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The Hebrew Republic: How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace At Last
by Bernard Avishai

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2465846.The_Hebrew_Republic_How_Secular_Democracy_and_Global_Enterprise_Will_Bring_Israel_Peace_At_Last?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Hebrew Republic: How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace At Last" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UHDzPbYoL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2465846.The_Hebrew_Republic_How_Secular_Democracy_and_Global_Enterprise_Will_Bring_Israel_Peace_At_Last?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Hebrew Republic: How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace At Last</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/230484.Bernard_Avishai">Bernard Avishai</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22098646?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 2 of 5 stars The Bush Administration’s fervent desire to broker a Middle East peace agreement before it leaves the stage, early next year, seems almost hopeless, given the fractures among the Palestinians, the heedless building of Israeli settlements, and the fact that the Administration itself ignored the problem for years. It is a grim moment in an endlessly grim situation, but Avishai, the author of The Tragedy of Zionism, finds hope in a growing comprehension on the Israeli side, especially among technocratic and business élites, that the country cannot build an economy like Singapore’s amid Balkan-along with ethnic conflict. His plan for economic union will be achievable only with a peace accord, and Avishai has little to say on how to get there. But he covers a great many key topics relating to Israel's internal dynamics as well as its regional and global position, now and in the future. 
 
 Avishai, a Canadian-born Israeli, shines a revealing light on the evolution of the peace camp and affirms the need for secular democratic institutions to assert their primacy in a country where religious authorities wield excessive power and twenty per cent of the population is Arab.
 
 So far I am not persuaded.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/354189?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Ginnie's review
rating:
bookshelves: economics, history

The Bush Administration’s fervent desire to broker a Middle East peace agreement before it leaves the stage, early next year, seems almost hopeless, given the fractures among the Palestinians, the heedless building of Israeli settlements, and the fact that the Administration itself ignored the problem for years. It is a grim moment in an endlessly grim situation, but Avishai, the author of The Tragedy of Zionism, finds hope in a growing comprehension on the Israeli side, especially among technocratic and business élites, that the country cannot build an economy like Singapore’s amid Balkan-along with ethnic conflict. His plan for economic union will be achievable only with a peace accord, and Avishai has little to say on how to get there. But he covers a great many key topics relating to Israel's internal dynamics as well as its regional and global position, now and in the future.

Avishai, a Canadian-born Israeli, shines a revealing light on the evolution of the peace ...more

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