Testament: At the Creation of the State of Israel

Rating:
Summary: very informative book about Israel
Review: Apparently there are some extraordinarily ignorant people who think that the State of Israel is a racist, horrible, etc. country that has no reason to exist. However, there are some decent and good people who think otherwise. This book proves that point. It shows the hardships and travails that the Jewish people had to overcome in order to become the peace-loving nation that it is. In general, it is a excellent book to have on your bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: A horrendous book!
Review: I found this book to be an extremely dishonest portrayal of Israeli history. Let's stop making heroes out of these Zionist colonizers. The reader would do far better to read an honest work like "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman Finkelstein. As a Jew I'm offended by the whole rotten history of Zionist ideology. Our great religion calls for "tikkun olam"--the healing of the world! This great compassionate and humanistic teaching is inherently contradictory with Zionism, which is pure and utter racism. Zionism is is also simply just a replay of European colonialism in a thinly veiled disguise. How can we practice "tikkun olam" while we savagely repress the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to their national aspirations and their land? Let's stop making heroes out of generals and thugs. The Zionists and the extremist Islamic groups like Hamas are their own best company.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended reading for students of Israeli history
Review: Testament: At The Creation Of The State Of Israel looks back along 50 years of history to the founding of the modern state of Israel as told by those who were there and eyewitness participants. An informative introduction by Simon Peers is followed by photographic portraits, informative profiles, and anecdotal reminiscences of Simon Peers, Yitzhak Shamir, Chaim Herzog, Yetzhak Navon, Teddy Kollek, Ephraim Katzir, Leah Rabin, Rachel Rabin-Jacob, Haim Cohn, Amos Ben-Gurion, Rivka Eliav, A.B. Yehoshua, Haim Gouri, Amox Oz, Haim Hefer, Shoshana Damari, Yizhar Smilansky, Yafi Dayan, Yoram Kantuk, and "Brin" Adan. Testament is highly recommended reading for students of Israeli history and a fitting memorial to the sacrifices and accomplishments that resulted in the creation of a nation dedicated as a place of homecoming birthright for Jews everywhere in the world.