Uncertain Alliance, Vol. 83

This critical examination of American-Israeli relations from the last year of the Kennedy administration to the last year of Bill Clinton's tenure in office is a companion volume to Herbert Druks' previous book The Uncertain Friendship: The U.S. and Israel from Roosevelt to Kennedy. Based upon extensive research of archival sources and interviews of those who made this history happen, such as Harry S. Truman, Averell Harriman, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yitzhak Shamir, this study provides a challenging examination of key events and issues during the last three decades, including JFK and Israel's nuclear research, Johnson and the Six Day War, Kissinger-Nixon and the Yom Kippur War, the rescue at Entebbe, Begin's decision to liberate Lebanon from the PLO, Bush and Iraq, and the Land for Peace formula.

In addition to this comprehensive narrative account, Druks does not shy away from the tougher questions that plague the history of the two nations. What was the nature of the friendship and alliance that Israel achieved with the United States? Did that friendship and alliance help sustain Israel's independence, or did it merely turn Israel into a vassal state of the American empire? Did Israel have another viable alternative? What may lie in store for the future of American-Israeli relations?

An assessment of the nature of U.S.-Israeli relations and an examination of their alliance from the early 1960s to the present.

Booknews

In the follow-up to his previous work , Druks (history, politics, and Judaic studies; Brooklyn College) details the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Israel over the past 3 decades. Druks is often deeply critical of U.S. policy towards Israel, correctly recognizing that Israel is only one interest in the scheme of wider U.S. geopolitical goals. However, he is rarely critical of any action of the Israeli state, arguing that the United States has often catered to the interests of Arab terrorists at the risk of Israeli destruction. He further claims that Israel has done been willing to "pay any price and bear any burden" in order to gain peace, but seems to view peace as impossible because of the very nature of the Arab states. An example of the skewed nature of his treatment is his description of the second Intifada in which he attributes the entirety of the violence in Israeli/Palestinian relations to Palestinian "terrorists." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

HERBERT DRUKS is Professor of History and Politics in the Department of Judaic Studies at Brooklyn College. He has taught at Hafia University, The School of Visual Arts and Yale University.