The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival
By Hirsh Goodman
(Public Affairs, R339)
I wish that I could be unreservedly enthusiastic about this book. It reads easily. The author loves Israel without being blind to its faults, is insightful, challenging and has a pleasant and persuasive style.
Despite all indications to the contrary, he believes that while the reality of Israeli military might well ensure the country’s survival, a new generation of leaders may be relied upon to remedy the distortions in the body politic brought about by a narrow focus on survival.
My optimistic reading of the text, however, was constantly subverted by reminders of late-apartheid SA.
The clear conclusion that territory must be shed in order for the demographic bombshell to be defused is too reminiscent of the Bantustan dream of creating a white SA, the borders of which would be defined by the whites. So, too, the question of the legitimacy of modern-day Israel can no more be resolved by pointing to the impeccable credentials of a UN resolution than white SA could go on relying on the founding document of a British act of Parliament. Ultimately it became a moral issue.
The author, who was born in SA, may well concede that there is substance in these objections.
He is at his best in demolishing the politics of successive past prime ministers of Israel and looks to the future for the reali- sation of peaceful, truly democratic ideals. This must be done for the sake of Israel’s “national soul” and will, he is convinced, be accom- plished by a young generation of leaders waiting in the wings of the Knesset.
You can only hope that these potential new-wave leaders really exist and that the disastrous leadership that Goodman describes so trenchantly will not simply be perpetuated by the next generation.
The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival is recommended as a thoughtful and thought-provoking study. – John Boje