LibGuides: Israel Palestine War: About Israel

‘Sad, horrified and shocked: People living in Israel describe life amid war (4:18)

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The Case for Israel The Case for Israel is an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Presents a passionate look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. Dershowitz accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts. Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel.
Contemporary Israel : Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, and Security Challenges Since its formation in 1948, and particularly since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin in 1995, Israel has experienced turbulent political change and numerous ongoing security challenges, including major party splits, collapsed peace talks with the Palestinians and Syria, nuclear threats from Iran, and even the specter of civil war as Israel withdrew from Gaza. This essential survey brings together Israeli and American scholars to provide a much-needed balanced introduction to Israel's domestic politics and foreign policy.   Experts tackle this difficult subject in three parts: domestic politics, foreign policy challenges, and strategic challenges. Domestic topics include the Israeli Right and Left; religious, Russian, and Arab parties; the Supreme Court; and the economy. Part two discusses Israel's complicated and often fractious relationships with the Palestinians and the Arab world, as well as its improved relations with Turkey and India and continuing closerelationship with the United States. The Israel-Hizbollah War of 2006 and existential threats to Israel, including the threat from Iran, are detailed in part three. This compelling and authoritative coverage provides students with the necessary framework to understand Israel's political past and present, as well as the direction Israel is likely to take in the future. Contents 1. Introduction (Robert O. Freedman) Part One: Israeli Domestic Politics 2. The Israeli Right (Ilan Peleg) 3. The Israeli Zionist Left (Mark Rosenblum) 4. Israel's Religious Parties (Shmuel Sander and Aaron Kampinsky) 5. Israel's Russian Parties (Vladimir Ze'ev Khanin) 6. Israel's Arab Parties (Hillel Frisch) 7. Israel's Supreme Court (Pnina Lahav) 8. Israel's Economy (Ofira Seliktar) Part Two: Israel's Foreign Policy Challenges 9. Israel and the Palestinians (Barry Rubin) 10. Israel and the Arab World (David Lesch) 11. Israel's Strategic Relations with Turkey and India (Efraim Inbar) 12. Israel and the United States (Robert O. Freedman) Part Three: Israel's Strategic Challenges 13. Existential Threats to Israel (Steven David) 14. Israel's Second Lebanon War (Elli Lieberman)
Israel : A History Written by one of Israel's most notable scholars, this volume provides a breathtaking history of Israel from the origins of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century to the present day. Organized chronologically, the volume explores the emergence of Zionism in Europe against the backdrop of relations among Jews, Arabs, and Turks, and the earliest pioneer settlements in Palestine under Ottoman rule. Weaving together political, social, and cultural developments in Palestine under the British mandate, Shapira creates a tapestry through which to understand the challenges of Israeli nation building, including mass immigration, shifting cultural norms, the politics of war and world diplomacy, and the creation of democratic institutions and a civil society. References to contemporary diaries, memoirs, and literature bring a human dimension to this narrative history of Israel from its declaration of independence in 1948 through successive decades of waging war, negotiating peace, and building a modern state with a vibrant society and culture. Based on archival sources and the most up-to-date scholarly research, this authoritative history is a must-read for anyone with a passionate interest in Israel. Israel: A History will be the gold standard in the field for years to come.
Also available in print: DS149 .S4971584 2012
Israel : An Introduction An accessible and wide-ranging introduction to Israel--its history, people, culture, and more   This comprehensive book provides a well-rounded introduction to Israel--a definitive account of the nation's past, its often controversial present, and much more. Written by a leading historian of the Middle East, Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. The only available volume to offer such a complete account, this book is written for general readers and students who may have little background knowledge of this nation or its rich culture.   Based on research by scholars with extensive firsthand knowledge of Israel, this book offers accessible, clearly explained material, enhanced with a generous selection of images, maps, charts, tables, graphs, and sidebars. This book provides readers with a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel and provides useful reference lists by topic for those inspired to read further.
The Origins of Israel, 1882-1948 In 1880 the Jewish community in Palestine encompassed some 20,000 Orthodox Jews; within sixty-five years it was transformed into a secular proto-state with well-developed political, military, and economic institutions, a vigorous Hebrew-language culture, and some 600,000 inhabitants. The Origins of Israel, 1882-1948: A Documentary History chronicles the making of modern Israel before statehood, providing in English the texts of original sources (many translated from Hebrew and other languages) accompanied by extensive introductions and commentaries from the volume editors.     This sourcebook assembles a diverse array of 62 documents, many of them unabridged, to convey the ferment, dissent, energy, and anxiety that permeated the Zionist project from its inception to the creation of the modern nation of Israel. Focusing primarily on social, economic, and cultural history rather than Zionist thought and diplomacy, the texts are organized in themed chapters. They present the views of Zionists from many political and religious camps, factory workers, farm women, militants, intellectuals promoting the Hebrew language and arts--as well as views of ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionists. The volume includes important unabridged documents from the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict that are often cited but are rarely read in full. The editors, Eran Kaplan and Derek J. Penslar, provide both primary texts and informative notes and commentary, giving readers the opportunity to encounter voices from history and make judgments for themselves about matters of world-historical significance. Best Special Interest Books, selected by the Public Library Reviewers Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians

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Ancient Origins Diaspora Nations: The Jewish Diaspora (23:14) The Jewish diaspora is the world’s oldest. Jews began leaving Israel nearly 3000 years ago with the invasion of Judea by the Assyrian Empire. The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70AD caused the dispersal of many Jews to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa including Alexandria in Egypt and Algeria. Jewish communities then established themselves in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Spanish Inquisition led to another dispersal in the 15th and 16th centuries with many Jews leaving for Morocco, Venice, Istanbul, and the newly independent Netherlands. Jews were prevented from living in England for more than 500 years until The Restoration under Charles the 2nd in 1660 when communities of Jews arrived. Eastern Europe was where a majority of Jews now lived. Persecuted for centuries, by 1900, three quarters of the global Jewish population of 10 million lived there, most in Russia. But pogroms in the years surrounding the Russian Revolution led to a massive wave of emigration to western Europe and to the United States and Britain. This was matched only by the massive displacement caused by the Holocaust.
The Conflict (51:50) May 14, 1948: David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the Jewish state of Israel. The following day the neighboring Arab populations declared war. Israel was born from this conflict and emerged a refuge for a people dispersed throughout the world, yet still engaged in combat with its Arab neighbors for its right to exist. This program presents the history of Israel, from its founding Zionist fathers in the 19th century such as Theodor Herzl, to the war of independence and the emergence of Israel as a prosperous, independent Jewish state.
Holocaust and Homeland Diaspora Nations: The Jewish Diaspora (28:03) The Holocaust caused massive displacement. Immigration to the United States after World War II coincided with a massive economic boom. Jews who had moved in family groups and were quick to learn English prospered in the garment trade in particular becoming one of the most successful of America’s many diasporas. The creation of Israel has created a religious and cultural friction amongst the Jewish diaspora with the Israeli State fostering a more religious and Orthodox faith whilst the diaspora particularly in the United States remains more reform minded.
The Holocaust Series (4 Titles) The Holocaust, the mass destruction of more than 6 million Jewish lives during World War II, has the sort of gravity that few other topics do. This four-part series explores the significance of the Holocaust across time, from its beginnings to the modern day, with the respect and sensitivity that it deserves. Essential viewing, history students will find it to be comprehensive in coverage, if challenging in subject.
Israel: Birth of a Nation (01:30:44) This program offers a detailed look at Israel’s 1948 War of Independence—also known as the Arab-Israeli War—a war that was won by courage and determination even more than by weaponry.
Israel: The First Forty Years (48:50) Showing Palestine under the British Protectorate and the arrival of Holocaust survivors in 1946, this program properly begins with David Ben-Gurion’s proclamation of the state of Israel, and proceeds through the tumultuous first 40 years of the oldest surviving nation and the newest democracy in the Middle East. Included in the program are the ’67 and ’73 wars, the invasion of Lebanon and the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear plant, the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Yad Vashem, life on a kibbutz, the liberation of the Wailing Wall, the Camp David agreement, the move of Israeli settlers into West Bank territories, the arrival of Falashas from Ethiopia and Anatoly Shcharansky from the Soviet Union, and much more.
Israelis-Palestinians: Peace Shadows (53:06) Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians has brought deaths, violence and suffering. This film takes us from the roots of the conflict up to the current situation. In the middle of the troubles, men and women from both sides, often anonymously, are hard at work, despite fatigue and discouragement, to bring about encounters, exchange and respect. Nonviolent in spirit and activists in the field, they call the policies of the Israeli government into question, reminding us of the peaceful origins of Judaism. The Rabbis for Human Rights dismantle a road block intended to isolate a Palestinian village. The Women in Black demonstrate, the Christian Peacemakers Team intervene in a clash between soldiers and Arabs in Hebron or in the repression of a peaceful demonstration in Ramallah. A solution is sought somewhere between violence and non violence. These anonymous activists give us keys on a human scale for a future of harmonious cohabitation which they are already living. A hope is born.
The Jewish People: A Story of Survival Despite centuries of suffering and displacement, the fabric of Jewish culture has never broken. This program examines the theme of survival and its connection to Jewish achievements. Viewers will encounter a wide range of topics, including the origins of Judaism, the world’s first major monotheistic religion; the flourishing of Jewish scholarship through Talmudic learning and Rabbinic Judaism; the golden age of Jewish creativity at the height of Islamic power; and the post-Holocaust continuity of the Jews as a people, a state, and a collective voice. Archival images and documents accompany interviews with Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Prof. Alan Dershowitz of Harvard University, Prof. Lawrence H. Schiffman of NYU, Prof. Christine Hayes of Yale, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and others.
Sony The Gatekeepers (1:41:07) Charged with overseeing Israel’s war on terror-both Palestinian and Jewish- the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s Secret Service is present at the crossroads of every decision made. For the first time ever six former heads of the agency agreed to share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. The Gatekeepers offers an exclusive account of the sum of their successes and failures. It validates the reasons that each man individually and the six as a group came to reconsider their hard-line positions and advocate a conciliatory approach toward their enemies based on a two-state solution.
Surviving the Holocaust Full Video (54:36) Join Ann Curry as Holocaust survivors search for those who gave them hope in the darkest days. One wants to find the friend he left behind when he didn’t move to Israel; the other hopes to reunite with the girl who was his first friend.

Israel Palestine War

‘Sad, horrified and shocked: People living in Israel describe life amid war (4:18)

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