High School

by Judie Oron

Twelve-year-old Wuditu is a member of the Beta-Israel tribe in Ethiopia, an ancient Jewish people that settled in Ethiopia many centuries ago. Cry of the Giraffe tells the incredible journey of a young Jewish girl as she perseveres through numerous obstacles in order to return to the Promised Land.

by Leon Uris

This historical novel  about the founding of the modern State of Israel begins with a retelling of the 1947 voyages of a ship bringing Jewish refugees from the Holocaust to Mandatory Palestine, recounting the epic history of Israel’s birth through the eyes of two generations of Jews as they fight to reclaim their homeland. Originally published in 1958, Exodus  became an international bestseller.

by Anna Levine

What would your life be like if military service was compulsory, not voluntary?Aggie is eighteen and getting ready to do her service for the Israeli Army. She could get a cushy assignment—maybe pushing paper somewhere—or she could just take her chances.  But despite the obstacles in her way, Aggie is trying out for an elite combat unit.

by Sheilagh Herrera

As the world drifts closer to war and the nations shut their gates, a clandestine movement arises to get Jews out of Europe and into Mandatory Palestine before it’s too late. Spanning from the turbulent 1930s to the birth of the modern state of Israel, No Other Place on Earth is a story of family, duty, and enduring love that will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction.

by Herman Wouk

The 2nd in a two-part series that begins with The Hope, this historical novel rejoins the story of Israel’s epic journey. From the aftermath of the 1967 war, through the  battles of the Yom Kippur War, the heroic Entebbe rescue, the historic Camp David Accords, and the celebration of forty years of independence, Herman Wouk portrays the young nation of Israel once again pushed to the brink of annihilation — and sets the stage for today’s ongoing struggle for peace.

by Herman Wouk

The first of the two-part epic that concludes with The Glory, this saga spans from 1948 to 1967, the early decades of the state of Israel as it fights for its life, outmatched and surrounded by enemies. The four heroes, and the women they love, weave a compelling tapestry of individual destinies through a grand recounting of one nation’s struggle against the odds.

by Gila Almagor
translated by Hillel Schenker

Winner of the Jewish Book Awards, this book shares the struggles and strength of three young girls growing up in post-Holocaust Israel as they learn to lean on each other while processing the loss and pain of all they have endured. Under the Domim Tree was written by Israeli film actress, Gila Almagor, who drew upon her childhood experiences to create a coming-of-age story centered around orphaned teenagers growing up in an Israeli agricultural youth village.

by Suzanne Singer

Alex: Building a Life is a poignant collection of writings and drawings by Alex Singer, an American-born Jew who chose to serve as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. His life was tragically cut short by a terrorist in Southern Lebanon. The book, compiled by his parents, showcases Alex’s remarkable character through his letters, diaries, and art.

by Gad Shimron

A memoir of former Mossad agent Gad Shimron’s experiences in the operation to rescue Ethiopian Jews from Sudan. First published in Hebrew in 1998, Shimron offers a thrilling, firsthand account of how the operation was put in place, and how the Mossad team in Sudan brought it off, despite great personal risk, running a partying vacation spot for wealthy tourists by day as they stole through the Sudanese desert to rescue desperate refugees by night.

by Sarah Ansbacher

As a museum tour guide, the author educated visitors about the Jewish Adeni community and their abrupt flight from Yemen. Passage from Aden is  a collection of true stories based on the author’s conversations with visitors from around the world who came to tour the Aden Jewish Heritage Museum in Tel Aviv. Amusing, poignant, insightful, these stories will take readers to forgotten times and places.  

by Ari Mittleman

These are the stories of eight individuals who have gone above and beyond for Israel and the Jewish people during a difficult and turbulent period. Largely unheralded and not in the headlines, their stories can inspire us. They each demonstrate unique attributes.  Collectively they teach us what it means to pursue a righteous path in the twenty-first century.

by Ruth Gruber

Raquela Prywes was a  ninth-generation Jerusalemite who found her calling as a hospital and battlefield nurse, delivering babies in the Atlit detention camp, where Holocaust survivors were interned by the British, and  tending the wounded during the 1948 War of Independence. This is the true story of a remarkable woman whose life mirrored the trials and tribulations of the beginning of the modern State of Israel.

by Matti Friedman

Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedman introduces us to four unknown young men who are caught up in the fraught events surrounding the birth of Israel in 1948 and drawn into secret lives, becoming the nucleus of Israel’s intelligence service. The tiny, amateur unit known as the “Arab Section” was conceived during WWII by British spies and by Jewish militia leaders in Palestine. 

For CAMERA book review, click here.

by Yehuda Avner

Yehuda Avner’s enthralling political memoir takes readers behind the scenes into the chambers of Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzchak Rabin, and Menachem Begin, where he served as political adviser and speechwriter. His intimate descriptions of  life-and-death decision-making, top-secret military operations and high level peace negotiations captivate the reader. It is the first and only insider account of Israeli politics beginning from the founding of the Jewish State.

by Ronald Radosh and Allis Radosh

A detailed account of the events leading up to the creation of a Jewish homeland and the true story behind President Harry S. Truman’s decision to recognize the State of Israel in 1948. Drawn from Truman’s long-lost diary entries and other previously unused archival materials, A Safe Haven follows Truman as he grappled with the pros and cons of recognizing Israel. This dramatic recounting of a key moment in postwar foreign relations is essential to a full understanding of Middle East politics.

Edited by Itamar Rabinovich and Jehuda Reinharz

An anthology of the most important documents on the domestic and foreign policy of the modern state of Israel, it provides convenient access to the most significant documents of the Zionist movement since 1882 and of Israel’s domestic and foreign policy issues between 1948 and 2006. Comprised largely of primary sources from Israeli, Arab, and American records, documents encompass not only political and diplomatic history but economic, cultural, legal and social aspects of the region as well.

by Daniel Gordis

The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day. Author Daniel Gordis offers a brief but thorough account of the cultural, economic, and political history of this complex nation, from its beginnings to the present. Accessible, levelheaded, and rigorous, Israel sheds light on Israel’s past, so we can understand its future.

by Anita Shapira

Written by one of Israel’s most notable scholars, this volume provides a breathtaking history of Israel from the origins of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century to the present day. Organized chronologically, the volume explores the emergence of Zionism in Europe against the backdrop of relations among Jews, Arabs, and Turks, and the earliest pioneer settlements in Palestine under Ottoman rule. References to contemporary diaries, memoirs, and literature bring a human dimension to this narrative history of Israel.

by Barry Rubin

This comprehensive book provides a well-rounded introduction to Israel—a definitive account of the nation’s past, its often controversial present, and much more. Written by a leading historian of the Middle East, Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. It offers accessible, clearly explained material, and provides readers with a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel.

by Michael B. Oren

This is the first book that explores the Six Day War both as a military struggle and as a critical episode in the global Cold War. Michael B. Oren spotlights all the participants–Arab, Israeli, Soviet, and American–telling the story of how the war broke out and of the shocking ways it unfolded. Writing with a novelist’s command of narrative and a historian’s grasp of fact and motive, Michael B. Oren reconstructs both the lightning-fast action on the battlefields and the political shocks that electrified the world.

by Murray S. Greenfield and Joseph M. Hochstein

This is the dramatic story of the rescue of Jews from Europe after World War II by North American Jewish volunteers who smashed through the British blockade and brought thousands of refugees to safe haven in Palestine through the illegal Aliyah Bet. The book documents the story told in Leon Uris’ Exodus, and is the basis for a documentary entitled Waves of Freedom. 

by Martin Kramer

Historian and political analyst Martin Kramer presents a series of case studies, based on pathfinding research or provocative analysis, that correct  misinformation clouding the public’s understanding of the Middle East. He also offers a forensic exploration of how misinformation arises and becomes “fact.” Divided into five themes, Kramer shows how error permeates the debate over each theme, creating distorted images that cause policy failures.

Edited by Gil Troy

by Iddo Netanyahu

Yoni’s Last Battle is a gripping account of the famous operation in Entebbe, Uganda on July 4, 1976. It chronicles the detailed planning and implementation of one of the most incredibly successful airborne rescue missions in history. Author Iddo Netanyahu,  youngest of three brothers, including the Israeli Prime Minister (Bibi), describes the famous mission carried out by Israel’s elite commando unit led by his oldest brother, Yoni, to rescue 105 hostages held by German and Arab terrorists.

by Noa Tishby

Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, the author chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Noa Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.

by Mitchell Bard

Explore the historical and political forces that created the Jewish state, influence the unrest in the Palestinian territories, shape the peace process, and affect Israel’s security today. Learn about the diversity of the land and the people, the significance of the Law of Return, and Israel’s importance to America’s interests. Israel Matters explores the historical and political forces that created the Jewish state, influence the unrest in the Palestinian territories, shape the peace process, and affect Israel’s security today. It was written to help anyone sort out the complexities that surround the Jewish state and offers a place to begin a conversation.

by Eric Rozenman

Israel is the only Western-style democracy in the greater Middle East, a world-leader despite its small size in medicine, science and technology and is the effective first-responder in many global humanitarian relief efforts. Yet international public opinion surveys find it ranked as one of the chief threats to world peace. What happened to the post-1945 world of Never Again! ? Author Eric Rozenman examines how we got here, the danger posed not only for the Jewish state and Jews everywhere but also for the United States and the rest of the self-doubting liberal West.

by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel — a country of 7.1 million, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war, with no natural resources — produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful nations like Canada, Japan, China, India, and the U.K.? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine Israeli culture and government to reveal the secrets behind the world’s first ever “start-up nation.”

by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

How has a small nation of 9 million people, forced to fight for its existence and security since its founding and riven by ethnic, religious, and economic divides, proven resistant to so many of the societal ills plaguing other wealthy democracies? Widely admired for having the world’s highest density of high-tech start-ups, Israel’s greatest innovation may not be a technology at all, but Israeli society itself.

by Adi Schwartz and Einat Wilf

Two prominent Israelis argue that for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to end with peace, Palestinians must come to terms with the fact that there will be no “right of return.” The authors—liberal Israelis supportive of a two-state solution—reveal the origins of the idea of a right of return, and explain how UNRWA—the very agency charged with finding a solution for the refugees—gave in to Palestinian, Arab and international political pressure to create a permanent “refugee” problem.

by Mitchell G. Bard

The former editor of The Near East Report explores the many dangers confronting Israel, and argues that the country is built for resilience. While most people view the Palestinian conflict as the greatest threat to Israel’s survival, it is in fact only one of the nation’s long-term concerns. Bard paints a realistic picture of the road ahead with a hopeful message: Israel will not only survive, but will endure long into the future.