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Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
by
Winner of the Jewish Book of the Year Award
The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day, from Daniel Gordis, "one of the most respected Israel analysts" (The Forward) living and writing in Jerusalem.
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world’s attention, aroused its imagination, and lately, been the ...more
The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day, from Daniel Gordis, "one of the most respected Israel analysts" (The Forward) living and writing in Jerusalem.
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world’s attention, aroused its imagination, and lately, been the ...more
ebook, 560 pages
Published
October 18th 2016
by Ecco
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This was an informative, well written history of Israel. For the most part, I would characterize it as a political history of Israel primarily --- as opposed to some of the other books I've read of Israel-Palestinian histories which tend to focus more on the military aspects.
From reading this book, I did gain more an appreciation for how unlikely it is that a state like Israel ever came into existence in the first place. I think, perhaps, an analogy in American terms might be if some American In ...more
From reading this book, I did gain more an appreciation for how unlikely it is that a state like Israel ever came into existence in the first place. I think, perhaps, an analogy in American terms might be if some American In ...more

My life-long fascination and love of Israel was amplified by visiting in November. Anyone following along on my wall saw the pictures, poem and thoughts I expressed about the trip.
I remember crying for joy as a young teen when I heard about the Camp David Peace Accords. I was more devastated by the horrible assassination of Yitzhak Rabin than I was by the election of Donald Trump. Both events had frightening implications for the two countries I love the most.
But I am a J-Street Jew. I believe in ...more
I remember crying for joy as a young teen when I heard about the Camp David Peace Accords. I was more devastated by the horrible assassination of Yitzhak Rabin than I was by the election of Donald Trump. Both events had frightening implications for the two countries I love the most.
But I am a J-Street Jew. I believe in ...more

After I read The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine late last year, I promised myself and any of my review-readers that I would read something more sympathetic to Israel, so that's why I read this. I'm very glad I did even though it really didn't help me to work my way through my feelings about the conflicts between Israel and its neighbors. I'm Jewish by the Nazi/Israel definition of the word and I think I undeniably would have supported the creation of the state of Israel when it b
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3.5*'s
Not being Jewish it's amazing how much of the history of Israel I actually knew and remembered. With all the focus in today's world on racism and equality it's a sad focal point that after thousands of years this group of people are still on the receiving end of so much outright hatred. ...more
Not being Jewish it's amazing how much of the history of Israel I actually knew and remembered. With all the focus in today's world on racism and equality it's a sad focal point that after thousands of years this group of people are still on the receiving end of so much outright hatred. ...more

Although I've long been a proponent of Israel and tried to keep up with its news, much has escaped me. Much of the history of its founding was also new to me (or forgotten if I knew it). This book (which I listened to rather than read) was an enormous aid in helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge as well as to enlighten me on many of the issues currently facing the nation.
The publication date of the book, 2016, is also fortuitous for me since it, while mostly up to date, was written before ...more
The publication date of the book, 2016, is also fortuitous for me since it, while mostly up to date, was written before ...more

The story of the foundation of modern Israel, from the first conception of Zionism by Theodor Herzl to the modern Jewish state, is a fascinating piece of history, and Daniel Gordis tells it very well. This is a great and highly readable book.
Gordis comes to the subject with a strong bias in favor of Israel, and he makes a good case for his point of view. (But then again, all my sympathies are with Israel to begin with.) Gordis doesn’t shy away from the mistakes and even atrocities that have bee ...more
Gordis comes to the subject with a strong bias in favor of Israel, and he makes a good case for his point of view. (But then again, all my sympathies are with Israel to begin with.) Gordis doesn’t shy away from the mistakes and even atrocities that have bee ...more

I started this book in preparation for a week-long trip to Israel -- it has ended up as one of my all-time favorite books. Gordis, the author, manages to convey Israel's highly complex history in an accessible, coherent, and dense reading that you cannot put away. By interjecting excerpts from contemporary poems, songs, speeches, and religious texts, he creates a vivid image of the zeitgeist at any given time. Every fact, every personality, and every event is well embedded in its historical cont
...more

If you don't know too much about Israel - this is the perfect place to start without any doubt at all. As it says in the long title : it is a 'concise history' and although one may debate how long should something which is 'concise' be (at 500ish pages probably longer than what the word would lead you to believe) - it is breezy, brief and very readable.
The book is accessible even for absolute novices - I appreciated the effort to go back into the history of Judaism and why the land of Israel ...more
The book is accessible even for absolute novices - I appreciated the effort to go back into the history of Judaism and why the land of Israel ...more

Danny Gordis is eloquent, polarizing, and weaves threads from Israel's complicated history in a coherent fashion. My uneducated admiration of the country comes from friends and family. After reading this book, I better understand the difference of opinion between European Jewry, American Jewry and the nation state of Israel.
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This book covers the history of Israel from the beginning of the Zionist movement in the late 1890’s to 2016, when it was published. Even for a small nation like Israel, a century of history is a lot of ground to cover; hence the book is a high-level survey of the relevant history. A few high points I noticed include:
• The Zionist movement was prompted by rising anti-Semitism in Europe, especially in western Europe. As centuries-old restrictions on occupations were removed, Jews had been enterin ...more
• The Zionist movement was prompted by rising anti-Semitism in Europe, especially in western Europe. As centuries-old restrictions on occupations were removed, Jews had been enterin ...more

Periodically I become fascinated by the question of how the Jewish people have managed to survive 2,500 years of near-constant persecution. Toward the end of his book “Israel: A Concise History,” Daniel Gordis, a Jewish reporter living in Israel, points out that the Jews are the only ancient people still living in their ancestral homeland, practicing their ancient religion and speaking the same language they spoke thousands of years ago. A Washington Post columnist once called it the greatest mi
...more

This was a long book, filled with information – way more than I could possibly pass along in a review. Gordis begins his History in the mid to late 1800s. He describes the birth of Zionism and what it stood for. He follows various movements to create a Jewish state, not all of them focused on the Middle East – Argentina, for example, was seriously considered. Gordis caries through the impact of the disastrous WWI & WWII, though the impact of WWII was significantly greater. He describes, in detai
...more

Anyone wanting to voice an opinion on the situation in the Middle East would do well to read this book first. While I had always known that England, France, the US, and the UN had contributed to the royal mess that exists, I had no idea to what extent. Nor did I know how inhumane those nations and institutions could be. After WWII was over, and knowing full well what went on in the concentration camps, Britain's actions were deplorable when Jewish refugees sought to escape Europe and go to Pales
...more

From near annihilation to resurrection. In the rich tapestry of Israel’s concise—yet dense and painful—history, Daniel Gordis weaves awe into the complexity of constructing a new kind of Jewish society. Out of a dream that would not die, the new nation is a self-reflective, spiritual and intellectual, yet one that has conquered swamps and dessert and taken arms time and again because there was never the option of turning back. “Israel” the book is an extraordinary reminder that “Israel” the cou
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History of Israel interesting read. It read like a collection of biographies of different people one after the other. Then in parts like news bulletins. Some people and events I had never heard about others a little, this book for me filled in some gaps about Israel, so its very good book easy to follow and if it interests you go ahead have a go. Definately enlightened me on troubles facing people living in that part of the world and how complicated it is. Recommend it to anyone who is a student
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While the word 'concise' in the title may be a marketing ploy, Gordis touches all the necessary basis in a very readable style and easy to follow format, which means this the perfect book for an overview of the founding and first seven decades of Israel's existence.
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I wanted to understand the situation in Israel better and this book was great. It's a great history of the area, well written and very easy to read.
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“The story of the return of the Jewish people to its ancestral homeland became, in short, one of the great dramas in the history of humankind.”
A very precise and detailed history of the Jewish people and the rebirth/creation of the Jewish state Israel. Gordis takes us through history, as seen in 2 SOME SPOT OF A NATIVE LAND: "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed."—Psalm 126
Giordis gives us the story of the Israelites, being trapped in Egypt by Pharaoh, who ...more
A very precise and detailed history of the Jewish people and the rebirth/creation of the Jewish state Israel. Gordis takes us through history, as seen in 2 SOME SPOT OF A NATIVE LAND: "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed."—Psalm 126
Giordis gives us the story of the Israelites, being trapped in Egypt by Pharaoh, who ...more

If you’ve ever wanted to try and get some understanding of the whole “Middle East situation”, as it particularly pertains to Israel, there is no better place to start than Gordis’s superb historical narrative Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn.
Covering more than 3,000 years from before the time when Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem in the tenth century BC, this book delivers a wealth of historical information on the Jewish people and their subsequent 2,000 year exile after ...more
Covering more than 3,000 years from before the time when Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem in the tenth century BC, this book delivers a wealth of historical information on the Jewish people and their subsequent 2,000 year exile after ...more

Interesting book showing the birth pains this rebirth of the nation has gone through. So many things that are quite amazing like the immigration of huge numbers of people.
It also shows the damed if you do damed if you don't situation that Israelis find themselves in. Wanting peace with their neighbors and if they give in not finding it. Giving up west bank only to find new war and terrorism coming down on them. The Oslo accord is an example of this that utterly failed from Israeli perspective.
Th ...more
It also shows the damed if you do damed if you don't situation that Israelis find themselves in. Wanting peace with their neighbors and if they give in not finding it. Giving up west bank only to find new war and terrorism coming down on them. The Oslo accord is an example of this that utterly failed from Israeli perspective.
Th ...more

I took this book with me on my trip to Israel. While our secular Jewish guide drove us back to the cruise ship, I was able to ask him intelligent questions based on the book. I learned about the aliyahs, what the Orthodox Jews are truly like (I had no idea the men do not work and live off the government). I came to understand Zionism, the history of the wars and the land very well through this book and then it was all capped off being there. The author is not a very religious Jewish man, but I w
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There's so much about Israel that I didn't know prior to reading this book. I honestly only had a vague notion that the United Nations didn't just come together in 1948 and carve the boundaries of Israel like, "really sorry about the Holocaust and all of that antisemitism, here's a random spot in the Middle East for you!" That is very obviously not the case, but every time Israel/Palestine came up in the news or in conversation I felt super uneducated about the topic.
I really liked the beginnin ...more
I really liked the beginnin ...more

Overall this was a great "concise history" read because it offered a chronological narrative on the founding of Israel alongside interesting facts (eg Albert Einstein was anti-zionist, Golda Meir visited King Abdullah I disguised as a peasant, Post WWII 1/10 of the British empire's army was stationed in Palestine!). I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an accessible history of Jewish peoples, Zionism, and Israel.
There are two points here that stopped me from giving 5 stars:
1. I would have ...more
There are two points here that stopped me from giving 5 stars:
1. I would have ...more

well that was depressing. a summary can be as follows:
*international community comes up with a rational starting point for diving land after wwi, giving jews a tiny amount and arabs a huge amount*
jews: *writes poems* yes we will take it, we can't go anywhere else
arabs: *starts a war* NO WE DON'T WANT ANY JEWS NEAR US KILL THEM INSTEAD
jews: *writes more poems about how bad they feel about being involved in a war*
international community: I CAN'T BELIEVE THOSE COLONIALIST JEWS STARTED THAT WAR #ZI ...more
*international community comes up with a rational starting point for diving land after wwi, giving jews a tiny amount and arabs a huge amount*
jews: *writes poems* yes we will take it, we can't go anywhere else
arabs: *starts a war* NO WE DON'T WANT ANY JEWS NEAR US KILL THEM INSTEAD
jews: *writes more poems about how bad they feel about being involved in a war*
international community: I CAN'T BELIEVE THOSE COLONIALIST JEWS STARTED THAT WAR #ZI ...more

A very readable and insightful look at the history of Israel, which makes a compelling argument for a more balanced view of the nation than you might typically find in some corners of the political spectrum.
The author does not try to hide his personal bias towards his nation, but for the most part that bias does not detract from the narrative he creates, and Gordis does a reasonable job of looking at both sides fairly.
My only major complaint with the book was that it was disappointingly light on ...more
The author does not try to hide his personal bias towards his nation, but for the most part that bias does not detract from the narrative he creates, and Gordis does a reasonable job of looking at both sides fairly.
My only major complaint with the book was that it was disappointingly light on ...more
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“Some of Ben-Gurion’s generals wanted to take the West Bank of the Jordan River, frustrated that Israel had forfeited an opportunity to establish a secure natural frontier, but Ben-Gurion demurred. He had several reasons. The last thing Israel needed, he believed, was to control an even greater number of Arab civilians. As it was, Ben-Gurion was worried about those Arabs who remained in Israel. They were Israeli, because they had stayed inside the state, but the only thing that distinguished them at that point from Israel’s enemies on the other side of the line was that they had not fled, while their family members had. Ben-Gurion did not dare imagine that they yet had any loyalty to the new state. Ben-Gurion was also concerned that the Americans would look askance on Israel taking more territory. No less important, Ben-Gurion chose not to conquer the West Bank because his mind had moved on to other challenges. He was, as Anita Shapira notes, “already immersed in the vital mission of bringing in masses of new immigrants and absorbing them.”48 THE”
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“The story of the return of the Jewish people to its ancestral homeland became, in short, one of the great dramas in the history of humankind.”
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