The Birth of Israel, 1945-1949
Ben-Gurion and His Critics
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University Press of Florida
Published:31st Mar '03
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Here, Joseph Heller tells the story of the complex and often conflicting political calculations that led directly to the founding of the independent Jewish state of Israel in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. Examining the positions of many competing parties, he explains how and why the charismatic David Ben-Gurion prevailed: by shrewdly maneuvering between radical extremes on the left and on the right, he says, Ben-Gurion managed to steer a successful middle-of-the-road policy in favour of partition. Heller also describes the vital links between the internal and external factors in the post-war Zionist movement. He places events in the context of wider Cold War calculations to explain why much of Israel's early military and diplomatic support came - surprisingly - from the Soviet Union, while the United States assumed a neutral position in order not to offend its British ally. In addition, Heller investigates early and ongoing conflicts with neighbouring Arab nations for their influence on Israel's foundation. Through research in a range of archives, diplomatic protocols, diaries and other sources, he provides both Middle East scholars and general readers with a balanced account of the historical and contemporary problems and solutions that continue to influence the region's ongoing peace process.
"Provides a useful guide through the conflicting narratives provoking such intense debate today in Israel. Immeasurably improves our understanding of events that are all too often seized only by the imagination and heart and not fully by the mind." - Digest of Middle East Studies; "A worthy contribution to the continuing, sometimes animated debate, among academics, who have used the large variety of archival records to reevaluate Israel's establishment. A thought-provoking book which should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict." - Middle East Journal
ISBN: 9780813026473
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
400 pages