I read this book in preparation for my anticipated visit to Israel. I was richly rewarded by a very detailed history of Israel that told me the story behind many of the headlines I had some familiarity with and about much that I had no familiarity with. The book enhanced my understanding of a very complex nation. Professor Sachar quotes Theodore Herzel the father of Zionism in the beginning of the book. He cites a portion of Herzel’s book: The Jewish States.
“Jew-hatred was an ineluctable fact of life; it would not be wished away. Indeed, the Jewish question was neither social nor religious. It is a national question, and in order to solve it we must, before everything else, transform it into a political world question, to be answered in the council of civilized peoples.
We are a people-one people. We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted us. Only one solution remained. It was an exodus, a gathering together of the Jews from their worldwide dispersion into a land of their own. Political principle will provide the basis, technology the means, and the driving force will be the Jewish tragedy.”
Herzel published his book in 1896 and proved to be prescient in his vision. Europe became a death trap for Jews 40 years later. Palestine and later Israel became a life saving refuge for millions of Jews throughout the world. Professor Sachar’s book is a story of this miracle.
Professor Sachar goes into great detail about the difficulties involved in this achievement and the forces that opposed the creation and existence of Israel. Antipathy from the Arabs and countries that were hostile to the existence of the state because it might jeopardize the free flow of Arab oil. There were also conflicts within Israel: between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews; between religious and secular; between doves and hawks in dealing with the Arabs both within Israel and in the occupied territories.
It’s a long book; 1300 pages. However, because it is so well written it is a real page turner.
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- RSReviewed in Germany on January 8, 2023
The best written and most thorough history of Israel available. Look no further
