Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict (Paperback)

~ Obadiah Shoher (Author)
Key Phrases: oil infrastructure, asymmetric warfare, civilian losses, United States, Middle East, Saudi Arabia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book makes us re-think many issues, and for that it is definitely worth reading. -- Israel Hasbara Committee, Janurary 26, 2006

There's plenty of food for thought in this book, which, wrongheaded or not, is both open and fearless. -- Kirkus Discoveries, June 12, 2006

This is an extreme viewpoint well worth taking the time to examine. -- Postscript Publishing Company, August 1, 2006

Product Description

Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict, by Obadiah Shoher, abandons moralizing and ideological hubris to view Israeli-Muslim struggle in terms of raw realpolitik. Terrorism is historically normal mode of war. Israel must respect terrorists as efficient warriors - and kill them. Nuclear terrorism is unavoidable, and it will hit America before Israel. We must learn to tolerate and mitigate its damages. Shoher makes the case that only by shedding liberal idealism the West can win against Islamists. Espousing political rationalism, he deplores both Jewish and Muslim myths, and argues for efficiency and separating politics from moralism. The author's motto is, an eye for an eye.

Historical rights to land are fiction: Indians do not own the United States, and Arabs in their hearts will never accept Israel, a dhimmi infidel state. The Middle East will reject small Israel, and she can only survive by becoming big. Shoher demonstrates that Israel is militarily capable of annexing Saudi Arabian oilfields and North Lebanon.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847282180
• ISBN-13: 978-1847282187
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,219,398 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book worth reading, August 19, 2007

By	Martina Sprague (Utah) - See all my reviews

Regardless of whether or not one agrees with the mandate of a Jewish Israel with borders that expand into Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, this book is well worth reading. Of particular interest are the many possible solutions the author proposes for establishing Israel as a respected country in the region, and for bringing an end to the terrorist attacks. I found the suggestions regarding the need for a strong economy particularly insightful. Although some of the author's military ideas may seem a bit inhumane--for example, opinions will most certainly differ regarding the idea that civilians are fair game because they vote for the government and pay taxes that help support the war effort--as the author states, "war is not a competition in moral values" but should be pragmatic and swift in order to maintain popular support and prevent even greater future civilian casualties. The author's proposals are bold; however, it is questionable whether the consistent use of military force without regard for diplomacy and civilian lives can have a lasting positive effect. The author provides further interesting insights through the statement that Israelis provoked the war by trying to impose European ideas on an indigenous culture. In light of the Holocaust, however, it is unfortunate that some of the ideas presented in this book seem a bit Nazi-like. For example, the statement that women should not be drafted into combat because "girls should learn to be mothers," is almost verbatim Hitler's idea and does not befit a society that advocates democratic ideals. Another example is the Jews' desire to maintain a separate identity, "to live in an ethnically homogenous state without anyone else." This clannish behavior, for lack of a better word, might be at the heart of the suffering that Jews have had to endure for much of their history. On the other hand, the author does recognize that democracy and liberalism are difficult to come by in societies that do not share similar cultural values. A minor weakness of the book is the references to the Torah and what it dictates. Since virtually all religious people believe that their religion alone has value, religious references intended to justify a behavior tend to lead to dead ends and normally cannot be used successfully in logic argumentation. These references are also the cause of some confusion, since the author paradoxically states that it is "better to admit honestly that the historical parts of the Torah are not factual." The author deserves credit, however, for the analytical rather than emotional approach to the difficulties that Israel faces in the Middle East. The author sheds light on the complexity of many points, such as what constitutes Jewishness: Ethnic traits or religious standards? To whom should the state of Israel belong? The answers to these questions are not immediately apparent and need to undergo a great deal of analytical scrutiny. I would recommend this provocative study to anyone with an interest in conflict resolution and political world issues.

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Politically incorrect; A necessary discussion., May 23, 2006

By	C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Shoher presents a compelling argument for strengthening Israel's
position in the world through firm and decisive action. While I am
sure that there are relatively few people who will agree with
everything he suggests, he does do an excellent job of reasoning out
his arguments and provides citations and references for all of his
claims. Many parts of this book come off as extreme or racist, but
I think that it is good to get these ideas out in the open and
actually consider them as possibilities for action that could be taken by
Israel. Five stars for this one because I'm glad that someone has
the will to take these "extreme" ideas and put them to paper as well
thought out propositions. This debate has been going on for a long
time, and one way or another, action needs to be taken.. and this
book will surely help people reason out what that action should be.

Among the main premises of the book is that Jews should start
viewing and treating Islamic states as their enemies. This means
that otherwise drastic seeming actions could be carried out and that
Israel shouldn't feel bad about hurting or disabling Arabs. Shoher
proposes taking land by force and then expelling its inhabitants as
well as responding to terrorist attacks by blanket reprisals against
cities and governments. Many very interesting ideas are presented
here, including the selling of Israeli mercenaries to foreign powers
and bribing imams to teach more liberal ideals in order to compete
with Saudi Arabia's promotion of jihad. Also, ideas to promote
conflicts between Muslim states are discussed as well as other ways
to trick and fool the Muslim world into forgetting their common enemy
and focusing on others.

One thing that turned me off about this book personally, was
Shoher's rather European-like cynical view of America and its
reasons for doing things. Claiming that the West basically ignores
the accumulation of WMDs by Muslim states doesn't really hold up
under recent world events. America chose Iraq arbitrarily? I think
not. And it really isn't fair to compare the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq to proposed takeovers of Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, whereas
America has no interest in claiming lands of the Middle East as
their own and will not displace civilians with their own settlers.
But this book isn't about America, and I can understand Shoher's
misunderstanding of the goals and values of that great nation.

Shoher argues compellingly that the political game in Israel has
resulted in a country that cannot act forcefully one way or
another. When one political party acts, another is quick to follow
and reverse that action. Shoher believes that Israel must have a
debate and decide on what their course will be, isolationism or
aggressiveness towards their neighbors. When it is decided, commit
to that decision. Basically, stick with a plan and don't
vacillate. Fight for a clear objective and don't loose sight of
that goal. Weigh the costs and the benefits of actions, and when a
path is chosen, don't waver.

"Conflicts between states cannot be solved by palliatives but
require the credible threat of force."

5.0 out of 5 stars Samson Blinded Book, September 3, 2009

By	Mair Marty Maayan "book lover" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is very much to the point. Always logical even if it counters you sensibilities and past ideas.
Unfortunately I doubt that these ideas would be followed by the Israeli government.
No doubt though that if they were so followed much prolonged pain and suffering would be resolved much sooner.