Ariel Sharon
The Challenge of SovereigntyTuesday, April 16, 2013 by Michael B. Oren | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the eve of Israel's independence, David Ben-Gurion sat alone, questioning whether a people so long accustomed to being the victims of sovereign power could take responsibility for themselves.
Israel’s GatekeepersThursday, April 11, 2013 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Gatekeepers is not a history of Israel's security service, its operations and directors, but a political plea for the evacuation of the West Bank, the creation of a Palestinian state, and the suppression of Israeli’s religious settler movement.
Justice in a Gray WorldMonday, December 31, 2012 by Robert Nicholson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Law In These Parts, a new documentary that places the blame for Palestinian woes on Israel's military lawyers, exhibits scant awareness of history—and limited knowledge of law.
The Soul of the SabraThursday, September 6, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For those who have been taught—by Peter Beinart or some other recent chronicler of Israel’s history—that Zionism only began to go awry after 1967, Patrick Tyler’s new book might come as a shock. Israel’s aggressive territorial ambitions didn’t emerge after the Six-Day War, Tyler argues, but antedated that (to his mind) avoidable conflict by more than a decade.
Editors' Picks
Arafat's Intifada Jonathan D. Halevi, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. A recent Israeli documentary argued that the Second Intifada was a spontaneous uprising, not instigated by the Palestinian Authority. But substantial testimony from the PA at the time shows otherwise.
When the Gatekeepers Won’t Shut Up Rick Richman, New York Sun. The Oscar-nominated Gatekeepers interviews all the living heads of Israeli intelligence. The last time that happened, the result was the Israeli pullout that left Gaza to Hamas.
The Arab Netanyahu Alex Joffe, Project Syndicate. Netanyahu "defends his country’s interests, and hints at conciliation but gives up little—much like a traditional Arab leader."
1979: What Are the Settlements For? Yaacov Lozowick, Israel State Archives. Minutes of Israeli cabinet meetings from October 1979 reveal a dispute between Ariel Sharon and Ezer Weizman as to whether West Bank settlements were a security necessity or a liability.