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This curated list includes a sample of books from the NLI’s Federmann Family Israel Collection that offer a range of perspectives on Israel’s history, society, and challenges, as well as on the Israeli-Arab conflict. We have included both classics and new works, books written for the general public, as well as several accessible academic books.
Contents
Books about Israel for the General Public
Accessible Academic Books about Israel
Academic books about the Israel-Arab conflict
Contact us for assistance finding sources about Israel
Can We Talk About Israel? Daniel Sokatch, (illustrations by Christopher Noxon), 2022.
Daniel Sokatch, the head of the New Israel Fund, relates the history of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and seeks to answer the many questions that people have about Israel. Sokatch discusses BDS, Apartheid, Anti-semitism, and many other controversial topics in an informed and thorough manner. The book includes illustrations, end-notes, an extensive bibliography, and an index, which offer readers numerous opportunities for continued reading and study about Israel.
Impossible Takes Longer: 75 Years After its Creation, Has Israel Fulfilled its Founders’ Dreams? Daniel Gordis, 2023.
Daniel Gordis’ latest book on Israel marks Israel’s 75th anniversary and reflects on the successes and shortcomings of the State of Israel. Gordis explores Israel’s Declaration of Independence and reflects on the visions of Israel’s founders and the challenges of turning this vision into reality. The book evaluates the Declaration of Independence with regard to Israeli culture, economy, society, religion, the Israeli-Arab conflict, Diaspora relations and democracy. Gordis highlights Israel’s many successes, yet is also critical of several groups and issues.
Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. Noa Tishby, 2022.
Israeli-American actress Noa Tishby began by using social media to correct misperceptions about Israel and advocate on behalf of Israel. Tishby’s new book aims to present Israel to the general public and to respond to critics of Israel. The book offers a “highlights” sketch of Israel’s history and wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli society, BDS, and the settlements.
Israel 201: Your Next-Level Guide to the Magic, Mystery, and Chaos of Life in the Holy Land. Joel Chasnoff and Benji Lovitt, 2023.
Israel 201, written by two American-Israeli comedians, is a light-hearted, insider attempt to introduce non-Israelis (and perhaps recent immigrants), to the unique and somewhat confusing aspects of life in Israel. Beginning with basic Israeli identity, the book moves on to such topics as religion, the Hebrew language, government, sociology and education, economics, the army and culture, concluding with a chapter on making "Aliyah". The authors only minimally mention the Arab-Israeli conflict, but do not shy away from highly controversial topics, such as religious-secular tensions, abortion laws, minority and gay rights, and more, all while maintaining their humorously informative perspective.
The Land of Hope and Fear: Israel’s Battle for Its Inner Soul. Isabel Kershner, 2023.
New York Times reporter Isabel Kershner tells the story of Israel and its citizens, describing changes within society over the last 75 years. In this new book the reader is introduced to different types of Israelis, Jewish, Arab, religious and secular. Through each character we learn about the changing lives, dreams and behavior within the various groups that form the Israeli people. The book is a journey to the heart of a state trying to define its identity in a split and diverse but exciting society.
My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, Ari Shavit, 2013.
Journalist Ari Shavit tells the history of Israel and Zionism and attempts to explain what exactly Israel is, and how it has changed over the years. He takes the reader on a journey spanning almost 120 years, using family history, interviews and his own knowledge and experience. Written as a personal narrative, the book begins with a pilgrimage to the Holy Land by the author's ancestor in 1897. The subsequent chapters describe Zionist settlers, Jewish farmers, soldiers, immigrants, scientists, peace activists, entrepreneurs and others. The book paints Israel's existence as full of contradictions, yet flourishing with successes while constantly under threat from within and without.
The Wondering Jew: Israel and the Search for Jewish Identity. Micah Goodman (translator, Eylon Levy), 2020.
Micah Goodman explores one of the major conflicts that divides Israeli Jewish society - the secular/religious divide. Goodman introduces the reader to both the origins, sources and modern-day expressions of the clash between religion and secularism. The author challenges both groups to listen to each other and proposes a new approach to bridge the secular/religious divide and to heal Israeli society.
Essential Israel: Essays for the 21st Century, Edited by Ilan Troen and Rachel Fish, 2017.
Essential Israel is a collection of essays by expert authors that strives to provide an overview on Israel’s history, society, economy, culture and politics. The book deals with topics such as the Jewish people, Zionism, religion, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the peace process. The writing style is accessible to the general public, and offers readers a clearer understanding of Israel, its citizens and its place in the world.
Israel: A History. Anita Shapira, 2014.
A comprehensive history of Israel, starting at the early days of the Zionist movement in 1881, going through the waves of immigration and the establishment of the State, and ending with the last decade of the 20th century, with the Oslo Accords, Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and the mass immigrations of Russians and Ethiopians. While the book deals with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Arab-Israel wars, the author also includes archival material and academic research about Israeli politics, society, economy and culture.
Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society, Politics, and Foreign Relations, Pre-1948 to the Present. Edited by Itamar Rabinovich and Jehuda Reinharz, 2008 (Second Edition).
On the surface, Israel in the Middle East appears very similar to numerous other source books on "the conflict". While it is similar in that it is chronologically arranged, and covers much of the same territory as the others, this document reader has some unique features. Each section is divided into "Domestic Issues" and "Foreign Policy Issues", meaning that "the conflict" is not the only topic of the book, but essentially one of two. The "Domestic Issues" section uniquely provides the reader with a wide variety of documents detailing diverse topics, such as religious-secular relations, immigrant absorption, Israeli Arabs, and the rise of the "Mizrahi" sector. Each chapter begins with a timeline and there are numerous appendices and maps as well, making this a very useful volume to understand both Israeli society and its place in the Middle East.
The Arab-Israeli Conflict: An Introduction and Documentary Reader. Gregory S. Mahler, 2019 (Second Edition).
This well-organized source book presents documents, arranged chronologically, from the beginning of political Zionism (i.e., Theodore Herzl) at the end of the 19th century, through 2017. It includes a mix of Zionist and Israeli documents, as well as Arab and Palestinian sources. This reader also cites documents from British Mandate authorities, the United Nations and other international actors who have played a role in various negotiations and peace initiatives over the years. The volume includes an index, numerous helpful maps as well as on-line sources for each document, making it a very user-friendly research tool.
The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict. Edited by Walter Laquer and Dan Schueftan, 2016 (8th revised and updated edition).
Lagueur and Schueftans's "The Israel-Arab Reader" is one of the classic collections of documents, both Israeli and Arab, related to the Middle East conflict. First published in 1969, it has been revised and updated numerous times, with the latest edition containing documents through 2015. The book is arranged chronologically, in six sections, tracing the conflict from its earliest roots in the late 19th century, through the post-Intifada era in the early decades of the 21st century. Israeli and Arab texts are interwoven, in chronological order, giving the reader an almost "real-time" experience of seeing how each side responded in dialogue (or lack thereof) with the other. The Reader does not include commentary or footnotes, leaving it up to the discerning reader to ponder the sources presented and draw their own conclusions.
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know. Dov Waxman, 2019.
The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most documented disputes, yet it is often misunderstood. In this book, UCLA professor Dov Waxman explains that today's knowledge on the subject is based mainly on recent media coverage, sometimes biased, but always missing the important background to the unfolding events. Waxman presents the most important questions regarding the conflict, provides facts and strives to clear-up the misconceptions. Each chapter deals with a different aspect and includes several short questions followed by long, but clear and readable, answers.
The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. Rashid Khalidi, 2021.
Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi traces the century spanning 1917-2017 and offers a Palestinian perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; for readers more familiar with the Jewish and Israeli history of this period, Khalidi's work is a useful introduction to Palestinian narratives and historiography.
In this widely-read and cited book, Khalidi weaves together traditional historical sources, family archives and stories, and his own experiences as an activist, scholar, and negotiator. The book is organized chronologically and divides the period into six "declarations of war," from the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government announced its support for a "national home for the Jewish people in Palestine," through the early 21st century. Khalidi frames this critical period as a century-long colonial war on the Palestinians, first waged by the Zionist movement and then Israel, and supported by Britain and the United States. The book is critical of both Jewish-Israeli policies and the shortcomings of Palestinian leadership.
Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. Benny Morris, 2001.
Benny Morris's book explores the main point in history that shaped the relationship between Zionism and the Arab conflict during one hundred twenty years. Morris traces events from the Dreyfus Affair through the Holocaust and the first the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, and discusses the impact of the Jewish settlements on the Arab population and refugee problem. The book also profiles the leaders and their attempts to reach peace.
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