There are many ways to tell Israel’s story, and most will raise the ire of someone. Here the Strobers (Giuliani: Flawed and Flawless
) aim to corral these conflicting viewpoints to tell the nation’s history; to a very limited extent, this goal is achieved. Various opinions are expressed about the British during the Mandate period (1920–1947) and a number of interpretations are given on the Oslo peace process (early 1990s), but this portrait of Israel’s history needs filling in. Rather than starting with the 19th century Zionist movement that led to the country’s founding, the authors open the book with a chapter on the Holocaust. Other significant facts of Israeli history are equally overlooked. Though Israel’s Labor Party ruled steadily for nearly a quarter of the country’s 60-year history, there is scant discussion of Labor-led politics. In spite of the Strobers’ ambition to show the diversity of Israeli experiences, Jews with roots in Arab lands—who make up roughly half the Israeli-Jewish population—receive marginal coverage. This volume is less the history of an actual nation and more an incomplete collection of some stories Israelis have to tell. (Feb.
)
