By Jeremy Havardi
McFarland £41.50
In view of the recent surge of antisemitism, with Israel a prime focus of the animosity engendered, this book's publication could hardly be more timely.
In his extensively researched yet highly readable discourse, Jeremy Havardi explores the innumerable charges levelled at Israel - being an "apartheid state", a promoter of genocide, "colonialist" and even "racist" nation, and, ultimately, the key source of radical Islam's war against the West. Indeed, the roots of extreme Islamism, which go back well before the rise of al Qaeda and Daesh, are explored here in some depth.
The sources that Havardi investigates are seemingly endless. Naturally, there is much focus on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, yet virtually no acknowledgement of the various, even if infrequent, attempts by Israel to forge a peace settlement that would yield a considerable part of the West Bank to the Palestinians.
Equally little recognition has been granted to the fact that leaving Gaza to its Arab inhabitants together with the uprooting of several settlements has not been met with any peaceful response from the other side. Of course, there is legitimate criticism of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, but Havardi here is addressing the unjust kind.
And, ironically, a majority of five key critics of Israel whom he singles out are themselves Jewish.
From a historical perspective, Havardi cites the extremist Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al Husseini who, during the British Mandate, fought against the fulfilment of the Balfour Declaration - and whom Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently bracketed with Hitler - as a prime mover in the seemingly interminable conflict between Arab and Jew.
Havardi argues that what he calls "Western appeasement" is a key factor in the prolongation of the conflict. Further analysis is devoted to the sharing of views on the issue between the hard left at one end of the political spectrum and radical Islamists.
Havardi asserts the historical and moral rights of the Jews to establish a state in their ancient homeland and emphasises how Zionist leaders wished to seek an accommodation between Jews and Arabs in the land. He also stresses Israel's strategic importance to the West, for whom it is an "invaluable asset", from its achievements in hi-tech and medicine to its promotion of western values of democracy, tolerance of religious and sexual differences and the role of women. What he regrets is the lack of an effective Israeli-led campaign of public relations to promulgate this message.
