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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 956.04 EAN: 9780393321128 ISBN: 0393321126 Label: W. W. Norton & Company Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 704 Publication Date: 2001-01 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Studio: W. W. Norton & Company Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: In 1897, under order of First Zionist Congress president Theodor Herzl, two Austrian rabbis traveled to Palestine to explore the possibility of locating a Jewish state there. "The bride is beautiful," the rabbis cabled Herzl, "but she is married to another man." That "other man" was the Palestinian Arab nation, long established in the region as a political entity. Undeterred, Herzl pressed on with his program of emigration, ignoring Palestine's existing occupants and creating in the process what came to be known as the "Arab question." In this far-ranging history, Avi Shlaim analyzes that question in remarkable detail, tracing the shifting policies of Israel toward the Palestinians and the Arab world at large. Herzl, he writes, followed a policy that consciously sought to enlist the great powers--principally Britain and later the United States--while dismissing indigenous claims to sovereignty; after all, Herzl argued, "the Arab problem paled in significance compared with the Jewish problem because the Arabs had vast spaces outside Palestine, whereas for the Jews, who were being persecuted in Europe, Palestine constituted the only possible haven." This policy later changed to a stance of confrontation against the admittedly hostile surrounding Arab powers, especially Syria, Jordan, and Egypt; this militant stance was a source of controversy in the international community, and it also divided Israelis into hawk and dove factions. The intransigence of those hawks, Shlaim shows, served to alienate Israel and made it possible for the Palestine Liberation Organization and other Arab nationalist groups to enlist the support of the great powers that Herzl had long before courted. Both sides, in turn, had eventually to face the "historic compromise" that led to the present peace in the Middle East--a peace that, the author suggests, may not endure. --Gregory McNamee Product Description: As it celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, the State of Israel could count many important successes, but its conflict with the Palestinians and the Arab world at large casts a long shadow over its history. What was promulgated as an "iron-wall" strategy--dealing with the Arabs from a position of unassailable strength--was meant to yield to a further stage where Israel would be strong enough to negotiate a satisfactory peace with its neighbors. The goal remains elusive. In this penetrating study, Avi Shlaim examines how variations of the iron-wall philosophy have guided Israel's leaders; he finds that, while the strategy has been successful, opportunities have been lost to progress from military security to broader peace. The Iron Wall brilliantly illuminates past progress and future prospects for peace in the Middle East.Maps, 18 pages of photographs. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - An honest look at a complex historyI originally bought this book more than a year ago, but I put off reading it because it was published in 2000 which meant that it wouldn't discuss some of the extremely important events that have occurred in the last 9 to 10 years. So, I continued to put this book on the backburner while I read more recent works. What I found, though, was that more and more of these recent works quoted Avi Shlaim's account. The more and more I found this book to be referenced by historians of today, the harder ... Read More Rating:  - WorthlessThis post-Zionist drivel will confirm the delusions of lefties and arabists who don't want to learn anything about the actual history. Study the author for insights into the masochistic omnipotence that plagues Jewish leftists and gives so much encouragement to those who want to destroy Israel. Rating:  - Detailed, novel, but profoundly coloured by his anti-ZionismAs one would expect from a radical revisionist historian Shlaim has reputation to make by subverting the orthodox. Many of his observations are detailed and interesting - and purport to show how many opportunities Israel has missed to negotiate with its neighbours. Since the author was present in 1967, and plainly has an intimate familiarity with his source documents - his writing naturally therefore seems authoritative. Nevertheless, I had a constant sense of hearing only half the narrative ... Read More Rating: - The appraisal is fair....The appraisal is fair. The Author was not fooling with the Lavon affair. He decided, with more discretion and valor, to attribute it all to Ben-Gurion's machinations. The hawkish branch of the Israeli leadership has always had to compensate for its political defeat at home through finding the deficiencies of others as cover up. Ben-Gurion believed that his superficial knowledge of Egypt in general, and of the Muslim Brotherhood in particular would lend him credence to any action ... Read More Rating: - The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab WorldThis book contains correct information presented from a viewpoint that may undermine rather than contribute to real efforts for a piece in the Middle East. |
