A Brief History of Israel

An updated look at Israel's tumultuous history.

Praise for the previous hardcover edition:
"Recommended." Choice

The complex tale of Israel's people and their modern state, established thousands of years after the destruction of the old one, is narrated against the backdrop of exile, anti-Semitism, Zionism, and the Holocaust.

A Brief History of Israel, Second Edition explores Israel's history with an emphasis on the period since its independence in 1948. The chronological narration begins with the time of Abraham and the period of the Israelite kingdoms and continues to World War II and the United Nations Partition Plan. This comprehensive reference then examines the independent country of Israel, including the Arab?Israeli conflict, domestic politics, Knesset election results, the economy, and international relations. Completely up-to-date, this second edition features a new preface, a revised introduction, a revised glossary of political parties, a new final chapter, and updated appendixes.

Coverage includes:

• The period since Israel's establishment in 1948
• The Middle East peace process
• Economic and political challenges
• Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
• The creation of the new Kadima Party and the election of 2006
• Hamas's election victory and its effect on Israel
• The Middle East Peace Conference at Annapolis.

Bernard Reich is professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and former chairman of advanced area studies (Middle East-Fertile Crescent) at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute. He is a member of the Board of Advisory Editors of the Middle East Journal and of the International Editorial Board of Israel Affairs and has testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Reich is the author of numerous books on the Middle East, including Quest for Peace: United States-Israel Relations and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, An Historical Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and Historical Dictionary of Israel.