Defending Israel: A Study of Her Borders and a Plan Toward Peace FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Israel is a tiny country, from tip to toe, it stretches three hundred miles long but is only seventy-eight miles at its widest point. Ever since the time the so-called Jewish State was established in 1948, the question of what its "defensible borders" might be has always been problematic. Yet considering the larger picture of what has happened in the Middle East over the last twenty-five years - the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, the weakening of Syria as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the smashing of Iraq by the United States - Israel is, militarily speaking, stronger than ever before. The greatest remaining threats are terrorism and guerilla warfare, and those, Martin van Creveld argues, are best dealt with by building a wall and getting out of the occupied territories." Based not on vague aspirations for peace but purely on military and strategic reasoning, Defending Israel asserts that Israel can only be safe if it pulls out of Gaza and the West Bank entirely.
SYNOPSIS
Van Creveld (history, Hebrew U. of Jerusalem, Israel) argues that it is both possible and necessary to unilaterally withdraw from the Palestinian occupied territories to the pre-1967 borders, "more or less" (approving discussion of the so-called "separation wall" and the possibility of geographically isolating the Palestinians by extending the wall to the Jordan Valley). Examining the evolution of the Israeli approach to national security, he argues that Israel's current and forecast regional military superiority means that the territories are not necessary a buffer against Arab states and that the Palestinians can be effectively isolated. His proposal, if implemented, would certainly live up to the book's subtitle by being controversial both among Israeli settlers attached to the idea of a Greater Israel and among supporters of international law. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In this clear and original book, Creveld (Moshe Dayan, etc.) argues effectively for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories-unilaterally, if necessary-on the grounds that it will make Israel more secure. A history professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he details the change in Israel's military thinking after its 1967 victory in the Six-Day War and claims it's time to change once again. Creveld proposes a "military revolution": more mobile forces and a more decentralized command system that will be more capable of countering terrorist threats. This should be accompanied by a withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, he contends, which are sapping Israel's military and moral superiority at levels that far outweigh their economic and ideological value. While he admits that an Israeli withdrawal will not completely rid the country of terrorism, he asserts that it will likely take away some of the motivation for suicide bombers. He also argues forcefully that the conventional threat to Israel from Arab states has passed and that the nuclear threat, post-Saddam Hussein, may be exaggerated. At a time when the debate is bogged down and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is stuck in a back-and-forth with his party over withdrawing from Gaza, Creveld's innovative ideas deserve a wide readership. Maps. Agent, Artellus Ltd., U.K. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Distinguished military historian Van Creveld (history, Hebrew Univ.) brings both sophistication and candor to this unconventional treatment of Israeli security and Middle East peace. Given the moribund state of America's "road map" for an Israeli-Palestinian peace, the absence of public debate about the role of the occupied territories in Israel's security, and the Sharon government's apparent difficulty in realizing its intended withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, this book is especially relevant reading. Van Creveld argues that the Palestinian intifada poses a far greater threat than conventional warfare from Arab states and can only be managed by withdrawal from the occupied territories and construction of a wall more or less along the pre-1967 boundary. In advancing his case, Van Creveld provides a valuable critique of the conventional idea that the territories have "done little to ease [Israel's] grand strategic handicap." His familiarity with current military technology and sense of what the Palestinian conflict has cost bolster his argument, while Israel's domestic politics and its dependence on West Bank aquifers make it more problematic. Nevertheless, this book moves beyond the usual "doves and hawks" argument and represents an important contribution to the debate. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.-Zachary T.Irwin, Sch. of Humanities & Social Science, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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