AN ARMY LIKE NO OTHER

A history of Israel focused on the role of the army in becoming “an apartheid state.”

Bresheeth-Zabner, who teaches at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, begins his account with the 19th-century Zionist program to relocate European Jews to Palestine to escape pervasive anti-Semitism. The stated goal of the movement was to reclaim the biblical homeland as a new Jewish state. With the drive for independence after World War II, a genuine Israeli military came into being. Despite its name, the Israel Defense Forces, established in 1948, served as a vehicle to gain control of territory, usually by expelling the Indigenous occupants. As a result, Israel has been in an almost constant state of war—not because of external threats but as a way to justify repression of the Palestinians. The author argues that the IDF routinely commits atrocities against Palestinians and other Arab populations within and beyond Israel’s borders. He thoroughly documents the growth of a military-industrial complex as a major driver of Israel’s economy, with customers all over the world and major support by the U.S.—again, to the benefit of the IDF. Furthermore, the central role of the IDF means that Israeli politics is determined by military considerations, with every political party recruiting ex-generals as candidates. Bresheeth-Zabner drives home his points relentlessly, with chapter after chapter portraying an Israel in which non-Jews are second-class citizens, at best, and politicians pay only lip service to democratic principles. For general readers, the narrative is a difficult slog, with numerous references to names and events that will be unfamiliar to many nonscholars. Nor is it smoothly written, with the author relying more heavily on the blunt force of his arguments. However, readers with a strong interest in this ongoing quandary may find some value.

A hard-eyed look at the role of Israel’s army in the creation of the Jewish state.