A sometimes breezy history/memoir of Israel by an Israeli TV producer. Our ethnicity and politics are the same so I agree with much of her commentary. I would only suggest that her legalistic or pseudo-legalistic explanations of why the occupation of the West Bank is not a true occupation and why the creation of the country was not taken from any other sovereign entity either approach sophistry or are irrelevant. =========== Goodreads blocked me from reviewing this book, then it somehow came in as an audiobook listing. "¯_(ツ)_/¯"
WOW! I want so often to start a review with that word, but seriously, in most cases that is definitely overkill; just because I read and enjoyed a book does not mean that it deserves a "wow". In this case, however, it definitely does deserve a "WOW". I grew up as a Jewish girl in the 1960s and 70s, and was the required (at the time) Zionist learning the standard love of Judaism and Israel, and learning the (also standard) propaganda, which helped build my own beliefs and prejudices at the time. Then, the 80s and 90s hit, and the overall feeling was that Israel was NOT the wonderful government and belief system that we had been believing, and desiring. I really like this book because it does NOT promote the propaganda or the political views being spread by "everyone". I still do hold some of my Zionist and naïve …
WOW! I want so often to start a review with that word, but seriously, in most cases that is definitely overkill; just because I read and enjoyed a book does not mean that it deserves a "wow". In this case, however, it definitely does deserve a "WOW". I grew up as a Jewish girl in the 1960s and 70s, and was the required (at the time) Zionist learning the standard love of Judaism and Israel, and learning the (also standard) propaganda, which helped build my own beliefs and prejudices at the time. Then, the 80s and 90s hit, and the overall feeling was that Israel was NOT the wonderful government and belief system that we had been believing, and desiring. I really like this book because it does NOT promote the propaganda or the political views being spread by "everyone". I still do hold some of my Zionist and naïve views, and I have to say that a lot of this book feeds into my own confirmation bias, but it is NOT straight propaganda. It appears to paint the REAL past of that area and does not shy away from the uncomfortable things that Israel and Israelis have done. On the other hand, it does try to emphasize the difference between a country fighting for its life and its neighbors who don't appear to care about a COUNTRY for themselves as much as the totally elimination and annihilation of Israel. The "WOW" is how much the UN and the rest of the world seem to grant, without grounds, to the "Palestinians" solely on THEIR say-so, and what the actual history of the affected peoples – Arabs and Jews – really contains. Unfortunately, I really don't know how to round out my knowledge of the history of that area. For one thing, I don't know who I can trust for information; Heck, I don't even know if I can trust THIS, but… I actually DO trust it for the most part, partly because it pulls into one narrative the bits and pieces of which I actually was cognizant. It's actually a very good book and picture.
