written from British perspective, but does a superb job of having balanced point of view of the Arabs and the Zionists. One controversy that can be argued form the book is whether the British were actively being deceptive and perfidious with the Arabs, who did not found out about the Balfour Declaration until it was almost to late or was it just a whetting out the "Divide and Conquer" tactic that best fit the Empire.

Schneer recounts in great detail the public and private fight that was occurring in the early 1900s for the small strip of land in the Middle East, a battle which, I learned, started when the governing Ottoman Empire took Germany’s side in World War 1. This book illustrates immeasurably how Arab nationalists, backed by Britain, literally fought for their future while Zionists battled diplomatically for influence back in England. Meanwhile, unknown to both sides, Prime Minister David Lloyd George was telling Turkey that they could keep their flag flying over the disputed territory if only they agreed to a separate peace.

The Balfour Declaration contributes to our understanding of the modern Middle East, the history of Zionism, Israel, and Palestine by tracing the interests and motives of Turks, Arabs, Jews, and the English alike. This book differs from the rest because it clearly presents both sides, presents no form of bias towards the Israelis and the Palestinians’ right to the land. Though this book is a look into Zionism that led to the formation of the state of Israel, it does not discuss the need for Zionism to continue inside and outside of Israel, which Daniel Gordis’s book does focus on.

In Saving Israel, Daniel Gordis offers a cogent analysis of the stalemate of the peace process and takes issue with the widely held view of many Jews today that somehow the 'default' Jewish position is a passive, non-military one. He argues that "When peace is not achievable, when enemies still seek to destroy the Jewish state and thereby to destroy the Jewish people, there is, sadly, no choice but to wage war". He doesn't advocate war as a strategy, but if the alternative is national suicide, it is both correct and inevitable.

Gordis offers a new defense of Israel, asking first why Israel is necessary, and then discussing what Israel must do in order to survive its enemies. Gordis’s suggestions for what Israel must do to survive, and how it must think if it is to have a future, definitely strike up controversy – and more often than once he addresses the reader saying something along the lines of “Not everyone will be comfortable with what is discussed or suggested in these pages” (9).

Once I finished the book, I realized that it must be difficult for non-Jews to feel the need to support the Jewish state. Were Israel just a state, the high cost it exacts might not be justified. But as I saw throughout this book, Israel is not just a state. It breathed life into the Jewish people in all the moments when the Jews might have given up.

The Prime Ministers is not an objective analysis of Israeli foreign policy, nor does it imply to be such. Rather, it provides insight into people and how they worked. Avner’s account of the careers and personalities of the leaders of Israel is a semiautobiographical representation of his own experiences during critical episodes in Israeli history. Yehuda Avner, author of The Prime Ministers, arrived in Palestine in 1947 as a 19 year old Zionist, just a year before Israel was recognized as a state. He eventually entered Israel’s foreign service and served as a speechwriter, secretary, and advisor to four Israeli Prime Ministers – Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and Menachem Begin.

The Prime Ministers is divided into four parts, each retelling the stories of the four prime ministers Avner worked alongside. Avner shows greatest admiration for Begin. Menachem Begin was the leader of the underground movement, the Irgun, that fought for Israeli independence in the 1940s. He became a follower of Vladimir Jabotinsky, the founder of the nationalist Zionist movement. During WWII, he was exiled by the Soviets. Begin found his way to Palestine while serving in the Polish army. After arriving in Palestine, he became one of the leaders of the Irgun. Begin's Irgun battled not only with the English but also with the predecessor to the Israeli Army, the Haganah. Once Israel declared its independence, Begin joined forces with the Haganah and avoided a power struggle and civil war. For anyone that believes Israel was handed to the Jewish people on a silver platter, this book provides a good representation of the fights the early leaders had.

This book reads like a narrative, as if you are Avner working alongside the prime ministers – a bit gossipy and revealing as well. The Prime Ministers is the first and only insider account of Israeli politics from the founding of the Jewish State to the near-present day. This book brings readers into the orbits of world figures, including Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Written in a captivating literary style by Avner, a political adviser, speechwriter and diplomat, The Prime Ministers is an enthralling political memoir, and a precisely crafted prism through which to view current Middle East affairs.

This book provides valuable insights into many of the key events and personalities in the history of Israel.

As I read The Prime Ministers I kept feeling as if I was reading the day's newspaper. What do I mean? The issues, personalities, and challenges of Israel, the US, and the Arab world as described in this historical memoir are the same today as they were years ago. If only policy makers and others would read this book they might avoid many of the mistakes they are repeating these days.

These three books represent different aspects of Israel’s history, but all help explain the situation that resides currently. The Balfour Declaration examined the various actors in the early 1900s that were key players in the public and private fight over the small strip of land in the Middle East. This is the only book that represents various sides of the conflict. Despite this, the information Schneer presents does not negate anything brought up in the other books about Israel’s legitimacy. The Prime Ministers introduced the actual formation of Israel, noting what was going on in the minds of the heads of state. The inclusion of the Haganah is helpful to show that the Israelis had to fight for the state – and they didn’t fight Arabs, they fought the British. Essentially, The Prime Ministers and The Balfour Declaration bring up an idea: perhaps much of the Palestinians’ current hatred should be directed towards the British, I believe. Saving Israel seemed to reinvent Zionism for me, and re-created the conversation about why the Jewish people need a state and to ask what they are willing to do to preserve it.

The key facts and insights these books provide advance our understanding of Israel's history or politics today. Many people think that the violent actions that both Israelis and Palestinians take against one another can be explained - and perhaps even justified - by Israel’s history. None of these books discuss reasons for present day violence in the region. But like any country, whether it’s the US or another state, Israel has a right to defend itself. Israel's most southern cities have been hit with thousands upon thousands of rockets in the span of years from Hamas in Gaza. Had the US been in this situation, we would have retaliated as well. But who knows if we would have dropped fliers and warnings on the towns we were striking to warn civilians to evacuate, like Israel does.

Other people wonder if we can use history to predict the future – will this conflict ever be resolved? I don't know if I believe that the conflict will ever fully be laid to rest but I do believe that the two nations coming to a two-state solution is possible. The reason I believe it is possible now, rather than, say, two months ago, is because of the recent release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was held by Hamas for 5+ years. This release was made possible by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. However, in this instance, the Israelis traded over 1000 Palestinian convicted prisoners for this one soldier, because of Israel's commitment to its people. Because Hamas does not have leverage anymore in terms of negotiating for release of more prisoners (because they know longer have proof of a living captive Israeli), I believe that Israeli soldiers are in greater danger than normal. With that said, if Israel and Palestinians begin real peace talks again soon, Israel will not be as lenient when it comes to putting its people, and its land - its state - in danger of being lost. If a solution is established, though, I don't know if the "strife" will ever disappear. Take the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt in the Camp David Accords. These promoted peace between the two, but when I was in Egypt just before the Arab Spring, I experienced many uncomfortable situations from my tour guide and civilians I talked to about my Jewish heritage and my recent volunteering in Israel. There is definitely a difference between forming a state for the Palestinian people and forming a new state of mind for reconciliation and understanding.