What do you think?
Rate this book
My Israeli Journey
As an immigrant child from Iran, all I wanted was to be a Sabra. What could be more Israeli than commanding the Israel Defense Force? Shahram Mofazaz-kār was born in Tehran, experienced the hardships of absorption in Israel (where his name was Hebraized to Shaul Mofaz), and was sent far from home to an agricultural boarding school. In the IDF, his prospects seemed low when he was repeatedly rejected from officer training.
Against all odds, Mofaz ascended to the highest position in the IDF, where he faced great challenges during a most complex and painful time. He oversaw the withdrawal from Lebanon after eighteen years, the Intifada with daily suicide bombers and multiple casualties, the return of security with Operation Defensive Shield, and the 2005 Disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
In this sober and captivating memoir, Shaul Mofaz takes us behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic events in Israel's history. This English edition, published a year into the Swords of Iron War (the October 7 War), offers a brutally candid analysis of Israel's challenges and shortcomings and offers recommendations for triumph and a hopeful future.
Against all odds, Mofaz ascended to the highest position in the IDF, where he faced great challenges during a most complex and painful time. He oversaw the withdrawal from Lebanon after eighteen years, the Intifada with daily suicide bombers and multiple casualties, the return of security with Operation Defensive Shield, and the 2005 Disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
In this sober and captivating memoir, Shaul Mofaz takes us behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic events in Israel's history. This English edition, published a year into the Swords of Iron War (the October 7 War), offers a brutally candid analysis of Israel's challenges and shortcomings and offers recommendations for triumph and a hopeful future.
416 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2025
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 20, 2025
My Israeli Journey, Shaul Mofaz, author; Reuven Ben-Shalom, translator
I have been reading this book for a very long time. In the interest of other
readers, that I believe will devour this book, I feel compelled to write something
about it now. I do not want my own silence to discourage others. Those that
agree with the politics of Mofaz and those that understand the military jargon
and are more familiar with the many names of the leaders involved in Israel’s
development will really enjoy it.
I, however, am finding it to be a very difficult read. Still, I am determined
to keep on reading it, even in small doses, so that I can become more familiar
with the history of the battles and the government that Mofaz describes. He
kept a journal, so it is quite comprehensive in its details.
The book covers the life of this Iranian born Jew, Shahram Mofazaz-kar, who
became an Israeli when his family moved to Eilot, Israel. He rose through the
ranks of the IDF with great patience and perseverance. His journey to the very
top of the Israeli military and Israel’s political world was arduous. Mofaz
reveals the positive and negative side of Israel’s development as he reveals
his experiences in many of the wars and battles, but often, he seemed to dwell
on the more negative results of some of the incidents rather than the positive
effects of the Israeli effort.
Shahram changed his name to Shaul Mofaz. He described his childhood in Iran and
his loneliness when he moved to Israel, away from his friends and family and from
all with which he was familiar. He covered his experiences over the decades as
he carefully examined the facts and offered intensely descriptive explanations about
them. He was involved in so many wars and battles. He was actually with Yoni
Netanyahu in Entebbe. A plane had been hijacked to Uganda and the Israelis
mounted a rescue of the Jews taken hostage. Sadly, it was in that place that
one hostage was never found and Yoni Netanyahu, Bibi Netanyahu’s brother, made
the ultimate sacrifice with his life. Still, the rest of the hostages were saved, so it was a successful though tragic effort.
Because I am Jewish, and I support Israel completely, I find it difficult to
agree with some of the author’s judgments in this memoir. I believe in
focusing on Israel’s success and security. I forgive any errors or differences
of opinion because I am determined to support Israel’s survival. In that
effort, I am for Israel, right or wrong. I believe that Israel has been
unfairly criticized and attacked for decades. Mofaz, from what I have read, is
not quite as positive in his approach to Israel as I am. Although he often
pointed out the positive results that were achieved in every experience he had
witnessed or participated, he also managed to make me feel that Israel had failed
in some way or behaved badly on many of those occasions. That is why I am
unsure of his actual intended message. Was he being supportive or unsupportive
of Israel? Was Mofaz pointing out the shortcomings to make the successes seem
less effective? Was he disappointed with Israel?
Because I had these unsettled feelings about Mofaz, I did some research on his
background and learned that he was actually part of the opposition party in
Israel. I am a supporter of Israel’s current leadership which explains my
discomfort with some of the way certain incidents were portrayed by the author.
Still, I am determined to finish this memoir, albeit slowly, in order to try
and understand the author’s philosophy, while not inadvertently damaging my own.
He deserves great praise because he has devoted most of his life to the country,
and for that reason, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until I finish
the book. I want to believe that in the end he will dwell less on the chaos of
Israel as it struggled to exist and more on the courage it took to survive. He
is an impressive individual. He rose through the ranks of the military and then
the government to become the Deputy Prime Minister. He has been uniquely
involved in Israel’s fight for freedom and independence and its effort to become
a country that affords all Jews the right not only to live, but to also live in
peace, a fight that has taken on a more serious effort since the October 7th
massacre. I hope the message that readers of this book will get is that Israel and Jews deserve
to live in peace in their own safe country.
I have been reading this book for a very long time. In the interest of other
readers, that I believe will devour this book, I feel compelled to write something
about it now. I do not want my own silence to discourage others. Those that
agree with the politics of Mofaz and those that understand the military jargon
and are more familiar with the many names of the leaders involved in Israel’s
development will really enjoy it.
I, however, am finding it to be a very difficult read. Still, I am determined
to keep on reading it, even in small doses, so that I can become more familiar
with the history of the battles and the government that Mofaz describes. He
kept a journal, so it is quite comprehensive in its details.
The book covers the life of this Iranian born Jew, Shahram Mofazaz-kar, who
became an Israeli when his family moved to Eilot, Israel. He rose through the
ranks of the IDF with great patience and perseverance. His journey to the very
top of the Israeli military and Israel’s political world was arduous. Mofaz
reveals the positive and negative side of Israel’s development as he reveals
his experiences in many of the wars and battles, but often, he seemed to dwell
on the more negative results of some of the incidents rather than the positive
effects of the Israeli effort.
Shahram changed his name to Shaul Mofaz. He described his childhood in Iran and
his loneliness when he moved to Israel, away from his friends and family and from
all with which he was familiar. He covered his experiences over the decades as
he carefully examined the facts and offered intensely descriptive explanations about
them. He was involved in so many wars and battles. He was actually with Yoni
Netanyahu in Entebbe. A plane had been hijacked to Uganda and the Israelis
mounted a rescue of the Jews taken hostage. Sadly, it was in that place that
one hostage was never found and Yoni Netanyahu, Bibi Netanyahu’s brother, made
the ultimate sacrifice with his life. Still, the rest of the hostages were saved, so it was a successful though tragic effort.
Because I am Jewish, and I support Israel completely, I find it difficult to
agree with some of the author’s judgments in this memoir. I believe in
focusing on Israel’s success and security. I forgive any errors or differences
of opinion because I am determined to support Israel’s survival. In that
effort, I am for Israel, right or wrong. I believe that Israel has been
unfairly criticized and attacked for decades. Mofaz, from what I have read, is
not quite as positive in his approach to Israel as I am. Although he often
pointed out the positive results that were achieved in every experience he had
witnessed or participated, he also managed to make me feel that Israel had failed
in some way or behaved badly on many of those occasions. That is why I am
unsure of his actual intended message. Was he being supportive or unsupportive
of Israel? Was Mofaz pointing out the shortcomings to make the successes seem
less effective? Was he disappointed with Israel?
Because I had these unsettled feelings about Mofaz, I did some research on his
background and learned that he was actually part of the opposition party in
Israel. I am a supporter of Israel’s current leadership which explains my
discomfort with some of the way certain incidents were portrayed by the author.
Still, I am determined to finish this memoir, albeit slowly, in order to try
and understand the author’s philosophy, while not inadvertently damaging my own.
He deserves great praise because he has devoted most of his life to the country,
and for that reason, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until I finish
the book. I want to believe that in the end he will dwell less on the chaos of
Israel as it struggled to exist and more on the courage it took to survive. He
is an impressive individual. He rose through the ranks of the military and then
the government to become the Deputy Prime Minister. He has been uniquely
involved in Israel’s fight for freedom and independence and its effort to become
a country that affords all Jews the right not only to live, but to also live in
peace, a fight that has taken on a more serious effort since the October 7th
massacre. I hope the message that readers of this book will get is that Israel and Jews deserve
to live in peace in their own safe country.
May 15, 2025
I read My Israeli Journey : A Memoir by Shaul Mofaz, as reviewer.
Shaul Mofaz was Iranian by birth and his father emigrated the family to Israel in1957.
Sent to an Israeli agricultural boarding after completing the 8th grade, Shaul later upon graduation enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in September 1966, as a private in the paratroopers.
After participating in the Six Day War he was accepted into Officer Training School only to be passed over. He was later again accepted into the Officers Training School in January 1969. He excelled and was involved in the Yom Kippur War.
He successfully passed through the officer ranks to later on July 9, 1998 to Chief if the General Staff(the chief military officer of all Israeli Military Forces).
After retirement he was later picked to be the Israeli Defense Minister, and later the Minister of Transportation. He took on a political role late in his career and became a member of the Israeli Knesset.
A fine book which is both biography and to a lesser extent history of modern Israel.
Shaul Mofaz was Iranian by birth and his father emigrated the family to Israel in1957.
Sent to an Israeli agricultural boarding after completing the 8th grade, Shaul later upon graduation enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in September 1966, as a private in the paratroopers.
After participating in the Six Day War he was accepted into Officer Training School only to be passed over. He was later again accepted into the Officers Training School in January 1969. He excelled and was involved in the Yom Kippur War.
He successfully passed through the officer ranks to later on July 9, 1998 to Chief if the General Staff(the chief military officer of all Israeli Military Forces).
After retirement he was later picked to be the Israeli Defense Minister, and later the Minister of Transportation. He took on a political role late in his career and became a member of the Israeli Knesset.
A fine book which is both biography and to a lesser extent history of modern Israel.
April 24, 2025
This is part memoir and part history of the state of Israel's wars from a military and diplomatic prospective from a person who lived and fought throw-out it.
It's an interesting and light read for anyone interested in this topic or even for somebody who just steps into it. For somebody familiar with Israeli history this might be lacking some depth but still an excellent read. Would definitely recommend.
It's an interesting and light read for anyone interested in this topic or even for somebody who just steps into it. For somebody familiar with Israeli history this might be lacking some depth but still an excellent read. Would definitely recommend.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews