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Jabotinsky (Jewish Lives) by [Hillel Halkin]

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Hillel Halkin

Jabotinsky (Jewish Lives) Kindle Edition

by Hillel Halkin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940) was a man of huge paradoxes and contradictions and has been the most misunderstood of all Zionist politicians--a first-rate novelist, a celebrated Russian journalist, and the founder of the branch of Zionism now headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. This biography, the first in English in nearly two decades, undertakes to answer central questions about Jabotinsky as a writer, a political thinker, and a leader. Hillel Halkin sets aside the stereotypes to which Jabotinsky has been reduced by his would-be followers and detractors alike.

Halkin explains the importance of Odessa, Jabotinsky’s native city, in molding his character and outlook; discusses his novels and short stories, showing the sometimes hidden connections between them and Jabotinsky’s political thought, and studies a political career that ended in tragic failure. Halkin also addresses Jabotinsky’s position, unique among the great figures of Zionist history, as both a territorial maximalist and a principled believer in democracy. The author inquires why Jabotinsky was often accused of fascist tendencies though he abhorred authoritarian and totalitarian politics, and investigates the many opposed aspects of his personality and conduct while asking whether or not they had an ultimate coherence. Few figures in twentieth-century Jewish life were quite so admired and loathed, and Halkin’s splendid, subtle book explores him with empathy and lucidity.

Length: 257 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mr. Halkin's book presents [Jabotinsky] in all his hardheaded but humane complexity."—Douglas J. Feith, Wall Street Journal
"Concise and highly readable."—Daniel Tauber, Jerusalem Post
"A revelatory exploration of Vladimir Jabotinsky."—Colin Shindler, Jewish Chronicle
"Halkin’s exquisite translation strikingly reveals the personal side of a man so often vilified in the press for his uncompromising political stands. In a similar way, Halkin’s literary criticism offers unparalleled insights into little known aspects of Jabotinsky’s career, and his discussion of the Jabotinsky’s novel, The Five . . . is probably the best analysis of the novel to date."—Louis Gordon,Times of Israel
"The author uses Jabotinsky’s literary works to analyze his character. At the outset, Halkin describes for the reader the problems of Eastern European Jewry, while creating a link to Jabotinsky and events that influenced and shaped his views. In so doing, he creates a broad perspective on Jabotinsky’s character and the events in his life. The book is unique in that Halkin enables readers to understand the link between Jabotinsky’s literary writings, his political ideas, and his lifestyle."—Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs
“A well-written, passionate survey of Jabotinsky’s life and contributions to political Zionism.”—Jeffrey Veidlinger, Marginalia Blog, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Hillel Halkin has done the impossible: He has gracefully condensed the story of this complex tragic figure into a page-turner that is at once concise and a rattling good read."—FrontPage Magazine
"Given the war, or rather, wars, roiling the Middle East, this is a particularly good time to rethink the legacy of Zionist leader Vladmir Jabotinsky, as Hillel Halkin invites readers to do in his compact and evocative new biography."—Harvey Blume, Arts Fuse
"For many, [this book] will open up a man and his ideas whose influence is still felt today and who had an important role in the ideological struggles that shaped the Zionist movement and the modern Jewish state."—Chicago Jewish Star
"[An] excellent biography . . . Halkin, an award-winning writer, critic, and translator, sets Jabotinsky, who was born in 1880, in the context of his time."—Jacob Heilbrunn, Washington Monthly
"A beautifully written short biography of an exceedingly interesting man: a novelist, translator, poet, playwright, journalist, polemicist, and probably the most remarkable public speaker in modern Jewish life. Halkin’s account of him is credible and vivid."—Avishai Margalit, New York Review of Books
"An intellectually deep book which is insightful and historic – and worthwhile reading for anyone interested in Zionist history and the life of a great Jewish hero. Every Jewish library needs a copy of Jabotinsky: A Life By Hillel Halkin."—San Diego Jewish World
"Remarkable . . . Deftly traces and provides new insight into Jabotinsky's journey from Odessa childhood to Italian University dandy to renowned journalist to Zionist icon. Reading Halkin's book confirms Jabotinsky’s place as the 20th century’s most prescient Jewish political thinker."—Jewish Week Well-Versed Blog
"This is certainly the one volume to read about the life of Vladimir Jabotinsky and is accessible to a wide audience interested in learning more about one of the foundational personalities of modern Zionism."—Association of Jewish Libraries
"It requires a subtle understanding of both letters and politics to assess Jabotinsky’s moral imagination, literary core, and strategic vision. Fortunately, Hillel Halkin … is equal to the task."—Jeremy Rozansky, Claremont Review of Books
--This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Hillel Halkin is a writer, critic, and translator. He is the author of Letters to an American Jewish Friend and Yehuda Halevi, both of which won the National Jewish Book Award. His most recent book is Melisande! What Are Dreams? He lives in Israel. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

File size : 9362 KB
Print length : 257 pages
ASIN : B00K1FXOM0
Publication date : May 27, 2014
Word Wise : Enabled
Publisher : Yale University Press (May 27, 2014)
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Language: : English
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #392,719 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #245 in History of Israel & Palestine
- #552 in Historical Middle East Biographies
- #795 in Israel & Palestine History (Books)

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The Prophet

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2014

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Hillel Halkin brings to life in a short and very readable biography, the story of Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940), the founder of Revisionist Zionism. Jabotinsky was far from the prototypical Zionist of the early 20th Century. Being born in the cosmopolitan port city of Odessa, he was far from the shtetls of Poland and Russia. He was far from religious and didn’t really like living in the Palestine of the 1920s.

Nevertheless he was extraordinarily clear-eyed about the future of Zionism. Jabotinsky understood:
• The real need for Jewish Legion to assist in the British invasion of Ottoman Palestine thereby establishing the first organized Jewish fighting force in nearly 2000 years.
• The local Arab population would not be passive to a surge in Jewish immigration. He leads in the formation of the Haganah out of the remnants of the Jewish Legion. The Haganah was the forerunner of today’s Israel Defense Forces.
• The Nazi nightmare would wipe out European Jewry and urged the Jewish community to pack up and leave. He supplied chartered steamers to illegally transport Jews to Palestine.
• The Israeli economy organized along the socialist lines of Labor Zionism would not be viable and urged more market oriented policies.

Halkin discusses in great detail Jabotinsky’s long time and very acrid rivalry with David Ben Gurion. They fought each other for control of the Zionist Organization in the 1930s. To put it mildly they did not like each other and Ben Gurion prevented Jabotinsky’s reburial in Israel until after he stepped down as prime minister in 1964.

A failing of the book is that Halkin expends too many words on Jabotinsky the journalist and the writer and not enough on his leading his Revisionist Zionist group and his founding of Betar, its youth group. Menachem Begin was so inspired by Jabotinsky that he joined and became a leader of Betar. Nevertheless I would recommend “Jabotinsky” for those readers who want to go beyond the standard Labor Zionist version of the founding of the State of Israel. A great companion piece would be Daniel Gordis’, “Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel’s Soul.”

21 people found this helpful

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Eric Maroney

Right-Wing Prophet

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2015

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Jabotinsky, a life, explores the life and work of Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940). All too often in Zionist studies, Jabotinsky and the movement he created, Revisionist Zionism, is given short shrift in the official narrative of the creation of the State of Israel. In fact many of his very early pronouncements on the struggle between Jews and Arabs in Palestine have proven to be prophetically true, and his political descendants have more or less ruled Israel since the late 1970s.

Hillel Harkin wants to set the record straight in this biography, showing that Jabotinsky was not quite the Jewish fascist which his opponents claimed. Rather, he was a man of many dramatic and self-contradictory impulses. An ardent Zionist nationalist, he lived in Palestine on and off, but appeared to prefer the cosmopolitan life of Paris to the rustic Holy Land. He fought hard for a robust, military Zionism, one expressed in the armed wing of his movement, the Irgun, but he was against tit-for-tat revenge attaches by Jews upon Arabs and urged restraint. He was not nearly as radical as the organization he helped found.

This is an excellent book to read it you want to get at the bedrock foundation of right wing Israel politics. Jabotinsky is the political father of Bibi Netanyahu, yet, as Harkin points out, it is difficult to say if Jabotinsky, if he was alive today, would have agreed with all the policies and opinions of those on the Israel right. He was far too independent minded and worldly to take narrow or parochial views on most geopolitical. He could embrace the little picture while keeping an eye on the wider field of events. His successors appear to lack this vital trait, to their detriment.

6 people found this helpful

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Herman Rosen HERMAN ROSEN

WELL WRITTEN AND INTERESTING

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2019

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I hardly knew anything about Jabotinsky but it seems he was a true Hero for Israel....He was not as far right
as many would have him and he was totally irreligious even going so far as to call him an agnostic.
Today we see Israel becoming more and more religious to the point of physically attacking Gays.
Anyhow the book is informative about the early history of Zionism...and the major part played by Jabotinsky'
I think if he was alive today he would have his own political party

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Yitzhak HaLevy

Required reading for student of Zionism

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015

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I would give this book 5 stars as a historical resource and less than three stars if I was ranking it as an enjoyable read. This book reads as more of an academic dissertation and requires a level of focus to really work your way through it. True, I discovered many new things about Ze'ev that I never knew before including how much he differed from Theodore Herzl and some of the other founders of Israel and how close the Zionist movement came to imploding during it's earlier years. However, I didn't find reading it very enjoyable.

If you have a keen interest of the giants of Israel's foundation and absolutely buy this book. You'll find it well researched and well laid out but beware, it takes effort to read.

3 people found this helpful

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Harold Reisman

A True Hero of Israel

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2015

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A very well written (but a bit too concise) biography of a man that is discounted in Israel...for the reason that he was correct most of the time and his predictions came true while others dithered and "negotiated". The reader will learn why his body was not allowed to be transferred from the US (where he died) to Israel until a key person's death there. This should be must reading for anyone who has an interest in the history and future of Israel. One of the true founding fathers of the state.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Jabotinsky

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2014

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This is the biography of a man who is not well known to most people who are interested in the leadership leading to the establishment of the State of Israel. He was the leader of the opposition of the main Zionist group. Yet he was more correct in predicting how events would eventually occur. The epilogue of the book explains this very well. This book is amazing in explaining all of the little things that caused his development. The book is very good in explaining his many geniuses.

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SupDoc

A passionate, erudite, well-researched biograph

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2019

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An extremely well-researched book that dives into the life, letters, and philosophy of the man. Highly recommended.

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Jane Gerson

Original biography that gives new perspective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2016

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Gives an intriguing new insight into Jaobotinsky's personality and motivations. This is an accessible and sympathetic portrayal of a complex and talented man who maybe, in the end, missed his true vocation as a writer. The book itself is a lovely thing.

Emilia Mori

Jabotinsky: A Life

Reviewed in Italy on May 10, 2015

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Hillel Halkin è uno scrittore meraviglioso, perfettamente bilingue si disimpegna magistralmente fra l'ebraico e l'inglese, la sua lingua madre e tutto il materiale contenuto nel libro è stato rivisto e tradotto da lui personalmente.
La tanto contrastata figura di Jabotinsky esce qui piena di umanità, geniale, dal punto di vista artistico e alla fine tragica.
Il libro dovrebbe essere letto da tutti quelli che considerano Jabotinsky "fascista" e reazionario. A tutti quelli che pensano che Israele è un paese che opprime un altro popolo, consiglio di leggere attentamente questo prezioso e illuminante piccolo libro. Forse alla fine avranno qualche pregiudizio di meno.

One person found this helpful

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C. G. W. Nicholls

An important life

Reviewed in Canada on June 13, 2014

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A clearly written account of a figure very important in the history of Zionism, now less remembered. His ideogy was very influential on later leaders

One person found this helpful