Synopses & Reviews
The history of modern Israel is a story of ambition, violence, and survival.
Return to Zion traces how a scattered and statelessand#160;people reconstituted themselves in their traditional homeland, only to face threats by those who, during the many years of the dispersion, had come to regard the land as their home. This is a story of the and#8220;ingathering of the exilesand#8221; from Europe to an outpost on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire, of courage and perseverance, and of reinvention and tragedy.
and#160;Eric Gartman focuses on two main themes of modern Israel: reconstitution and survival. Even as new settlers built their state, they faced constant challenges from hostile neighbors and divided support from foreign governments, being attacked by larger armies no fewer than three times during the first twenty-five years of Israeland#8217;s history. Focusing on a land torn by turmoil, Return to Zion is the story of Israeland#8212;the fight for independence through the Israeli Independence War in 1948, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the near-collapse of the Israeli Army in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
and#160;Gartman examines the roles of the leading figures of modern Israeland#8212;Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Yitzchak Rabin, and Ariel Sharonand#8212;alongside popular perceptions of events as they unfolded in the postand#8211;World War II decades. He presents declassified CIA, White House, and U.S. State Department documents that detail Americaand#8217;s involvement in the 1967 and 1973 wars, as well as proof that the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty was a case of mistaken identity. Return to Zion pulls together the myriad threads of this history from inside and out to create a seamless look into modern Israeland#8217;s truest self.
Review
and#8220;There have been many hundreds of books for and against Israel but no volume presenting the essential information about its domestic politics, its society, as well as its cultural life and its economy. This gap has now been filled.and#8221;and#8212;Walter Laqueur,and#160;author ofand#160;A History of Zionism
Review
"[An] essential resource for readers interested in learning the truth about the Zionist project in the 20th and 21st centuries."and#8212;Sol Stern, Commentary
Review
and#8220;Offering in-depth perspectives with encyclopedic breadth on the makeup of the Jewish state, focusing only briefly on Israel's struggle for self-preservation. The section "History" provides a masterful summary of Israel's past from its socialist beginnings before independence to the modern struggles with the Iranian regime. . . .and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
and#8220;A well-written portrait of a vibrant nation at the center of turmoil in the region.and#8221;and#8212;Jay Freeman, Booklist
Review
"It is indeed just a starting point, but Israel: An Introduction, if disseminated among our universities to the extent it deserves, will at least allow students of the Middle East and of Jewish history to start off on the right foot. A glimpse into the real Israel may do more for the future of U.S.-Israeli relations than any amount of rhetoric ever could."and#8212;Daniel Perez, Jewish Voice New York
Review
and#8220;Hatemail, with its powerful visuals and brief explanations that contextualize these visuals, is a work to be treasured. It is also one to be dreaded and feared.and#8221;and#8212;Michael Berenbaum, director of the Sigi Ziering Institute at American Jewish University and author of Not Your Fatherand#8217;s Anti-Semitism
Review
and#8220;Among the best ways to determine the nature and degree of bigotry in a society is through its popular folk culture, and there are few better sources of such culture than picture postcards. As a postcard collector myself, I can only marvel at what Salo Aizenberg has collected in this volume. These remarkable postcards will make you laugh, cry, and clench your fist in anger.and#8221;and#8212;Alan Dershowitz, author of The Trials of Zion
Review
"These postcards are a powerful and disturbing reminder that hatred can be as marketable as a commodity as a scenic view."and#8212;Historical Novels Review
Review
"Hatemail is highly recommended for academic libraries and synagogues. The pictures also may be suitable for high school libraries as a classroom supplement."and#8212;Association of Jewish Libraries Review Newsletter
Review
"This book belongs in the collection of any library interest in Judaica cultural studies, the history of hate speech, and media studies in general."and#8212;Steven M. Wasserstrom, Oregon Historical Quarterly
Review
andquot;This is a book that teaches us how easy it was to spread hatred in the absence of critical thinking and questioning. This is a lesson for us all that we ignore at our own peril.andquot;andmdash;Marty Zelenietz,
Israel PhilatelistReview
andldquo;Highly readable and engaging; a persuasive effort to explain the story of Israelandmdash;what happened and why. New data from declassified U.S. documents are welcome and illuminating.andrdquo;andmdash;Daniel Mandel, ZOA Center for Middle East Policy and author of H. V. Evatt and the Establishment of Israel
Review
andldquo;Those non-specialists and younger readers seeking a . . . clear introduction into the dramatic rise, existential vicissitudes, and heroic accomplishments of the State of Israel will find Eric Gartmanandrsquo;s book ideal for their purposes.andrdquo;andmdash;Howard Sachar, professor emeritus at George Washington University and author of A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time
Review
andquot;A thorough, proficient overview that quietly hums a pro-Jewish tune.andquot;andmdash;Kirkus
Synopsis
An accessible and wide-ranging introduction to Israel--its history, people, culture, and more This comprehensive book provides a well-rounded introduction to Israel--a definitive account of the nation's past, its often controversial present, and much more. Written by a leading historian of the Middle East, Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. The only available volume to offer such a complete account, this book is written for general readers and students who may have little background knowledge of this nation or its rich culture.
Based on research by scholars with extensive firsthand knowledge of Israel, this book offers accessible, clearly explained material, enhanced with a generous selection of images, maps, charts, tables, graphs, and sidebars. This book provides readers with a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel and provides useful reference lists by topic for those inspired to read further.
Synopsis
This comprehensive book provides a well-rounded introduction to Israeland#8212;a definitive account of the nation's past, its often controversial present, and much more.and#160;Written by a leading historian of the Middle East,
Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. The only available volume to offer such a complete account, this book is written for general readers and students who may have little background knowledge of this nation or its rich culture.
Based on research byand#160;scholars with extensive firsthand knowledge of Israel, this book offers accessible, clearly explained material, enhanced with a generous selection of images, maps, charts, tables, graphs, and sidebars. This book provides readers with a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel and provides useful reference lists by topic for those inspired to read further.
Synopsis
Today e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter are sometimes used to spread hateful messages and slurs masking as humor. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries postcards served this purpose. The images collected in this volume make it painfully clear that anti-Semitic propaganda did not simply begin with the Nazis. Nor was it the sole province of politicians, journalists, and rabble-rousers. One of the most virulent forms of anti-Semitism during this time was spread by quite ordinary people through postcards. Of the millions of postcards exchanged during their heyday of 1890 through 1920, a considerable percentage carried the anti-Semitic images that publishers churned out to meet public demand, reflecting deep-seated attitudes of society.
Over 250 examples of such postcards, largely from the pre-Holocaust era, are reproduced here for the first timeand#8212;selected, translated, and historically contextualized by one of the worldand#8217;s foremost postcard collectors. Although representing but a small sample of the many thousands that were in print, these examples nonetheless offer a disturbing glimpseand#8212;one shocking to the modern sensibilityand#8212;into the many permutations of anti-Semitism eagerly circulated by millions of people. In so doing, they help us to better understand a phenomenon still pervasive today.
and#160;
About the Author
Barry Rubin is professor and director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. He is also editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs and author of numerous books on the Middle East.