Israel: What Went Wrong?
Published by: Fern Press
A searing and urgent critique that addresses today’s debates over Zionism, genocide, and the future of Israel with rigour and depth.
Professor Omer Bartov was born on a kibbutz, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israel Defence Forces during the Yom Kippur War. He went on to become an expert on the German army and the Holocaust, before turning his attention to his native country.
In Israel: What Went Wrong?, Bartov explores the transformation of Zionism from a movement of Jewish emancipation and liberation into a state ideology of ethno-nationalism, exclusion and violent domination of Palestinians. He traces the process whereby Israel – whose establishment in 1948 received international support in the aftermath of the Holocaust – now faces accusations of war crimes and genocide.
Read an extract from the book here.
Our judges said:
Omer Bartov's book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the transformation of Zionism in the decades following the founding of the Jewish state. The author – a leading Holocaust and genocide scholar who grew up in Israel and served in its military – bravely blends the personal with the political in this richly researched, highly evocative book. In addition to providing a nuanced primer on the current crisis, the book powerfully captures the challenges of reconciling with political polarisation – as well as the heartache of reflecting on a homeland in turmoil from afar.
