Israel: A History

Description

Fleeing persecution in Europe, thousands of Jewish immigrants settled in Palestine after World War II. Renowned historian Martin Gilbert crafts a riveting account of Israel’s turbulent history, from the birth of the Zionist movement under Theodor Herzl to the unexpected declaration of its statehood in 1948, and through the many wars, conflicts, treaties, negotiations, and events that have shaped its past six decades—including the Six Day War, the Intifada, Suez, and the Yom Kippur War. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand source materials, eyewitness accounts, and his own personal and intimate knowledge of the country, Gilbert weaves a complex narrative that’s both gripping and informative, and probes both the ideals and realities of modern statehood. “Martin Gilbert has left us in his debt, not only for a superlative history of Israel, but also for a restatement of the classic vision of Zion, in which a Middle East without guns is not a bedtime story but an imperative long overdue. This is the vision for which Yitzhak Rabin gave his life. This book is tribute to his memory.” —Jonathan Sacks, The Times (London) A History Title Page Contents Preface Introduction 1 Ideals of statehood 2 Towards Zion 3 Beyond the Balfour Declaration, 1918–1929 4 Threats and dangers, 1929–1937 5 Hopes… and blows, 1937–1939 6 The Second World War, 1939–1945 7 The British Mandate continues, 1945–1946 8 Year of decision, 1947 9 Undeclared war, November 1947—April 1948 10 The conflict intensifies, April—May 1948 11 The War of Independence, May 1948 to the first truce 12 From the first truce to the second truce 13 From the second truce to the armistice agreements 14 The last four months of the war 15 The ingathering of the exiles 16 Conflicts and achievements, 1952–1955 17 Paths to war, December 1955—October 1956 18 The Sinai campaign 19 A State in being, 1956–1963 20 Years of growth, 1963–1966 21 Nasser’s challenge 22 The Six Day War 23 The dilemmas of victory 24 The October War, Yom Kippur 1973 25 The fourth postwar era 26 To the Lebanese war and beyond 27 Intifada 28 Towards Madrid and Oslo 29 The peace process 30 ‘Shalom, haver’ — Peace, my friend 31 Conflict and conciliation 32 ‘Permit me to be a dreamer’ Epilogue Acknowledgements Glossary Maps Bibliography Index