The December issue of "Washington Monthly" magazine contains a review
(on pages 55 to 57) by Daniel Levy of a new book: "Lords of the Land:
The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007"
by Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar, translated by Vivian Eden, published by
Nation Books, 576 pages. The review, which is highly favorable, is not
(at least not yet) available on the Washington Monthly website, which is
regrettable. The book was a best-seller in Israel, where it was
originally published in Hebrew. Zertal is a leading Israeli historian
and Eldar is a political columnist and former Washington correspondent
for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. Here is an excerpt from the Levy review:
Quote: It is a detailed history of Israel's nearly forty-year
occupation of Gaza and the West Bank with a painful contention at its
core. The occupation, say Zertal and Eldar, has wounded Israel's very
psyche, damaging both its sense of self and its moral standing in the
world. "The prolonged military occupation and the Jewish settlements
that are perpetuating it have toppled Israeli governments," write the
authors, "and have brought Israel's democracy and its political culture
to the brink of an abyss."
The Hebrew version of this book was a best-seller in Israel, and
sparked a debate there on the devastating realities and consequences of
Israeli settlement policy. It would be useful to replicate that debate
here in the United States--in the belly, as it were, of the enabler. The
book's unflinchingly provocative title is matched by a narrative that
pulls no punches, and the cast of villains (there are precious few
heroes) runs the gamut from Jewish militia terrorists and their
supporters in the Rabbinate to Labor Party apologists for the settlers
and feckless judges who looked the other way as settlers created illegal
outposts within Palestinian territory. End Quote.