The 33-Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences [Paperback]

Gilbert Achcar (Author), Michel Warschawski (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1594514097 | ISBN-13: 978-1594514098 | Publication Date: February 28, 2007

Up to date through the events of October, 2006, this book assesses the causes and consequences of the impact on the recent Middle East war. The authors describe the popular basis of Hezbollah in Lebanon among the Shiites, but also its relation to the country's other religious communities and political forces. They analyze the regional roles of Syria, Iran, and Hamas as well as the politics of the United States and Europe. The book dissects the strategic and political background behind recent actions taken by Israel; the impact of Israel's incursion into Lebanon and effects on Lebanon's population' and the consequences of the war on Israel polity and society. Throughout the years, Lebanon has confirmed its stance as Israel's vietnam: the last war provoked the most serious political earthquake that Israel ever experienced sinse the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...an unusual comprehension of the facts of international politics. --Le Monde Diplomatique on Gilbert Achcar

Warschawski is not the Israeli left s only border runner, but his fellow-travelers are few. --The London Review of Books on Michel Warschawski --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Gilbert Achcar, who lived in Lebanon for many years before moving to France, now teaches politics and international relations at the University of Paris. He is the author of several books on contemporary politics and is a frequent contributor to Le Monde Diplomatique. Michel Warschawski, a veteran journalise and peace activist, founded the Alternative Information Center in Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Israli news organization that disseminaties information, research, and political analysis on Palistinian and Israel societies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Paradigm Publishers (February 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594514097
• ISBN-13: 978-1594514098
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,373,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Political Review of the 33 Day War, September 3, 2007

By 

Munawar Ali "Munawar - blog.munawarali.com" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 33-Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences (Paperback)

When I picked this book up, I was hoping for a chronological review of the war. This was not forth coming, and unfortunatly (as of 2007), a review of this war is not available anywhere in print, except possibly Wikipedia.

This book is a political review of the war. Why it started, the goals, outcomes and conclusions. The authors are blatantly pro-Hezbollah in their writing, and do not attempt to present the Israeli side of the war. I'm fine with that, but others may not find it palatable.

Overall, I learned a bit, but I do have to state, that I found some conclusions rather amateurish. I believe this book should be used as a side interlude or manual, in an overall study of the Political History of the MidEast.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Israel receiving heavy fire of criticism, September 2, 2007

By 

Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The 33-Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences (Paperback)

Gilbert Achcar and Michel Warschawski's book, is very critical toward Israel and its policy and strategy and it doesn't hesitate to point out some very annoying and interesting facts regarding this country's relationship with the US. A poll of the 'Arab street' conducted after the war found that Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah was the most popular political figure in the region. The most unpopular figure, President Bush, had broadcast his private beliefs by mistake six days into the conflict. The US government was refusing to join the EU and UN in calling for a ceasefire, saying Israel must be allowed to root out the 'A-team of terrorists'. The degree of ignorance in Bush's formulation is made clear in this dry but penetrating book. The self-proclaimed pacifist academics (one from Lebanon, one from Israel) paint a picture of an exceptionally complex and politically fluid Lebanon, the most religiously and ethnically mixed country in the region, racked by a 15-year civil war (the book is mainly a political story of the 2006 war). Hezbollah was born in this period and became the force best equipped to resist Israel's occupation of the country's south, eventually driving them out in 2000. Although Hezbollah is funded by Iran and Syria and receives its armaments via the Syrian border, it is a broadly independent organisation which runs schools, hospitals and social services in south Lebanon and enjoys huge support there, not only among the Shias, Lebanon's largest sect. Hezbollah enjoys far greater autonomy and popular support than characterised in the neocon world view.

Looking at Israel, the authors draw the controversial conclusion that its recent military failings (although this is not a military history book and the reader who is looking for details of the tactics and the battles will be rather disappointed) and willingness to kill Lebanese civilians stem from the same source: a 'colonial' inability to respect their adversary. In former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's words, Israel is 'the modern and prosperous villa in the jungle' of the Middle East, and Israel now formulates its fight for survival as a battle of civilisation versus brutality. This concept is used to justify the apparent imbalance in the value of Arab and Israeli life, which, incidentally, cuts both ways. Hence 429 Hezbollah prisoners were exchanged for one kidnapped Israeli businessman in 2004 and in last summer's conflict, the civilian body count was 1,070 Lebanese and 43 Israelis. While Hezbollah leads the reconstruction effort in south Lebanon and digs a new set of fortifications, and Israel tops up on bunker-busters ready for the next round, this book makes it clear that the region's increased stock of fear is keeping no one safe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Objective book on the 33 day war in Lebanon, December 8, 2009

By 

Eleftheria Kama "EleftheriaKama" (Greece France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 33-Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences (Paperback)

Reading now all other readers' reviews; I really wonder whether we have actually read the same book. I have read quite a bit books I considered highly pro-Hezbollah but this is definitely not one of them.

The authors analyse the causes of such a war in Lebanon; its consequences in the Lebanese society and the support and respect Hezbollah has within it (which is actually true).

It moreover refers to the role foreign politics of Iran, Syria, Europe, the United States have played in this war and the negative effects such a war had in Israel itself.

Brief, precise, concise and mainly objective.

Well written and recommended.