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Summary: THE one book to read on the Middle East
Review: "How wide is Israel? Forty miles. How wide is Irael without the West Bank? Ten miles wide". This is what Netanyahu gives you in this book. FACTS!Netanyahu does a brilliant job of stating his case (for Israel...obviously) and then...backing it up with FACTS!! He has done his research on UN, U. S., British and Palestinian documents and has INCLUDED them as appendices in the book. Hence, you are not reading opinion...but finally...facts about this tiny nation surrounded by a sea of enemies. One point here is that the PLO was formed in 1964, THREE years before Israel took the West Bank. This is just one of the many nuggets to be found in this book. If you're going to read ONE book on the Middle East...read this one. It's full of good facts about the Middle East thoroughly researched by Netanyahu whose writing style is convincing and EASY to READ!!
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Summary: Demolishes Anti-Israel Myths
Review: Benjamin Netanyahu's book - newly updated to cover his time as Israeli Prime Minister - is the best defence in print against the anti-Israel slurs which are so widespread nowadays. With powerful prose and extensive documentation, the author demonstrates that the main obstacle to peace is and always has been the determination of Arab nationalist leaders to destroy both the sovereignty and population of the State of Israel. Subjects discussed include Arab military attacks in 1948, 1967, and 1973; the terrorist and fascist nature of the PLO; Israel's legal and historic claims to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, and their vital military importance; the intifada and the peace process; and the current rewriting of history to present aggressors as victims and victims as aggressors. This book is essential for anyone interested in the Middle East, and no-one should form an opinion about this troubled region without reading it.
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read in my life
Review: Hi everybody, I would like to say why this book is a must have for anyone who wishes to know about Israel and it's place in the Middle East. This book isn't like a dull history lession in school, it presents the facts fresh and interesting and will answer all of your questions about Israel. What is it fighting for and why & when will the real peace arrive. Why Democracy is neeeded in the Middle East, how will it work and how it can keep the region out of war. If you want to understand what's behind the headlines in the news, check this out.
you won't be disapointed. [...]
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Summary: Changed my mind
Review: I am in the ending stages of my own novel which heavily involves the thinking and actions of an Israeli Prime Minister who is woefully unhappy with the American President and decides to do something about him. Thus, I have read very widely on the middle east. I am also a former US diplomat and international lawyer. When I read Bibi's book (the older version) I was thunderstruck with the clarity and incisiveness of his writing. I can see his bias easily. He doesn't really try to conceal it. This makes it easy to push aside the under-brush and focus on the facts and his analytical views of Arab behavior, particularly in the propaganda war and the terrorist war-both of which the Arabs are winning. He also explains the failures of the Jews to be liked, supported and to engage in successful public relations (propaganda) efforts. These are subjects which have always mystified. Most importantly he makes out a compelling case that Israeli survival depends on rejecting the facile compromises which are being pushed on Israel by Western powers in repsonse to their perceived need to appease Arab countries; compromises which are even endorsed by the understandbly fatigued politicans and people of Israel. He makes you stand bolt upright when you realize that a sovereign Palestinian state still dedicated to the elimination of the Jews (not the people-just the leaders) will inevitably become an Arab financed fortress which can overrun Israel in hours if not minutes. The book is a revelation. Of the forty or so books I have read on the Arab-Palestinian-Israel "troubles" this one is probably the best and most convincing. Until I read it, I was on the verge of a 51-49 split decision which varied between Arab and Jew. This book resolved those conflicts. The book does not however give you a feel for the Palestinian Arab viewpoint. To really evaluate the book you should read the other perspective as well. Indeed, only when you have read the best the Palestinians can put forward will you see how good Nethanyahu's book is.
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Summary: Great lesson
Review: I believe that this book provides very clear picture of the historical, military, phylosophical and religious background for the situation in the Middle East. It is written in very simple language and yet it has all characteristics of scholar work. All refernces are well documented. I wonder if some of the reviwers that left negative comments about this book really read the book. I am curious to see somebody trying to argue with Netanyahu' point: it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to do.
I also don't agree that Netanyahu represents extermists right wing in Israel. I rather consider him a moderate.
I loved the chapter about Jewish power: how true.
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Summary: Couldn't put it down. Read it now.
Review: I couldn't bear to put this book down. You have to go into it knowing about Netanyahu's past, being former PM and all. But reading this book confirmed what I had personally believed from observing the Arab-Israeli situation my entire adult life. Will surely take any person that believes in the Palestinian/Arab struggle and cause them to open their eyes to reality. Giant Panda is on numerous book sites trashing this book, so he obviously has a bone to pick and probably isn't reliable, plus he gives high marks to alot of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel books, so figure out who is really biased. The other reviewers rated the book excellent and I agree. Also recommended: bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America - Yossef Bodansky
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Summary: The Case Against A Palestinian State By the Former PM of Isr
Review: In this excellent book, Benjamin Netanyahu sets forth in concise and logical terms the reason why there cannot and should not be a sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza. Netanyahu is obviously a partisan of Israel but his case is built methodically on facts and reason and any fair reader will be hard pressed to refute his position. The first part of the book is a relatively brief synopsis of the relevant parts of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict with a special focus on the British Mandate to rebuild a national Jewish home as well as the myths and facts behind the so-called Arab refugee crisis. Netanyahu makes a clear and convincing case for the proposition that the Arab world created, enlarged, maintained and used the refugee situation as a weapon against Israel. He proves his case that the Palestinian Arabs have no moral "right" to either replace the Jewish state or to create a rump sovereign state on the West Bank and Gaza. In the next part of the book, Netanyahu sets forth his geo-political philosophy which bears a striking resemblance to Churchillian/Reagan notions of deterrence through strength. He describes the two kinds of peace, the peace between democratic states such as today's France and Germany or the United States and Canada where security is simply not an issue and the peace between belligerent states such as exists between Israel and all its neighbors. Netanyahu points out that a nation dealing with a non-democracy can never risk its security in pursuit of a paper peace agreement. Even where a state of peace exists, a change of regime of the non-democratic state can lead to a repudiation of the treaty. In the final part of the book, Netanyahu applies these ideas to the Israeli-Arab conflict. He is an expert on Israeli security issues and many of the things he has to say about Israel's security needs are not commonly known. For one thing, he writes of Israel's need for "strategic depth." Israel has a standing army of only 150,000 men. Thus, if attacked, she would need 2-3 days to fully mobilize her reserve forces. During these 2 or 3 days the standing army must hold the enemy at bay. If an attack came from a Palestinian state on all of the West Bank , this strategic depth would be gone. As Netanyahu argues convincingly, Israel cannot trust its security to the good will of a neighboring Palestine. This was true when the book was originally written in 1993. .... Netanyahu does not argue for any of the radical right wing positions. Although he argues that the Arabs have no historical claim on Judea and Samaria and the Jews do, he does not advocate either expulsion or permanent Israeli military control. Instead he argues for granting the Arabs the right to control their own lives on a day to day basis and to avoid contact with Israelis if they so desire. He makes an unassailable argument, however, that Israel's security needs preclude the granting of a fully sovereign state on this territory. Unfortunately, the Arabs are not likely to accept this so continued conflict is the likely future. The book is well written and very concise. It is hard to argue with Netanyahu's logic and those not pre-disposed to reject his words will enjoy this book a great deal.
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Summary: A Commanding Authority On Israel's Position
Review: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu compiles a history of the developments in Israel to make a clear, almost obvious, picture of the issues Israel faces in its conflicts. It is not enough that Israel has built a nation against all odds that is the sole model of a successful democracy in the Middle East; it still faces intended annihilation from fundamentalist regimes that are today unfettered by even the restraint of the old Soviet empire. Radical regimes are actively seeking nuclear weaponry to exterminate the great Zionist experiment. The book makes an excellent reference work on the current Middle East politics. The Maps and Appendixes pinpoint the logic of the requirements to assure Israel's peace and security. Netanyahu's writing is clear and intelligent. His perspectives are from the common soldier and citizen to the top power structures. His knowledge goes beyond the events and the people; offering clarity to differences in politics and culture and how they affect the solution to a durable peace. While sharply analyzing the issues and Israel's successes, his most important point is that it is not enough for Israel to win militarily; they must also win politically. Israel has done poorly on this front compared to the Arab countries and the Palestinians. It probably explains Netanyahu's frequent appearances on US TV and media forums. This book successfully debunks so many of the myths of the Palestinian and Israeli issues we have come to accept as fact in much of the western press. For those who support Israel's right to exist and want to have a commanding authority on the history and realities to assure their security, you will not find a better source.
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Summary: Fabulous , superb
Review: Mr. Netanyahu is utterly convincing and eloquent in this closing argument for Israel's case for control of the tiny area known as the West Bank vis a vis the Arabs. Never overly emotional - yet never timid about stating the facts - Mr. Netanyahu is utterly devastating about the truth of the history of Palestine, the ethnicities of those who've lived there, the history before and after the creation of Israel, the agreemnts sought and sometimes made, the realities of defense needs and populations. The only difficulty in reading the book is that one becomes so frustrated by the clarity of the Israelis' claims and the deliberate ignorance and obtuse attitudes of the West about Israel and the Arabs. Every so often, I just get so irritated by the facts, that I have to walk away from the book and return later. Mr. Netanyahu has done a fantastic job of describing the issues in Palestine - there is nothing "extremist" (the shrill accusation made when critics can't refute the facts) about his presentation because it's so grounded in history, reality. Everyone who wishes to understand the Middle East should read this book - which is written very clearly, in a vivid style, and with a strong narrative drive that makes the reading fly by. The only thing more I would ask is for a revised edition covering the period since 2000 when this revised edition was completed. This is compelling stuff that will make very clear much of what you read (or don't get to read) in the newspapers. Thank you, Mr. Netanyahu!
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Summary: A Durable Peace`
Review: Netanyahu, ex-prime minister and former leader of the nationalist Likud party, updates his previous account of Israel's place among nations. He presents "little" Israel as a bastion of democracy amidst predatory neighbors hostile to the Jewish state. Even though the Egyptians, Jordanians, and Palestinians have signed peace accords, he continues to distrust them because of the extent to which the Arab world bears animosity to Israel and the Jewish people. He insists that only by maintaining military and political power can the future of Israel be assured, and that those who signed peace treaties are naive if they rely on such agreements for security. There is no guarantee, Netanyahu argues, that the neighboring regimes will remain in power, and therefore it would be foolhardy to rely on them. There are two kinds of peace, he posits: "a peace of democracies" common in the West and the "peace of deterrence" or an armed peace, which must be Israel's choice because, "except for Israel, there are no democracies" in the region. Nor, he emphasizes, can Israel rely on Western allies like the US, often bamboozled by Arab propaganda. The history of the Jewish people and Israel underscores the extent to which they must be vigilant, strong, and self reliant. Recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above.
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