A Durable Peace: Israel and its Place Among the Nations [Hardcover]

Benjamin Netanyahu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2000

This examination of the Middle East's troubled history traces the origins, development and politics of Israel's relationship with the Arab world and the West. It argues that peace with the Palestinians will leave Israel vulnerable to Iraq and Iran.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Benjamin Netanyahu's primer on pro-Israel politics is an updated version of an earlier book, A Place Among the Nations. There's a good reason for the revision, of course: in the years since the first book was published, Netanyahu has served as the prime minister of Israel. Yet A Durable Peace is not a stale politician's memoir. It's a resounding plea for Israel's acceptance as a full member of the world community, as well as a call for understanding its unique security needs.

Netanyahu displays his knack--perfect for the television era but also helpful on these pages--for channeling complex ideas into pithy statements. Here's Netanyahu on the importance of Israel to the Jewish people: "If there had been a Jewish state in the first half of the [20th] century, there would have been no Holocaust. And if there had not been a Jewish state after the Holocaust, there would have been no Jewish future." On the need for Arab concessions in the peace process: "For the sake of peace, [the Arab states] must renounce their claims to part of the four ten-thousandths--.0004--of the lands they desire, which constitute the very heart of the Jewish homeland and the protective wall of the Jewish state." These are the statements of a skilled debater, and they represent a one-sided view of Middle Eastern politics. Yet Netanyahu also provides an excellent introduction to Zionism and the need to protect a small country against neighbors who have waged war against it. --John J. Miller

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1ST edition (January 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446523062
• ISBN-13: 978-0446523066
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > History > Asia > Far East

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Demolishes Anti-Israel Myths February 4, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Benjamin Netanyahu's book - newly updated to cover his time as Israeli Prime Minister - is the best defence in print against the anti-Israel slurs which are so widespread nowadays. With powerful prose and extensive documentation, the author demonstrates that the main obstacle to peace is and always has been the determination of Arab nationalist leaders to destroy both the sovereignty and population of the State of Israel.

Subjects discussed include Arab military attacks in 1948, 1967, and 1973; the terrorist and fascist nature of the PLO; Israel's legal and historic claims to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, and their vital military importance; the intifada and the peace process; and the current rewriting of history to present aggressors as victims and victims as aggressors.

This book is essential for anyone interested in the Middle East, and no-one should form an opinion about this troubled region without reading it.

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward presentation of the truth December 5, 2001

By Gary Selikow

Format:Hardcover

This honest , well balanced and comprehensive account of the circumstances in which Israel finds itself is essential for anyone interested in the truth about the Middle East .One by one Benjamin Neyanyahu strips away the lies that have come to characterise the unjust and hostile views in the world today about Israel and the Palestinians.Taking us the the history of the country we learn how the link of the Jewish people to the Promised Land has remained strong throughout history, how there have always been Jews living in Israel and that in period between the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and the creation of the modern Zionist movement there was always a significant Jewish presence
He explains how Britain and the world agreed to a Jewish homeland in the whole of Palestine which consisted of what is today Jordan , the West Bank (Judeo and Samaria) and the rest of Israel and 80% was cut off and awarded to the Arabs in 1922 creating the Hashemite Kingdom Jordan hence already giving the Palestinians their state?
Why should Israel which only consists of 20% of mandatory Palestine be further cut in half to create a second Palestinian state and a 22nd Arab nation
It is impossible to cover all the worthwhile points illustrated in this book but we also learn how there never was a Palestinian nation and the name Palestinian was only adopted in recent decades as distinct identity among Arabs
He points out the double standards prevalent in the world today,a world which so strongly condemns the only democracy in the middle East for surviving while turning a blind eye to the horrific human rights abuses in the Arab world (and elsewhere):

'This is the root of the infamous , twisted standard by which the Arabs remain completely blameless for expelling hundreds of thousands of people -as Saudi Arabia did to its Yemenis in 1990 and Kuwait did to its Palestinians in 1991- while Israel is excoriated for deporting a cadre of terrorists or by which Israel is condemned for maintaining the presence of a few hundred soldiers in a six mile sliver of Lebanon while Syria annexes almost the entire rest of the same country ;or by which Saudi Arabia and Jordanian apartheid laws forbidding Jewish residence go unnoticed ; while Israel , whose Arab citizens are freer than those of Arab states , is accused of racism for quelling riots'

He explains how anti-Israel sentiments are a result of a wider hatred of the West and a ll it stands for like democracy , freedom and Judaeo-Christian values.While one is left with frustration at the gross injustice of the hate campaign -stronger today than ever- against Israel - he also leaves the reader with hope as he explains how Israel CAN prevail and how REAL peace can be achieved.His knowledge and straightforward presentation of the truth is a pleasure to read

64 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Commanding Authority On Israel's Position November 10, 2001

By Henry Oliner VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu compiles a history of the developments in Israel to make a clear, almost obvious, picture of the issues Israel faces in its conflicts. It is not enough that Israel has built a nation against all odds that is the sole model of a successful democracy in the Middle East; it still faces intended annihilation from fundamentalist regimes that are today unfettered by even the restraint of the old Soviet empire. Radical regimes are actively seeking nuclear weaponry to exterminate the great Zionist experiment.

The book makes an excellent reference work on the current Middle East politics. The Maps and Appendixes pinpoint the logic of the requirements to assure Israel's peace and security.

Netanyahu's writing is clear and intelligent. His perspectives are from the common soldier and citizen to the top power structures. His knowledge goes beyond the events and the people; offering clarity to differences in politics and culture and how they affect the solution to a durable peace.

While sharply analyzing the issues and Israel's successes, his most important point is that it is not enough for Israel to win militarily; they must also win politically. Israel has done poorly on this front compared to the Arab countries and the Palestinians. It probably explains Netanyahu's frequent appearances on US TV and media forums. This book successfully debunks so many of the myths of the Palestinian and Israeli issues we have come to accept as fact in much of the western press.

For those who support Israel's right to exist and want to have a commanding authority on the history and realities to assure their security, you will not find a better source.