A Little Too Close to God: The Thrills and Panic of a Life in Israel

by David Horovitz

When David Horovitz emigrated from England to Israel in 1983, it was the fulfillment of a dream. But today, a husband and a father, he is torn between hope and despair, between the desire to make a difference and fear for his family's safety, between staying and going. In this candid and powerful book, Horovitz confronts the heart-wrenching question of whether to continue raising his three children amid the uncertainty and danger that is Israeli daily life. In answering that question he provides us with an often surprising, myth-shattering, and shockingly immediate view of a country perpetually at a crossroads, yet fundamentally different than it was a generation ago.

The Israel that Horovitz describes is at once supremely satisfying and unremittingly harsh. It is a land of beauty and spirit, where the Jewish nation has undergone remarkable renewal and a vibrant society is constantly being reshaped. But Horovitz also describes how the unrelenting tension has produced a people that smokes too much, drives too fast, and spends far too much of its time arguing with itself.

He makes clear the lasting effects of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination; the increasing incursions by the ultra-Orthodox into the domain of daily life; the anxieties that beset parents as their children approach the age of mandatory military service; and the constant fear of violent attack by fundamentalist extremists. (The book in fact opens, hauntingly, with a description of the aftermath of a bombing just outside a Jerusalem restaurant -- the very place where Horovitz had eaten lunch the day before.)

As Americans wrestle with their feelings toward Israel, and as Israel struggles with the question of whether a Jewish state and the principles of democracy are truly compatible, Horovitz illuminates the myriad quotidian experiences -- both good and bad -- that define the country at this volatile time.

Here is the moving, mordantly funny, and uncompromising account of one Israeli's life.

Genres: Israel, Jewish, Nonfiction, Middle East

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book. The first 25% was good and as advertised -- what it is like to live in Israel. But after that is it nothing but politics. Yes, I know that politics is integral to life in Israel, but I didn't expect 200 pages of it. I abandoned it 65% of the way through when it was clear that it would be all politics all the time. Too bad.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction book about an English man who emigrated to Israel with his wife, Lisa, and their experiences living and working in Israel. It was first published in 2000, so it is over 25 years old at this point, and the political state has changed significantly since then. The first couple of chapters are interesting, about their day to day lives when there could be a street bombing at any moment. But then it very quickly delves into politics and never really comes back out. There is one chapter about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin (mostly the aftermath), and then the rest is about Netanyahu, or the politics of the ultra-Orthodox.

As a Jewish person, this book became harder and harder to digest as I went along. At the outset, I was curious what the author had to say about living in Israel. And I did enjoy reading the first couple of chapters. In the first few chapters, he has a tolerable relationship with people from other backgrounds: Arabs, Palestinians, Christians. But the deeper into the book you get, the more unease you feel from the author’s writing about Palestinians and Arabs and Christians, and even the Ultra-Orthodox. At one point the author stated that the Ultra-orthodox view Reform Jews on the same level as Hamas! This reader also made the mistake of reading this book during the time of the Iran-Israel war and I don’t particularly care for the treatment of Palestinians by Jews in Israel, so that affected my reading of this book as well.

Overall I am giving this book 2 stars. I did finish it, but it was a slog. It needs to be updated, badly, and to not be quite so politicized. People would be more interested in reading a book about day to day life in Israel without the politics.

[Shiloh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of some of the day-to-day realities of living in Israel in the 1980s and 90s. Published in 2000, I have a feeling this book would look different if it were written after the Second Intifada, or the October 7 attacks. I admire the way Horovitz helped me imagine a bright future for the Jewish state: one in which the nation can be known for its moral fiber, one where Israelis proactively seek peace with their neighbors in the region. So many things have changed since this book was written, but I hope that readers today can challenge themselves to really consider Horovitz's hope, and not dismiss it as mere naivete.

A good overview of daily life (albeit from the perspective of a journalist) in Israel, with several interesting anecdotes, but I did feel that the writing itself was disorganized at times, whether it rambled or just cut off a bit abruptly.

[Sterling Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to give this book three and a half stars, but I'm rounding up because it compelled me enough to continue reading all the way through. "A Little Too Close to God" gives an interesting view of what it's like to raise a family in modern Israel, from shopping, to going to school, to driving across town, to participating in the political process. Granted, Horovitz is not your ordinary Israeli. He's a journalist who travels all over, has a press pass, and is a left-of-center Reform Jew who favors ceding land for peace. Just imagine your typical New York Times editorial writer penning a book about what it's like to live in America, and here you have the Israeli equivalent.

I dock Horovitz a star and a half for interjecting a running political commentary that is often repetitive. He goes out of his way nearly every chapter to point out his sadness at Rabin's assassination, his consternation that Netanyahu was ever allowed to lead the country, and his annoyance at Orthodox Jews' lifestyles and policies. As worthy of discussion as these themes may be, Horovitz could have saved himself 30 - 50 pages by presenting them in a more concise way. In some of the most interesting chapters, Horovitz presents interviews with relatives whose points of view greatly differ from his own. He deserves credit for extensively quoting them in these chapters.

This book was written around the year 2000 before the second Intifada, and it's interesting to read it knowing that Sharon and Netanyahu (again) took office during the following decade. Were Horovitz to have written with that foresight, we might not have seen the dovish, optimistic attitude that he conveys in this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Horowitz, formerly a journalist with the Jerusalem Post, describes the firsthand experience of living in modern Jerusalem under the daily threat of terrorism. He, a Brit, and his wife, an American, made the commitment to emigrate to Israel and there to raise their two children. As years and failed peace processes pass, they continue to evaluate their decision and belief in a viable future. Very progressive in outlook, this is also an painful observation of the effect of occupation and disenfranchisement on Israeli arabs. I read this book, and then I bought a copy. His subsequent book _Still Life with Bombers_ is also very good and focuses on analysis of failed peace initiatives through the 1980s and 1990s.

[Ktmholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been on my 'to read' list for years, and with the recent bombing, I decided it was finally time to read it. There was a lot of politics included, which is why I gave it only a three, but I stuck with it and learned a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Israel, though at this point it's dated, and now I'm interested in something more recent.

[Mary]

Ok maybe it was this book about life in Isreal.!!!!!!!!