Israel at Sixty

Deborah Hart Strober

Description

Based on extensive interviews, Israel at Sixty presents a balanced, comprehensive account of this complex and amazing land. It re-creates historic events from the actions of Israel's founding visionaries through the ravages of six wars with its Arab neighbors to its growing strength and international stature and efforts to make permanent peace with its adversaries. Complete with more than fifty previously unpublished photos, Israel at Sixty is a beautiful keepsake for anyone who loves, respects, and supports the Jewish state.

Sujets

• Middle Est
• Histoire
• Israel
• Palestine
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 février 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620458624
• Langue: English

Extrait

I SRAEL AT S IXTY
Also by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober
Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless: The Oral Biography
Billy Graham: A Narrative and Oral Biography
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Oral Biography
The Monarchy: An Oral Biography of Queen Elizabeth II
Reagan: The Man and His Presidency
Nixon: An Oral History of His Presidency
Let Us Begin Anew : An Oral History of the Kennedy Presidency
I SRAEL AT S IXTY
A Pictorial and Oral History of a Nation Reborn
D EBORAH H ART S TROBER AND G ERALD S. S TROBER
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2008 by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and composition by Navta Associates, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Strober, Deborah H. (Deborah Hart), date.
Israel at sixty : a pictorial and oral history of a nation reborn / Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-05314-0 (cloth)
1. Israel-History. 2. Arab-Israeli conflict. I. Strober, Gerald S. II. Title.
DS126.5.S77 2007
956.9405-dc22
2007026435
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In loving memory of our nephews David Adam Civan and Marc Samuel Hochstein
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chronology of the State of Israel
The Interviewees
I NTRODUCTION : The Ancient Land of Israel and the Modern Jewish State

P ART ONE From the Rise of Nazism to Postwar Efforts to Establish the Modern Jewish State
1 The Persecution of European Jewry and Finding Safe Havens
2 The Zionist Spirit of Sabras, the Ingathered Exiles, and the Diaspora Jews
3 Life and Politics in the Yishuv during the British Mandate
4 The Underground and the Battle to Oust the British

P ART T WO The Proclamation of the Jewish State and Its Upbuilding
5 May 14, 1948: Declarations of Independence and War
6 After the Celebration, War
7 The Ingathering of the Exiles and the Creation of Political and Social Institutions
8 Identification in the Diaspora with the New Jewish State
9 Israel s Political Leadership, Past and Present
10 Wars of Defense, Attrition, and Preemption
11 Redeeming Endangered Exiles

P ART T HREE Seismic Changes
12 May 1977: A Political and Demographic Earthquake
13 Sadat in Jerusalem and the Camp David Accords
14 Fighting Terrorism: Taking Controversial Actions to Ensure the Jewish State s Survival
15 Oslo and the Resulting Unthinkable Handshake

P ART F OUR New Realities
16 The Beginning of Palestinian Self-Rule
17 The Death or Incapacity of Potential Peacemakers
18 A Leadership Crisis and New Political Facts on the Ground

P ART F IVE Can Israel Survive?
19 Is Peace with Israel s Enemies Really Possible?
20 Challenges to Israel in the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century
21 Looking to the Future

Index
PREFACE
Sixty years after Israel s founding, new and ominous challenges loom on the Jewish State s near horizon, not the least of which include renewed fighting with Hezbollah and the threat posed by Iran s nuclear program.
Internally, Israelis confidence in their political leaders and institutions has been severely shaken by financial and sexual scandals involving the nation s former president, prime minister, former justice minister, tax authorities, and police. Of even graver concern is the sense that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the nation s protector since its first hours of statehood, has suffered a crisis of confidence as a result of its encounter with Hezbollah.
For those in the religious camp, comfort can be taken in the promise of the Psalmist that He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. For many of the 80 percent of the population on the other side of the religious-secular divide, there are renewed calls for changes in the country s political system, especially in the institution of a more representative, constituent-responsible legislature.
Taken against the context of more than three millennia of Jewish experience in the Land of Israel, sixty years would seem almost a biblical watch in the night. But what a sixty years they have been!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We could not have embarked on Israel at Sixty: An Oral History of a Nation Reborn without the willingness of our interviewees to share their recollections of life before and since May 14, 1948-in many cases, painful memories of persecution in Europe during the Holocaust on their way to redemption in the Jewish state.
Compiling a book that contains many photographs can be daunting. But thanks to the cooperation of the Israel Government Press Office and to individual interviewees who opened their albums to us, we believe that we have been well served. In the latter case, we especially appreciate the efforts of Deborah s brother, Joseph Hochstein, an American-born journalist and emigre to Israel, who assisted us as we made our way through the Press Office s vast visual archive, which contains notations written in Hebrew.
In the United States, we appreciate the assistance of our cousin Scott Strober, who facilitated our interview with his colleague Simcha Waisman.
While we conducted most of our interviews in the English language, in two instances, those of Matityahu Mati Drobles and Muki Betser, our interviewees preferred to be questioned and to respond in Hebrew. We wish to thank two Israelis who assisted us: Batia Leshem, translating for Mr. Drobles, and Joseph Hochstein, for Colonel Betser.
At John Wiley Sons, we wish to express our appreciation to our editor, Hana Lane, who responded to our suggestion that we include some photographs in our sixtieth anniversary tribute to the Jewish state, How about fifty? On the editorial side, we deeply appreciate Hana s excellent suggestions as she patiently guided us in condensing a century of history- pre- and postindependence-into a manageable manuscript. We also appreciate the efforts of assistant editor Camille Acker and production editor Kimberly Monroe-Hill.
We are truly fortunate in having a circle of friends who have supported us in all of our literary undertakings. They include Pauline and Morris Borsuk; Bonnie Cutler and her husband, Mark Heutlinger; Evelyn and Raphael Rothstein; Marcia and Rabbi A. James Rudin; Sarah and the late Ze ev Shiff; Florence and Harry Taubenfeld; Christine and Eric Valentine; Elaine and Martin Zuckerbrod; and Sheila and Herbert Zweibon.
And how could we have made it through these many months without the devotion of our family? We want to express our deep appreciation to our siblings and their partners, Judith and Dr. Mortimer Civan; Mindy and Myron Strober; Joseph Hochstein; and Ruth Hockstein, all of whom are deeply committed to the survival of the Jewish state.
Through our children, we are privileged to know and to count among our close friends in Israel, Dorrit and Meir Nocham, the parents of Jeremy s wife, Gabi; Daphne and Hummarde Sterling, the parents of Lori s husband, Bryan; and Gene Meyers, the father of Robin s friend Michelle, and Gene s wife, Jan Book.
Finally, we want to pay tribute to our beloved, always supportive children and their partners: Jeremy Benjamin and Gabi, the parents of Eyal Jonathan and Ran Michael; Lori and Bryan Sterling, the parents of Kai Wesley Philip and Marley Grace; Jonathan Strober; and Robin Strober and Michelle Meyers.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
1200 B.C.E. Jews arrive in the Land of Israel.
990 B.C.E. King David captures Jerusalem.
950 B.C.E. King Solomon builds the First Temple.
586 B.C.E. Babylonians destroy the Temple and take Jews into exile.
538 B.C.E. Jews return to Israel.
515 B.C.E. The Second Temple is built.
170-164 B.C.E. The Maccabean Revolt takes place.
63 B.C.E. Pompey a Roman general, conquers Jerusalem.
4 B.C.E. The birth of Jesus occurs.
66-70 C.E. Jerusalem and the Second Temple are destroyed following a Jewish revolt.
73 C.E. Masada falls.
132-135 C.E. Romans end the Bar Kochba revolt and send most Jews into exile.
1891-1903 The First Aliyah (immigration to Eretz Israel) takes place, following pogro