As spectacular and moving as Bar-Am's photos are, Thomas L. Friedman's compelling essay provides an anchor in the form of an eloquent reflection on the unfolding of the first fifty years. Israel's contributions to politics and culture, to religion and commerce, have made a tremendous mark on the world, and these issues Friedman addresses with the perception of an outsider who has spent almost a quarter of his life in the area. While Bar-Am's photos show us the events that have shaped Israel's path, Friedman's essay explores the implications of Israel's first fifty years and the nation's powerful struggle between its past and its future.

"Deals authoritatively with some of the most critical issues facing Israel in the last half-century. The authors write with objectivity, presenting original insights in a diverse range of subjects."--Don Peretz, emeritus professor of political science, State University of New York at Binghamton This comprehensive review of the first 50 years of Israel's existence surveys the major events of its history as well as the underlying trends in Israeli politics, economics, and foreign policy that will direct the country's evolution into the new century. Combining a rich variety of viewpoints among Israeli, Arab, and American scholars, representatives of the political left and right, and, among the Jewish scholars, representatives of both secular and religious perspectives, this is the single-volume source for anyone seeking to understand Israel as it enters the 21st century. Contents 1. Moscow and Israel: The Ups and Downs of a Fifty-Year Relationship, by Robert O. Freedman 2. U.S.-Israel Relations since 1948, by Robert J. Lieber 3. Israel and the American Jewish Community: Changing Realities Test Traditional Ties, by George E. Gruen 4. Israel and the Arab States: The Long Road to Normalization, by Malik Mufti 5. Israeli Thinking about the Palestinians: A Historical Survey, by Mark Tessler 6. Labor during Fifty Years of Israeli Politics, by Myron J. Aronoff 7. The Right in Israeli Politics: The Nationalist Ethos in the Jewish Democracy, by Ilan Peleg 8. Religio-Politics and Social Unity in Israel: Israel's Religious Parties, by Chaim J. Waxman 9. The Arab Parties, by Elie Rekhess 10. From Agricultural Pioneers to the "Silicon Valley" of the Middle East: The Changing Political Economy of Israel, by Ofira Seliktar 11. The Press and Civil Society in Israel, by Michael Keren 12. Epilogue: The Israeli Elections of 1999, by Mark Rosenblum Robert O. Freedman is president and Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone professor of political science at Baltimore Hebrew University. Among his previous books are The Intifada: Its Impact on Israel, the Arab World, and the Superpowers (UPF, 1991), The Middle East and the Peace Process: The Impact of the Oslo Accords (UPF, 1998), Israel Under Rabin, and Israel in the Begin Era.

Presents images of the daily life, joys, and sorrows of the Jews, Arabs, and Christians living in Palestine at the time of Israel's founding in 1948.

Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the region has been the scene of fierce power struggles, injustice and tragic events - a situation which persists to this day. Now for the first time, an Israeli-Arab author collaboration is tackling one of the world's most controversial situations. Published to accompany a six-part BBC television series by the makers of the award-winning DEATH OF YUGOSLAVIA, this myth-breaking book draws on candid interviews with key protagonists in the struggles - many of whom have never before spoken out - to reveal behind-the-scenes events and put the record straight. This is a definitive insiders' account of war and peace in the Middle East.

“The most comprehensive account of Israeli history yet published” (Efraim Karsh, The Sunday Telegraph). Fleeing persecution in Europe, thousands of Jewish immigrants settled in Palestine after World War II. Renowned historian Martin Gilbert crafts a riveting account of Israel’s turbulent history, from the birth of the Zionist movement under Theodor Herzl to the unexpected declaration of its statehood in 1948, and through the many wars, conflicts, treaties, negotiations, and events that have shaped its past six decades—including the Six Day War, the Intifada, Suez, and the Yom Kippur War. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand source materials, eyewitness accounts, and his own personal and intimate knowledge of the country, Gilbert weaves a complex narrative that’s both gripping and informative, and probes both the ideals and realities of modern statehood. “Martin Gilbert has left us in his debt, not only for a superlative history of Israel, but also for a restatement of the classic vision of Zion, in which a Middle East without guns is not a bedtime story but an imperative long overdue. This is the vision for which Yitzhak Rabin gave his life. This book is tribute to his memory.” —Jonathan Sacks, The Times (London)

The ordination of Rabbi Sally J. Priesand in 1972 was a watershed moment in Jewish history. In The First Fifty Years, contributors from across the Jewish and gender spectrums reflect on the meaning of this moment and the ensuing decades, both personally and for the Jewish community. In short pieces of new prose, authors--many of them pioneering rabbis--share stories, insights, analysis, and celebrations of women in the rabbinate. These are intertwined with a wealth of poetry that poignantly captures the spirit of this anniversary. The volume is a deep, heartfelt tribute to women rabbis and their indelible impact on all of us. This collection serves as a mile marker along the journey, a momentary stopping place for reflection and commemoration. While we experience the evolution of women in the rabbinate as inevitable, that doesn't mean it was easy. These pages likewise acknowledge challenges and complexities of these fifty years, identifying some of the detours and roadblocks that still lie ahead... In a mere half century, rabbinic leadership effected a dramatic turning point in Jewish history, an acknowledgment that the voices that were silent or silenced, marginalized, unheard and unseen, are an essential part of the rich and variegated fabric of the Jewish story and must be included... Becoming the most beautifully diverse, inclusive, and thriving community of our highest aspirations, we all need to know what has led us here on the path to a healthy, equitable, and flourishing future. --From the introduction by Rabbi Hara E. Person, chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis