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The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism
In this historical analysis of Zionism and the state of Israel, a former diplomat writes sympathetically of the Jews' fierce resistance under siege to secure their nation, their heritage, and their future
798 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
6 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Conor Cruise O'Brien
59 books36 followersIrish politician, writer, historian and academic.
Member of the Irish Parliament for the socialist Labour Party.
Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for the United Kingdom Unionist Party, which advocated direct rule of Northern Ireland from London.
Virulently anti-IRA.
Member of the Irish Parliament for the socialist Labour Party.
Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for the United Kingdom Unionist Party, which advocated direct rule of Northern Ireland from London.
Virulently anti-IRA.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 20, 2019
A decent account of the conflict between Israel and the Arab world, from the rise of Zionism to the mid-1980s.
O Brien strives to create a fair and balanced account and explains 'The Siege' as being about the question as to whether Israel has the right to exist , preceded by the question: Do Jews have the right to exist?
he honestly appraises the history of the situation as he sees it, and does not like the malevolent 'new historians' and revisionists, like Chomsky, Finkelstein, Said, Lenni Brenner, Michael Neumann and Israel Shahak, go back and rewrite history to suit their own destructive and malicious agenda against Israel.
The fact is that O Brien go's out of his way to be even-handed, which leads to a dilemma in itself.
The truth is that one cannot be objective in a conflict where it is clear to any fair-minded and honest observer who the aggressors are and always have been: The Jews peacefully returned to their ancient land, and for nearly a century the Arabs have been trying to drive them into the sea.
That is the bottom line of this conflict: The Arabs want to sweep Israel's Jews into the sea and Israel's Jews do not want to be swept into the sea.
How can you resolve a conflict like that?
He quotes Chaim Weizmann in his moment of clarity that the genuine anti-Zionists can never be appeased by any diplomatic or political formula as the objection of anti-Semites to the Jews is that they exist and of anti-Zionists that Jews exist in the Holy Land.
O Brien covers well the origins of modern Zionism and the movements of refugees from pogroms and later Nazism to the Holy Land.
The Jewish population of the Land of Israel (then Britain's Palestine Mandate) had stood at about 84 000 in 1925 and had reached around 400 000 in 1937. Half of that increase resulted from the emigration of European Jews during the first three years of Hitler's power in Germany.
O Brien does not however inform us about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who migrated to he Holy Land, under the British Mandate of 1917- 1947.
He describes how the British in 1939 drew up the White Paper and blocked the entry of Jews into Israel, effectively cutting off the escape from the Nazi death machine. He documents the British inaction in the face of Arab pogroms against Jews in the Palestine Mandate, and the sinking of the Struma, which was filled with refugees from Nazism, and was turned back from Israel by the British, leading to it's sinking and the deaths of all aboard, except for two.
There is, however, another flaw in the book. O' Brien describes the Holocaust as mobilizing Jewish determination to create a Jewish State in the Holy Land, and how the resultant world sympathy after the Holocaust made this possible.
But was the Zionist dream REALLY in a stronger position after the Holocaust.
After all a great number of the Jews who perished in Hitler's inferno were Zionists, often members of the various Zionist youth groups.
Just imagine how many millions of potential Israelis and Zionists were cut off from making a contribution to the re-established Israel.
The State of Israel, in truth, arose, despite the Holocaust, not as a result.
O' Brien writes something of the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini but does not fully explore the depth of his collaboration with the Nazis.
He does however inform us of the Italian broadcasts from Capri in Italy, in Arabic, to the Middle East which played a role in the Arab pogroms 0f 1936- 1939, alongside Nazi agents in 'Palestine', many of them from the German Templar communities.
O Brien also describes how the anti-Semitism of Attley and Bevin led to the British doing all they could to make sure that the State of Israel would stillborn.
Who could forget the comment that O'Brien includes her by Armine Dew to the British Foreign office in 1944 that " In my opinion a disporortionate amount of the time of this office has been waisted on dealing with these wailing Jews"- this at the height of the exterminations of Jews during the Holocaust.
He also describes the massive arming and military cover given by the British before and during the War of Independence, of 1948, to the Arbas.
Britishers carried out acts of terror against Jewish civilians such as the Ben Yehuda street bombing of February 22 1948, in which 52 Jews died.
The author also covers Israel's history from 1948 to 1985.
He describes the various wars but does not go far enough in truly depicting in the extent of Arab belligerancy before the 1967 Six Day War.
He also gives too much voice to far-left self-hating Israelis when quoting books and poetry by Israelis on the topics of Zionism and the conflict.
Merged review:
A decent account of the conflict between Israel and the Arab world, from the rise of Zionism to the mid-1980s.
O Brien strives to create a fair and balanced account and explains 'The Siege' as being about the question as to whether Israel has the right to exist , preceded by the question: Do Jews have the right to exist?
he honestly appraises the history of the situation as he sees it, and does not like the malevolent 'new historians' and revisionists, like Chomsky, Finkelstein, Said, Lenni Brenner, Michael Neumann , Max Blumenthal and Israel Shahak, go back and rewrite history to suit their own destructive and malicious agenda against Israel.
The fact is that O Brien go's out of his way to be even-handed, which leads to a dilemma in itself.
The truth is that one cannot be objective in a conflict where it is clear to any fair-minded and honest observer who the aggressors are and always have been: The Jews peacefully returned to their ancient land, and for nearly a century the Arabs have been trying to drive them into the sea.
That is the bottom line of this conflict: The Arabs want to sweep Israel's Jews into the sea and Israel's Jews do not want to be swept into the sea.
How can you resolve a conflict like that?
He quotes Chaim Weizmann in his moment of clarity that the genuine anti-Zionists can never be appeased by any diplomatic or political formula as the objection of anti-Semites to the Jews is that they exist and of anti-Zionists that Jews exist in the Holy Land.
O Brien covers well the origins of modern Zionism and the movements of refugees from pogroms and later Nazism to the Holy Land.
The Jewish population of the Land of Israel (then Britain's Palestine Mandate) had stood at about 84 000 in 1925 and had reached around 400 000 in 1937. Half of that increase resulted from the emigration of European Jews during the first three years of Hitler's power in Germany.
O Brien does not however inform us about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who migrated to he Holy Land, under the British Mandate of 1917- 1947.
He describes how the British in 1939 drew up the White Paper and blocked the entry of Jews into Israel, effectively cutting off the escape from the Nazi death machine. He documents the British inaction in the face of Arab pogroms against Jews in the Palestine Mandate, and the sinking of the Struma, which was filled with refugees from Nazism, and was turned back from Israel by the British, leading to it's sinking and the deaths of all aboard, except for two.
There is, however, another flaw in the book. O' Brien describes the Holocaust as mobilizing Jewish determination to create a Jewish State in the Holy Land, and how the resultant world sympathy after the Holocaust made this possible.
But was the Zionist dream REALLY in a stronger position after the Holocaust.
After all a great number of the Jews who perished in Hitler's inferno were Zionists, often members of the various Zionist youth groups.
Just imagine how many millions of potential Israelis and Zionists were cut off from making a contribution to the re-established Israel.
The State of Israel, in truth, arose, despite the Holocaust, not as a result.
O' Brien writes something of the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini but does not fully explore the depth of his collaboration with the Nazis.
He does however inform us of the Italian broadcasts from Capri in Italy, in Arabic, to the Middle East which played a role in the Arab pogroms 0f 1936- 1939, alongside Nazi agents in 'Palestine', many of them from the German Templar communities.
O Brien also describes how the anti-Semitism of Attley and Bevin led to the British doing all they could to make sure that the State of Israel would stillborn.
Who could forget the comment that O'Brien includes her by Armine Dew to the British Foreign office in 1944 that " In my opinion a disporortionate amount of the time of this office has been waisted on dealing with these wailing Jews"- this at the height of the exterminations of Jews during the Holocaust.
He also describes the massive arming and military cover given by the British before and during the War of Independence, of 1948, to the Arbas.
Britishers carried out acts of terror against Jewish civilians such as the Ben Yehuda street bombing of February 22 1948, in which 52 Jews died.
The author also covers Israel's history from 1948 to 1985.
He describes the various wars but does not go far enough in truly depicting in the extent of Arab belligerancy before the 1967 Six Day War.
He also gives too much voice to far-left self-hating Israelis when quoting books and poetry by Israelis on the topics of Zionism and the conflict
O Brien strives to create a fair and balanced account and explains 'The Siege' as being about the question as to whether Israel has the right to exist , preceded by the question: Do Jews have the right to exist?
he honestly appraises the history of the situation as he sees it, and does not like the malevolent 'new historians' and revisionists, like Chomsky, Finkelstein, Said, Lenni Brenner, Michael Neumann and Israel Shahak, go back and rewrite history to suit their own destructive and malicious agenda against Israel.
The fact is that O Brien go's out of his way to be even-handed, which leads to a dilemma in itself.
The truth is that one cannot be objective in a conflict where it is clear to any fair-minded and honest observer who the aggressors are and always have been: The Jews peacefully returned to their ancient land, and for nearly a century the Arabs have been trying to drive them into the sea.
That is the bottom line of this conflict: The Arabs want to sweep Israel's Jews into the sea and Israel's Jews do not want to be swept into the sea.
How can you resolve a conflict like that?
He quotes Chaim Weizmann in his moment of clarity that the genuine anti-Zionists can never be appeased by any diplomatic or political formula as the objection of anti-Semites to the Jews is that they exist and of anti-Zionists that Jews exist in the Holy Land.
O Brien covers well the origins of modern Zionism and the movements of refugees from pogroms and later Nazism to the Holy Land.
The Jewish population of the Land of Israel (then Britain's Palestine Mandate) had stood at about 84 000 in 1925 and had reached around 400 000 in 1937. Half of that increase resulted from the emigration of European Jews during the first three years of Hitler's power in Germany.
O Brien does not however inform us about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who migrated to he Holy Land, under the British Mandate of 1917- 1947.
He describes how the British in 1939 drew up the White Paper and blocked the entry of Jews into Israel, effectively cutting off the escape from the Nazi death machine. He documents the British inaction in the face of Arab pogroms against Jews in the Palestine Mandate, and the sinking of the Struma, which was filled with refugees from Nazism, and was turned back from Israel by the British, leading to it's sinking and the deaths of all aboard, except for two.
There is, however, another flaw in the book. O' Brien describes the Holocaust as mobilizing Jewish determination to create a Jewish State in the Holy Land, and how the resultant world sympathy after the Holocaust made this possible.
But was the Zionist dream REALLY in a stronger position after the Holocaust.
After all a great number of the Jews who perished in Hitler's inferno were Zionists, often members of the various Zionist youth groups.
Just imagine how many millions of potential Israelis and Zionists were cut off from making a contribution to the re-established Israel.
The State of Israel, in truth, arose, despite the Holocaust, not as a result.
O' Brien writes something of the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini but does not fully explore the depth of his collaboration with the Nazis.
He does however inform us of the Italian broadcasts from Capri in Italy, in Arabic, to the Middle East which played a role in the Arab pogroms 0f 1936- 1939, alongside Nazi agents in 'Palestine', many of them from the German Templar communities.
O Brien also describes how the anti-Semitism of Attley and Bevin led to the British doing all they could to make sure that the State of Israel would stillborn.
Who could forget the comment that O'Brien includes her by Armine Dew to the British Foreign office in 1944 that " In my opinion a disporortionate amount of the time of this office has been waisted on dealing with these wailing Jews"- this at the height of the exterminations of Jews during the Holocaust.
He also describes the massive arming and military cover given by the British before and during the War of Independence, of 1948, to the Arbas.
Britishers carried out acts of terror against Jewish civilians such as the Ben Yehuda street bombing of February 22 1948, in which 52 Jews died.
The author also covers Israel's history from 1948 to 1985.
He describes the various wars but does not go far enough in truly depicting in the extent of Arab belligerancy before the 1967 Six Day War.
He also gives too much voice to far-left self-hating Israelis when quoting books and poetry by Israelis on the topics of Zionism and the conflict.
Merged review:
A decent account of the conflict between Israel and the Arab world, from the rise of Zionism to the mid-1980s.
O Brien strives to create a fair and balanced account and explains 'The Siege' as being about the question as to whether Israel has the right to exist , preceded by the question: Do Jews have the right to exist?
he honestly appraises the history of the situation as he sees it, and does not like the malevolent 'new historians' and revisionists, like Chomsky, Finkelstein, Said, Lenni Brenner, Michael Neumann , Max Blumenthal and Israel Shahak, go back and rewrite history to suit their own destructive and malicious agenda against Israel.
The fact is that O Brien go's out of his way to be even-handed, which leads to a dilemma in itself.
The truth is that one cannot be objective in a conflict where it is clear to any fair-minded and honest observer who the aggressors are and always have been: The Jews peacefully returned to their ancient land, and for nearly a century the Arabs have been trying to drive them into the sea.
That is the bottom line of this conflict: The Arabs want to sweep Israel's Jews into the sea and Israel's Jews do not want to be swept into the sea.
How can you resolve a conflict like that?
He quotes Chaim Weizmann in his moment of clarity that the genuine anti-Zionists can never be appeased by any diplomatic or political formula as the objection of anti-Semites to the Jews is that they exist and of anti-Zionists that Jews exist in the Holy Land.
O Brien covers well the origins of modern Zionism and the movements of refugees from pogroms and later Nazism to the Holy Land.
The Jewish population of the Land of Israel (then Britain's Palestine Mandate) had stood at about 84 000 in 1925 and had reached around 400 000 in 1937. Half of that increase resulted from the emigration of European Jews during the first three years of Hitler's power in Germany.
O Brien does not however inform us about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who migrated to he Holy Land, under the British Mandate of 1917- 1947.
He describes how the British in 1939 drew up the White Paper and blocked the entry of Jews into Israel, effectively cutting off the escape from the Nazi death machine. He documents the British inaction in the face of Arab pogroms against Jews in the Palestine Mandate, and the sinking of the Struma, which was filled with refugees from Nazism, and was turned back from Israel by the British, leading to it's sinking and the deaths of all aboard, except for two.
There is, however, another flaw in the book. O' Brien describes the Holocaust as mobilizing Jewish determination to create a Jewish State in the Holy Land, and how the resultant world sympathy after the Holocaust made this possible.
But was the Zionist dream REALLY in a stronger position after the Holocaust.
After all a great number of the Jews who perished in Hitler's inferno were Zionists, often members of the various Zionist youth groups.
Just imagine how many millions of potential Israelis and Zionists were cut off from making a contribution to the re-established Israel.
The State of Israel, in truth, arose, despite the Holocaust, not as a result.
O' Brien writes something of the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini but does not fully explore the depth of his collaboration with the Nazis.
He does however inform us of the Italian broadcasts from Capri in Italy, in Arabic, to the Middle East which played a role in the Arab pogroms 0f 1936- 1939, alongside Nazi agents in 'Palestine', many of them from the German Templar communities.
O Brien also describes how the anti-Semitism of Attley and Bevin led to the British doing all they could to make sure that the State of Israel would stillborn.
Who could forget the comment that O'Brien includes her by Armine Dew to the British Foreign office in 1944 that " In my opinion a disporortionate amount of the time of this office has been waisted on dealing with these wailing Jews"- this at the height of the exterminations of Jews during the Holocaust.
He also describes the massive arming and military cover given by the British before and during the War of Independence, of 1948, to the Arbas.
Britishers carried out acts of terror against Jewish civilians such as the Ben Yehuda street bombing of February 22 1948, in which 52 Jews died.
The author also covers Israel's history from 1948 to 1985.
He describes the various wars but does not go far enough in truly depicting in the extent of Arab belligerancy before the 1967 Six Day War.
He also gives too much voice to far-left self-hating Israelis when quoting books and poetry by Israelis on the topics of Zionism and the conflict
July 21, 2014
This book should be avoided like the plague. It is a vile piece of pro-colonial propaganda by an author who had earlier (in his Fontana Modern Masters study) criticised Camus's orientalist presentation of Arabs. Like all ideological turncoats, Cruise O'Brien goes overboard in extolling the virtues of his new-found love object. The very title testifies to the inversion of reality this entails: Israel, the occupier of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip (and, at the time, of Lebanon) is described as being "under siege" - one of the first and most prominent examples of the framing of rapist as victim. A despicable book.
July 26, 2011
This is the best history of Israel I have read. It's long -- waaaaay long, at 650+ pages -- but it takes you thoroughly from the beginnings of 19th century Zionism through the mid-80s (when it was published), and it is RIGHT ON THE MONEY -- it's overall sympathetic to the Jewish perspective, but thorough in its account of competing and conflicting attitudes, and offers, at the end, a penetrating analysis and prediction of the future course of events (which has been borne out almost precisely by the 25 years since its publication, with the possible exception of the Oslo accords -- which he probably would not have predicted could have occurred so soon, but which he rightly would have predicted would have fallen apart as they are currently doing ....)
Anyone interested in the history of israel from the Jewish perspective -- READ THIS BOOK.
Anyone interested in the history of israel from the Jewish perspective -- READ THIS BOOK.
September 17, 2008
An "outsider's" history -- as the writer admits -- but by virtue of that fact, the closest thing you're going to get to an unbiased history on this subject. O'Brien is a great writer, with an eye for telling and memorable anecdotes. Only goes up to the mid-1980s, though.
August 5, 2022
This book reveals Cruise O'Brien at his best and worst. On the plus side, there have been few more accomplished stylists in the world of political and historical writing and here he continues to impress. He has a clear eye for the great sweep of history, the utter cynicism and self interest of all power brokers, and the strategic context in which the great battle(s) for the area that was once Palestine were fought.
It is lightened, though, by frequent vignettes showing how those who live through such events and appreciate their importance are no less human and no less humorous when considering the absurdities they encounter.
Examples include some delightful anecdotes from his time as an Irish representative at the United Nations where he first encountered Israelis and Arabs. Indeed, his intimate encounters were enabled, if not enforced, by the fact that delegations in the UN council chamber sit in alphabetic order, so that when Ireland joined in the 1950s, the two countries who had to shift space to allow room for their new colleagues were Israel to one side and Iraq to the other.
O'Brien's surprised delight at the genuine warmth of greeting he received from both his neighbours was quickly tempered by the realisation that they were actually both most pleased about no longer having to sit beside each other!
Also retold with amusement and affection was the reaction of his Israeli neighbour to an unfortunate malapropism by the US ambassador in a speech where he meant to denounce Fidel Castro's "circumscription" of the rights of Cuba's Catholics.
This is an Irishman's view of the story of Zionism and Israel's first 35-40 years, and as he makes clear it carries much of the baggage, perspective and indeed prejudices of a life experienced coping with Ireland's own intercommunal struggles. The British get a pasting throughout the book (not without justification of course). There can be few more lucid descriptions of the self-interested calculation underscoring the issue of the Balfour Declaration than that of post war British negotiators proclaiming to Zionists and their allies what "His Majesty's Government views with favour" while reassuring the Arabs what the same declaration "clearly understood". A Jewish state in the former case; Arab hegemony in the latter. Somebody, as he says, was bound to be disappointed.
One of O'Brien's big weaknesses though, and it permeates this book, is an overemphasis on the role played by potentates as opposed to the aggregate effect of multiple connected events. Burned into his psyche is his own torrid experience as a UN Special Envoy to the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s, where he was--as he saw it--fatally undermined by the larger powers saying one thing in the council chambers and doing the opposite on the ground. As a result, he is susceptible to blaming significant events on the conspiratorial behaviour of powerful individuals.
So he spends a lot of time trying to convince the reader that the Yom Kippur War of 1973 was largely instigated by Henry Kissinger urging Sadat to "heat up" the military situation just to create an opportunity for America to become more closely involved. Personally, I don't think the Goblins of the Pentagon are any more able to manipulate the world according to their interests than are the mythical Gnomes of Zurich or Elders of Zion. Or, in an up to date context, the Pizza Eating Paedophiles of Qanon. They're just not that clever.
However, the book is as comprehensive and lucid an account as one is likely to find of the intellectual and social currents that saw Zionism take hold, especially among the persecuted Jews of the Russian Empire. Another weakness, though, is a failure to acknowledge the hostility of the indigenous Arab population to the ongoing Israeli occupation and expansion of territory way beyond that originally allocated to a Jewish state. The Palestinian cause is no more than what he calls "the Shirt of Uthman", a mere totem brandished by neighbouring tyrants and dictators for their own ends rather than a struggle for recognition and sovereignty as pressing as that which brought Israel into being in the first place.
Of course, outside interested parties will exploit the situation for their own ends (it was ever thus, viz the Balfour Declaration and the putative Skyes-Picot Agreement) but the real issue is that between the people who co-inhabit the same space. But then, the narrative in this book stops before the Intifadas of the 1990s.
Worth reading if only to marvel at O'Brien's stylish use of the English language.
It is lightened, though, by frequent vignettes showing how those who live through such events and appreciate their importance are no less human and no less humorous when considering the absurdities they encounter.
Examples include some delightful anecdotes from his time as an Irish representative at the United Nations where he first encountered Israelis and Arabs. Indeed, his intimate encounters were enabled, if not enforced, by the fact that delegations in the UN council chamber sit in alphabetic order, so that when Ireland joined in the 1950s, the two countries who had to shift space to allow room for their new colleagues were Israel to one side and Iraq to the other.
O'Brien's surprised delight at the genuine warmth of greeting he received from both his neighbours was quickly tempered by the realisation that they were actually both most pleased about no longer having to sit beside each other!
Also retold with amusement and affection was the reaction of his Israeli neighbour to an unfortunate malapropism by the US ambassador in a speech where he meant to denounce Fidel Castro's "circumscription" of the rights of Cuba's Catholics.
This is an Irishman's view of the story of Zionism and Israel's first 35-40 years, and as he makes clear it carries much of the baggage, perspective and indeed prejudices of a life experienced coping with Ireland's own intercommunal struggles. The British get a pasting throughout the book (not without justification of course). There can be few more lucid descriptions of the self-interested calculation underscoring the issue of the Balfour Declaration than that of post war British negotiators proclaiming to Zionists and their allies what "His Majesty's Government views with favour" while reassuring the Arabs what the same declaration "clearly understood". A Jewish state in the former case; Arab hegemony in the latter. Somebody, as he says, was bound to be disappointed.
One of O'Brien's big weaknesses though, and it permeates this book, is an overemphasis on the role played by potentates as opposed to the aggregate effect of multiple connected events. Burned into his psyche is his own torrid experience as a UN Special Envoy to the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s, where he was--as he saw it--fatally undermined by the larger powers saying one thing in the council chambers and doing the opposite on the ground. As a result, he is susceptible to blaming significant events on the conspiratorial behaviour of powerful individuals.
So he spends a lot of time trying to convince the reader that the Yom Kippur War of 1973 was largely instigated by Henry Kissinger urging Sadat to "heat up" the military situation just to create an opportunity for America to become more closely involved. Personally, I don't think the Goblins of the Pentagon are any more able to manipulate the world according to their interests than are the mythical Gnomes of Zurich or Elders of Zion. Or, in an up to date context, the Pizza Eating Paedophiles of Qanon. They're just not that clever.
However, the book is as comprehensive and lucid an account as one is likely to find of the intellectual and social currents that saw Zionism take hold, especially among the persecuted Jews of the Russian Empire. Another weakness, though, is a failure to acknowledge the hostility of the indigenous Arab population to the ongoing Israeli occupation and expansion of territory way beyond that originally allocated to a Jewish state. The Palestinian cause is no more than what he calls "the Shirt of Uthman", a mere totem brandished by neighbouring tyrants and dictators for their own ends rather than a struggle for recognition and sovereignty as pressing as that which brought Israel into being in the first place.
Of course, outside interested parties will exploit the situation for their own ends (it was ever thus, viz the Balfour Declaration and the putative Skyes-Picot Agreement) but the real issue is that between the people who co-inhabit the same space. But then, the narrative in this book stops before the Intifadas of the 1990s.
Worth reading if only to marvel at O'Brien's stylish use of the English language.
May 1, 2024
I read this to broaden my understanding of Israel after reading Tweets from Zionists quoting this book. I began this book during the gruesome coverage of the “genocide “ & ended on the night of the witch’s’ Beltane, when UCLA & Columbia protests escalated. I am writing this on May Day, International Workers Day.
First, the editors did a wonderful job, placing the photo pages throughout the book instead of putting them all in the middle or end. This made reading more interesting.
Second, the eye-opening beginning ;history of Russian pogroms set a sympathetic/empathetic foundation/explanation for the beginning of a Zionist Movement
However, he doesn’t get full blown Philo Zionists; he analyzes the situation from the outside ; what were the reasons for the siege from Israel’s neighbors POV , & the siege mentality of Zionists to this day . He ends the book in the mid 80s predicting the siege will continue.
He delves into the Israeli Wars & massacres, strategies & tactics, outcomes
He describes the different characters’ involved in Israel’s government administrations, their strategies, their personality differences strengths & weaknesses, clashes & how they affected policies.
As a former UN delegate from Ireland, he described his relationship with other members of the assembly, the process & politics related to the General Assembly & Security Council. I laughed at his comments about some members of the general assembly being windbags , & the way the US & other super powers began using the 5 member security council to pass resolutions by the 1970’s , bypassing the 127+ members of the general assembly, who he described as rabble rousers.
From another perspective, the 1970s was a time when many 3rd world countries became members of the UN. Not a good time for Israel
“The Transfer Agreement “ by Edwin Black was published in 1986, 2 years before this book. Black’s perspective is a little different from O’Brien’s . The Israeli Connection by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi ;1987. The 80’s saw many important books about Israel , published just after the 1st Lebanese War. FIDF also began fundraising inside US borders in 1981
First, the editors did a wonderful job, placing the photo pages throughout the book instead of putting them all in the middle or end. This made reading more interesting.
Second, the eye-opening beginning ;history of Russian pogroms set a sympathetic/empathetic foundation/explanation for the beginning of a Zionist Movement
However, he doesn’t get full blown Philo Zionists; he analyzes the situation from the outside ; what were the reasons for the siege from Israel’s neighbors POV , & the siege mentality of Zionists to this day . He ends the book in the mid 80s predicting the siege will continue.
He delves into the Israeli Wars & massacres, strategies & tactics, outcomes
He describes the different characters’ involved in Israel’s government administrations, their strategies, their personality differences strengths & weaknesses, clashes & how they affected policies.
As a former UN delegate from Ireland, he described his relationship with other members of the assembly, the process & politics related to the General Assembly & Security Council. I laughed at his comments about some members of the general assembly being windbags , & the way the US & other super powers began using the 5 member security council to pass resolutions by the 1970’s , bypassing the 127+ members of the general assembly, who he described as rabble rousers.
From another perspective, the 1970s was a time when many 3rd world countries became members of the UN. Not a good time for Israel
“The Transfer Agreement “ by Edwin Black was published in 1986, 2 years before this book. Black’s perspective is a little different from O’Brien’s . The Israeli Connection by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi ;1987. The 80’s saw many important books about Israel , published just after the 1st Lebanese War. FIDF also began fundraising inside US borders in 1981
May 9, 2024
“[T]he Arabs loved their country as much as the Jews did. Instinctively they understood Zionist aspirations very well, and their decision to resist them was only natural. Every people fought immigration and settlement by foreigners, however high-minded their motives for settling. There was no misunderstanding between Jew and Arab, but a natural conflict. No agreement was possible with the Palestinian Arab; they would accept Zionism only when they found themselves up against an iron wall, when they realized they had no alternative but to accept Jewish settlement.” -p.175
September 5, 2020
This is a great book about Israeli history looked through a diplomatic lens. O’Brien tells a story that sticks. Showing uneasy decisions and strategic maneuvers that the key figures of Israeli politics took and why. I wish the book covers the last three decades as well. The story of “return”, all contradictions and complexity involved is to be continued.
March 25, 2025
Although this book was purchased in 1986, its analysis and relevance holds up surprisingly well. It traces the roots of Zionism to longstanding antisemitism in all places where Jews have lived. It presents the dialectic surrounding the conflict over the competing claims of Jews and Arabs over the land that comprises the modern State of Israel in a sober and balanced manner.
March 18, 2023
fascinating & engagingly written
May 22, 2024
Read half of it. Very good!
March 10, 2011
This is the best account I have read of the history Zionism, Israel, at least covering up until the 1980's. It is important to note that it doesn't have anything past the 1980's for two reasons, the first is obvious in that it is lacking major historical events, and the second is that it is written without the knowledge of those historical events which I believe would change the telling of earlier events. Anyway, that doesn't matter because The Siege is a great read and probably the most un-biased telling of this particular story that you will ever get. When people ask me for a good historical book on Zionism, this is always the book I recommend.
June 21, 2014
I don't know how long this 30 year old book has been on my "to read" list but I guess history never gets old, just not updated. Unabashedly pro Israel by a non-Jew it was a relief to read after so many recent soul-searching and self flagellating books. As the name implies, it is a history of Israel around the theme that Israel really is a country under siege - and the "siege mentality" outsiders see reflects more than just a psychological condition. Well written with cutting editorial barbs to the British, old as it is, it was still worth the read.
November 3, 2015
I've read several books on Israel including Benny Morris' 1984 (which I sadly did not finish) and found The Siege to be vastly easier to read and absorb, in spite of its hefty girth. I never thought I would have been interested in Russia and the Tsars around the 1800's but O'Brien does an excellent job in delivering a quite complicated and messy subject in an easy to read manner.
July 18, 2014
Usually this would not be a book I'd find myself reading but I promised a dear friend and I always keep my word for my word is the most important of things I possess. It's interesting, gained a lot more significant knowledge of Israel. I'm glad I read this book.
Currently reading
June 26, 2008this is the one I'm reading to supplement the fiction books
September 1, 2014
A great history of Zionism and Israel.
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