The State of Israel vs. Adolf Eichmann

by Hanna Yablonka, Ora Cummings

Hailed as a landmark upon its publication in Israel, THE STATE OF ISRAEL V. ADOLF EICHMANN, CRIMINAL CASE NO. 40/61 is the first book to examine--with some forty years of historical perspective--the impact of the historic Eichmann trail on the Israeli psyche. Written by Holocaust scholar Hanna Yablonka, this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking book looks at how the Eichmann trial marked a turning point in Israeli's national consciousness. Moving from the dramatic capture of Eichmann to the emotionally wrought trial itself, in which Eichmann sat in silence ensconced in a bulletproof glass case, Yablonka skillfully shows how veteran Israelis came to see, in a new light, not only their new neighbors--Holocaust Survivors with whom they'd been living side-by-side for over a decade--but also their place in the world as an independent state. Whether she's examining the impact of the Eichmann trial on school children or Sephardic Jews, reassessing the role of the trial's key architects or the heartfelt testimonies of the witnesses, Yablonka shows how this trial, like the major events that mark Israel's existence--the Six Day War, the October 1973 war--is a seminal event after which the country was never the same.

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction, Israel

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2004

Reviews

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is not so much a discussion of the trial as it is about the impact of the trial on Israeli culture. We live awash in Holocaust awareness with new books, plays, and movies all the time. In Israel the symbolism of the Holocaust is constantly invoked by politicians and educators. It is hard to remember that the Holocaust was not a subject of discussion for many years after the events. It was not even seen as a separate genocidal program different from other wartime atrocities. The Eichmann trial changed all that.

This book also has much more behind the scenes information about the trial then other books like Arendt's and Lipstadt's. Things like how the police built their case, how witnesses were selected, how the prosecution, judges, and defense attorneys's were chosen, and what the political interference in the trial was like.

I'd be very interested in the author's thoughts about how the story of the Holocaust has developed in Israel in recent years and how it affects politics today. Would she agree with Avraham Burg that it has engendered a paralyzingly fear that needs to be overcome? I'll have to do some research to find out.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/new...

[jedidja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super well written, incredibly well researched - has a fair bit of legal jargon but you don't need a ton of prior knowledge to read this. Really liked the thematic approach, with plenty of attention for the effects of the trial on Israeli society, the integration of survivors, and the lack of inclusion of African Jewish communities. My only wish is that I would have read this earlier so I could have cited it in my paper...

[Justin Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no shortage of literature surrounding the holocaust, but despite initial appearances Hanna Yablonka’s The State of Israel vs. Adolf Eichmann falls into a different category altogether. Rather than revisiting the heart wrenching and stomach turning particulars of the Shoah, or attempting to understand just how something so monumentally horrendous could occur, with this book Yablonka instead focuses on the impact of the Eichmann trial on the collective psyche of the State of Israel.

As most would be aware, Eichmann was captured in Argentina in 1960 by Mossad agents, defying Argentine sovereignty in the process. Eichmann was effectively smuggled out of Argentina and brought to stand trial in Israel for crimes against humanity, where he was eventually found guilty and sentenced to death.

Over the course of the book, Yablonka discusses at length the relationship between Israelis and the Jews of the Diaspora who immigrated en masse at the end of World War II, particularly those who experienced the holocaust first hand and survived. As Yablonka explains, attitudes toward survivors were not always charitable: whilst ghetto fighters and partisans were championed as heroes, many others whose bravery was less conspicuous were met with bewilderment, even disdain, based on the notion that they resigned to being “lambs to the slaughter.”

As such, the momentous and highly publicised Eichmann trial - which featured in excess of 100 witness testimonies from survivors and an abundance of documented material - served to bridge the gap between European Jewry and those already established in Israel. It provided a better understanding, a heightened sense of compassion and even an element of esteem for holocaust survivors.

It also provided the catalyst for educational reforms which would not only finally cast light on the holocaust and its importance as a part of collective Jewish history within and without Israel, but would also serve to embed the history into the future generations of Israel.

Perhaps one of the more interesting discussion points to come from the book is that relating to the existential angst that was created - or further fomented - by a light finally being shone within Israel upon the grim reality of the holocaust. The seeds of militance were already sown through the Jewish Resistance Movement starting in 1945 and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but the Eichmann trial served to solidify the belief of many Israelis that their sovereignty - if not existence - would always be precarious.

One of the more overt examples of this is Yablonka’s quotation of Yehudit Simchonit, chair of the Histadrut’s Political Department, on page 192: “The IDF is not a function in the reality of our life; it is our security, it is the key to the very existence of the state.”

Yablonka is careful to keep her study contemporaneous with the events of the Eichmann trial, however she does touch on elements such as this that have had an effect on Israeli perspectives and policy which remain relevant today.

Those looking to submerge themselves further, or for the first time, amid the horrors of the holocaust out of a humane duty to knowledge, may not find what they are looking for in this book if they are after the darker details. Equally, those expecting a comprehensive play-by-play of the trial from the courtroom will also be left empty handed.

Yablonka’s book does serve however as a valuable supplementary text for those wanting a better understanding of Israeli attitudes toward the holocaust and their place in the world, at a delicate stage of their controversially new-found statehood - from the upper echelons to the wider population - before, during and after the trial.