45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peace Beyond the Pale, April 15, 2001
The history of modern Israel is a search for security and peace -- an elusive, tragic search at best. Martin Gilbert's history can be viewed as slanted toward Israel, but that would miss his point, which is that Israelis have self-consciously wished for and worked for peaceful and fruitful co-existence with their neighbors and with the Palestinians from the beginning. Certainly, there have been grave misdeeds by Israelis (and Arabs) that have resulted in senseless loss of life. But if we go off on that track we will never see what Gilbert's point really means. What both sides would likely acknowledge is that the idea of peaceful coexistence has been more seriously entertained by Israelis than by Arabs -- Palestinian and otherwise. If this book is one-sided then it is so because because Gilbert has revealed this critical asymmetry in a way that has not been made clear before. The book is overflowing with details, anecdotes, portraits and asides that lend it an splendid depth. Yet the author never indulges himself in the sort of speculative forays that might confer color to his work at the expense of careful historical analysis. As a result, there is a critical neutrality toward the facts, with a minimum of bias, emotion or polemic. Perhaps the most emotional part of the book surrounds the events leading up to the assassination of Rabin, a masterful, moving account the whole world should read. Gilbert does not provide an argument for the Labor party or a brief against the Palestinians. Instead, he draws out the tragic dimension of a lost opportunity for peace in a part of the world where peace seems always beyond the pale. In the end, this is a hopeful, though sober and cautious work, and certainly not a book that favors one or the other side. It is a book that should be read by both sides, not with the aim of quibbling about who is represented more favorably, but to see how fragile is the chance for peace and how a knowledge of this brief history of Israel can aid in the efforts to bring about stability and justice for all in this long-suffering part of the world.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Primer, February 22, 2000
Being born in 1966 I grew up constantly hearing and seeing bits and pieces about Israel. This book has connected the dots for me, my view of Israel being permanently altered. The author's maps are many and excellent. At the top of each page he gives the corresponding year of that part of the narrative which I was constantly referring to in this fast moving history.
Make no mistake about it though, the author is pro-Labour and secular Jew, and at best not sympathetic to Likud or the religious Jews. My impression was that his vantage point was standing next to Ben-Gurion and Rabin, while Begin, Netanyahu and the religious Jews were over yonder, almost intruders.
He is very even with the Ashkenazi and Sephardi divide. Great book.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Point-of-view not an issue, July 27, 2006
Gilbert notes occasions in which Jewish leaders asked Arabs to remain in their villages (p. 172, for instance), and occasions in which the Arabs were effectively turned out (p. 218, for one). He recounts the efforts of several Arab leaders to induce Arab flight (p. 173, among others).
He graphically depicts the ugliness of the refugee movements (p. 218, etc).
He talks about Israeli looting (p. 220) and the States efforts to stamp it out.
He describes some solid military justifications for forcibly evacuating Arab villages (p. 177, and others).
He reveals the Israeli decisions to appropriate the land of Arab refugees for Jewish settlement(p. 256, etc), Jewish opposition to such measures (same page) and the enormous population pressure of incoming Jewish refugees which made such measures critical (p. 261, among others).
He documents the internal conflicts of the new State, including those within its divided armed forces (p. 211, and others). He shows self-serving division among Israel's Arab neighbors (pp. 241-242, etc).
He chronicles United States support for Israel (p. 445, 460) but also many occasions in which the United States pressured Israel on various issues, including withdrawing from occupied areas and accepting Arab refugees. (pp. 232, 255, 414, 457, 458).
None of the page lists is exhaustive, merely representative.
Gilbert glosses over nothing. He shows both sides of every question. He never tacitly accepts a simple solution to, or explanation for, a complex problem.
It is my opinion, having read the book, that any perception of favoritism toward Israel is actually an uncomfortable awareness (based on well-documented facts) that Israel, for all its mistakes, has been the victim of ingrained hatred and constant aggression, and that her successes have ultimately been the result of the dedication and brilliance of her own people.
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