Israel's Reprisal Policy, 1953-1956: The Dynamics of Military Retaliation (Cass Military Studies) - Hardcover

Drory, Ze'ev

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714656321 ISBN 13: 9780714656328

Publisher: Routledge, 2004

Synopsis

Following Israel's War of Independence in 1948 and 1949, the anticipated peace did not materialize and the new nation soon found itself embroiled in protracted military conflict with neighbouring Arab states. Demobilization of its armed forces led to the formation of special elite unit under the command of Ariel Sharon to cope with cross-border infiltration, pillage and murder. A policy of deterrence was governed by the tactic of retaliation, which contained the seeds of escalation. At the same time, a military dynamic unfolded in which the logic of field unit response dictated both military and political policy and caught the imagination of a demoralized and war-weary Israeli society.

The myth of the Israeli paratroopers at the beginning of the 1950s, and their heroic deeds in the reprisal raids, embodied the new Zionist ethos for which the current Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, claims much of the credit. The book thus provides historical insight into some of the most intractable developments of the current Arab-Israeli conflict.

About this title

About the Author:

Rolf Hobson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. He has studied at the universities of Oslo and Düsseldorf and earned his doctorate in history from the University of Trondheim in 1999. He has published several articles in H istorisk tidsskrift, as well as Imperialism at Sea. Naval Strategic Thought, the Ideology of Sea Power and the Tirpitz Plan 1875-1914 (2002) and Vol. III of the History of Norwegian Defence (2001, with Tom Kristiansen).

Tom Kristiansen is a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies where he is responsible for the Institute's research programme on military theory and strategic studies. His recent works include 'Russerne ødelægge os; de berøve os vor Næring...' Norge og Russland i nord til ca. 1820', Historisk Tidsskrift, no. 1, 1997, and (with Rolf Hobson), Total krig, nøytralitet og politisk splittelse. Norsk forsvarshistorie 1905-1940, vol. III (2001).

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0714656321
• ISBN 13: 9780714656328
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240