History of Israel, The

Blumberg, Arnold. The History of Israel. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998, 218 pp.

Unlike other modern countries, the history of Israel does not suffer from neglect or indifference but remains the most widely studied, discussed and analyzed subject in the western academia. Israel's historiography has been enriched by the availability of fresh documents, archival materials and new controversial interpretations. Even half a century later, many issues surrounding the formation of the state in 1948 and its policies since then remain controversial.

In discussing The History of Israel, Arnold Blumberg has undertaken a daunting and unenviable task. As part of The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series, he is committed to providing an "up-to-date, concise and analytical history" of Israel (p. ix). Within 200 pages Blumberg tries to cover Israel's history from the times of King David to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In his introduction the author maintains that the book is aimed at those "readers seriously interested in the origin and development of the modern State of Israel." (p. xiii) Unfortunately, however, the book is anything but serious. The author has taken upon himself to discuss too many issues and subjects to provide a serious treatment of any of them. The entire book contains no references and the narration lacks analytical depth. The history of Israel is traced in a chronological fashion, but with each subject being treated as an independent entity there is no overall link or theme. There are chronologies, a "Notable people in the history of Israel" section, an annotated bibliography and above all tips for tourists. At times the author offers his assessments of developments in other Middle Eastern countries. One is not sure about his target audience!

Furthermore the book is riddled with factual inaccuracies. The most glaring ones include his assertions that the United Nations Special Commission on Palestine had ten members (p. 72); the US recognized Israel on 15 May 1948 (p. 78); Pakistan recognized the Trans-Jordanian annexation of the West Bank (p. 76); and that the Charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization was first published in 1968. (p. 115).

On numerous occasions the book reads more like a badly written publicity folder for promoting tourism than a serious scholarly work. In one place he writes that following the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the Israeli capture of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, "Arab merchants greeted the [Israeli] tourists buses with bottles of cold Coca-Cola". (p. 115)

While discussing the role of the Israeli Arabs, Blumberg claims that prior to 1967 the Israeli Arabs tended to press for their own political interests within the general Israeli political party structure, usually in left-wing Socialist or Communist parties led by Israeli Jews. Increasingly after 1969 they tended to support left-wing Arab political parties in the Knesset, which were increasingly bold in defense of PLO policies. (p. 126) He is probably not aware that until 1966 the Israeli Arabs were under military rule and that the Arabs did not have a separate political party until the formation of the Arab Democratic Party.

Likewise without understanding Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's genuine transformation towards the Palestinians, Blumberg attributes the Oslo process to the ability of Rabin's deputy Shimon Peres and the left wing Meretz party "to wag the Israeli dog." (p. 170) The peace talks between Israel and Syria failed because Syrian President Assad "raised objections on minor matters" such as the presence of Israeli early warning systems on the Golan. Such assertions underscore the author's unfamiliarity with the peace process.

In short, The History of Israel is anything but a serious and scholarly work. The absence of references and serious analysis precludes it from being a good textbook for the students of Israel and the Middle East. A more focused approach accompanied by in-depth analysis and substantial references should have improved the quality of the work.

P.R. Kumaraswamy

Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Copyright Association of Third World Studies, Inc. Spring 2000
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