The Jews & the History of Israel

CHIEFTAINS OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C.
by Robert D. Miller II, S.F.O. B&W maps. Condition: NEW 2005 Eerdmans Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: An illuminating social history of ancient Israel, "Chieftains of the Highland Clans" offers an unusually thorough and original reconstruction of Israelite society prior to the rise of the monarchy around 1000 B.C. Using the latest archaeological research and anthropological theory, Robert Miller presents an intriguing picture of what life was like in early Israel. Ethnographic evidence from diverse cultures suggests the "complex chiefdom" model as the most appropriate for the archaeology of twelfth- and eleventh-century highland Palestine. This model details the economic and political realities of pre-state societies with ascribed rank and hierarchical political control. As he applies and fine-tunes the complex chiefdom model, Miller illustrates areas of potential correspondence and contradiction between his reconstruction and the biblical text. Students of archaeology, Palestine, and the Hebrew Bible will not want to miss Miller’s fresh and fascinating conclusions about the sociopolitical nature of early Israel. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.00 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE CYMBALISTA SYNAGOGUE AND JEWISH HERITAGE CENTER: Tel Aviv University
by Mario Botta. Color photos of the Center plus B&W "blueprint" drawings of each section. Condition: NEW 2001 Skira/Gingko Press softcover (apx 120 pages), no edition given. Content: Mario Botta has become the world's foremost architect of churches and museums. To a series of great buildings that have been dubbed fortresses of art and culture he has added his first synagogue, a remarkable building that masterfully interprets the fundamentals of the Jewish religion. With the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center at Tel Aviv University Mario Botta is considered to have created a breakthrough in synagogue construction. Strikingly modern in style it is unencumbered by reminiscences and tradition, but still succeeds in providing a comforting feeling of protection. Several of its structural elements are symbolic: the two columns at the main entrance are reminiscent of Solomon's Temple, light comes in only from above, and there are no decorations or windows to distract from prayer. Great book for shul libraries. Questions welcome [2 copies available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

FAMOUS TRAVELLERS TO THE HOLY LAND: Their Personal Impressions and Reflections
compiled by Linda Osband. B&W maps (with a pull-out map) with B&W era drawings and photos. Introduction by Jan Morris. Condition: UNREAD, but perused on the shelf, 1989 Prion (London) hardcover & DJ (in myular jacket), asumed first impression. Light tanning to DJ edges. The DJ has been taped in place, most likely to protect the pull-out map. Content: This is a wonderful book - for both history and religon. From medieval times to the late 19th and early 20th century, the Holy Land was an ignored province of the Ottoman empire and a province of Syria. Suddenly in the 19th century, Western travellers began to make their way to "Palestine." Here are the famous travellers beginning in roughly 1951: J.T. Barclay, Gertrude Bell, James Silk Buckingham, Caroline of Brunswick, Vicomte de Chateaubriand, Robert Curzon, James Finn, William Holman Hunt, Charles Leonard Irby, Horation Herbert Kitchener, Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine, T.E. Lawrence, Edward Lear, John Macgregor, Sir Moses Montefiore, Laurence Oliphant, Edward Robinson, Prince rudolph of Austria, Lady Hester Stanhope, Arthur Penbryn Stanley, John Lloyd Stephens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Henry Baker Tristram, Mark Twain, Comte de Volney, Charles Warren, and Sir William Wilde. Fascinating read! [1 copy available]
$ 7.39 + $ 3.39 media shipping. International shipping available on arrangement - email us.

THE HOUSE ON GARIBALDI STREET
by Isser Harel (Former Chief of Israel's Secret Service). Condition: Very good 1976 Bantam paperback ediiton, 5th printing. Gently pre-read book with very pale spine crease and tiny edgewear. Interior is tight & clean with light tanning to page edges. Excellent copy. Content: One of the greatest "detective" stories ever - and it's true. Reviewer: "The kidnapping of Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann by the Israeli Mossad was one of it's most known coups of the 1960's. Eichnmann was one of Nazi Germany's most notorious war criminals, who was personally responsible for the killing of millions of Jews in occupied Europe. This book brings the story of Isser Harel, Israel's legendary intelligence spymaster who was Head of the Mossad at the time of the operation. Harel's story of this complex action is told in a simple and moving way. The editor Shlomo Shpiro, an Israeli intelligence expert, places in his detailed introduction the operation in its overall historical contex. The new books contains, for the first time, the real names of all Mossad personnel involved, as well as the astounding facts about the involvement of West Germany in this operation. A must reading not only to those interested in the hunt for Nazi criminals but also to everyone interested in real, as opposed to fictional, intelligence work." [1 copy available]
$ 3.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

THE IMAGINARY VOYAGE: With Theodor Herzl in Israel
by Shimon Peres (Nobel Peace Prize Winner). Condition: NEW 2000 Zoland Trade Paperback, first paperback edition, first printing. Perfect. Content: Some of the same qualities for which he has been criticized throughout his long career as a statesman and politician make Peres an enjoyable writer: erudition (and a tendency to show it off), a taste for whimsy and a romantic streak. Peres, co-winner with Yitzak Rabin and Yasir Arafat of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, takes the reader on an imaginary journey around present-day Israel with Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the father of modern Zionism. The imaginary Herzl proves a good foil to whom Peres explains concisely how Israel has evolved in so many ways: from a desert to an agricultural miracle; from an agricultural economy to a high-tech one; from a nation remarkably unified in spirit to one rent by factional discord. As befits a man who was twice prime minister and many times a member of Israel's cabinet, Peres demonstrates pride in what Israel has created and satisfaction in his own rise from Russian immigrant in 1923 to one of the country's elder statesmen. To his credit, however, Peres doesn't rely on a "what-miracles-has-the-state-produced" approach. He expresses, for example, his dismay with the lack of progress in the Israeli- Palestinian peace process since Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud block defeated Peres's Labor Party in 1996. Part history, part autobiography and part patriotic romance, Peres's idiosyncratic tour of Israel and its history is more loving than it is thorough. But his love is not directed at a Jewish utopia but rather at a real state with all its real-world imperfections and perils. [1 copy available]
$ 5.69 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

IN THE NAME OF SORROW AND HOPE
by Noa Ben Artzi-Pelossof. B&W photo section. Condition: NEW 1996 Alfred Knopf small hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), firt American edition. Content: Although she is only 19, Noa Ben Artzi-Pelossof's memoir covers a wealth of stirring and tragic experience. From the chaotic impact of war to the comfort of her family and community, she writes about her youth in a country torn from within and without, culminating in the assassination of her grandfather, Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 3.59 + $ 3.09 first class shipping.

THE JEWISH STATE: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question
by Theodor Herzl. Condition: NEW 1993 Henry Pordes (London) Trade Paperback, Seventh Edition. Content: This reviewer (Harold Grooms) said it better than I've seen anywhere: ""The Jewish State," was the means by which author, Theodor Herzl, rallied world Jewry to the cause of establishing a national homeland for his people. Published in 1896, this little pamphlet ignited age-old passions among Jews the world over and began the drive for the establishment of the first Jewish State in 2000 years. By doing so, Herzl set in motion events that monopolize the world's attention today. Herzl outlines the plan for establishing his state. In a logical, step-by-step process he defines how the land would be colonized, financed, and administered. Palestine and Argentina are suggested as possible sites. However, Palestine emerges clearly as the desired locale for spiritual and emotional reasons. Anyone trying to establish a state could use this pamphlet as a guide. Emerson said that American colonists fired, "the shot heard 'round the world," at Lexington and Concord. Herzl fired a similar shot by publishing "The Jewish State." He, no less than the colonists, started a revolution by his actions. Both ultimately achieved their goals of establishing a state for their peoples. However, America did not have to endure a Holocaust to facilitate an exodus to our shores; unfortunately, Israel did. Today, the Jewish State exists in the form of modern Israel. Born out of controversy, this state exists as a prosperous, democratic entity, in the midst of numerically superior and extremely hostile Arab states. Jews have their home, but they have to fight daily to keep them. Is this what Herzl envisioned? Did he do the world a favor by establishing his state? The verdict is still out. One thing is clear. The roots of the current controversy that has American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan can be traced back to Israel, and Israel's roots can be traced to Herzl's pamphlet." [3 copies available]
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THE NIGHT RAIDERS: Israel's Naval Commandos at War
by Samuel M. Katz. B&W photo section. Condition: Gently pre-read 1997 Pocket Paperback original, first edition, first printing. Tiny, tiny edgewear with pale spine crease. Interior clean & tight. Nice copy. Content: They are Flotilla 13--Israeli Navy SEALs--the best and the bravest of the vaunted Israel Defense Force. Theirs is a tradition begun by courageous Jewish settlers. Today, these special forces commandos sport AK-47 assault rifles, high-tech neoprene, night vision goggles and the coveted bat wing insignia. Here, readers go behind the scenes on their most dangerous missions. [1 copy available]
$ 18.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

O JERUSALEM
by Larry Collins & Dominique LaPierre. Two B&W photo sections. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD 1973 Pocket paperback, 4th printing. Light edge wear with light tanning. Interior clean & tight. Content: Reviewer: "This book is a classic. By focusing on one narrow yet vitally important aspect of the Arab-Jewish conflict surrounding the birth of Israel between WWII and 1948, the authors bring to life all the characters, good bad and neutral who played a role in the saga of Jerusalem. As readers of the book will discover, prior to 1948, Jerusalem was a city with a mixed Jewish-Arab population. The Arabs and Jews lived in relative harmony, sometimes in mixed neighborhoods. Under British rule, all religious groups had access to their own holy sights. The authors demonstrate how villaims like Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, a rabid anti-semite who spent WWII hiding from the British in Berlin, brought ruin to the Arabs of Jerusalem. Indeed, the Arabs come across as the ultimate victims, which they were. Their victimizers were not the Jews, however, but their fellow Arabs. Ultimately, war comes in 1948 and the Jews are victorious in establishing the state of Israel. Many Arab residents of Jerusalem are forced from their homes either by the Israeli Defense Force, fellow Arabs or their own fears. Most wind up in the part of the city that has come to be known as "East Jerusalem". The old city, including the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall is captured by Jordan and ALL Jews are expelled. The book describes in great detail, the tragic consequences of this conflict which was not wanted by the Jews, not wanted by their Arab neighbors but spurred on by interlopers like the Mufti, the British and many bad players fromt he Arab world like King Abdullah. It is a fair analysis. It does not make the Jews out to be saints nor does it portray all the Arabs as blood thirsty monsters. It lays blame where it belongs. Those pre-disposed to a revisionist view of Israel's birth will not appreciate this book because its fair analysis does not meet with revisionist ideology. But for anyone who wants to learn the truth about this conflict, this book is a must read." [1 copy available]
$ 3.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

TO THE PROMISED LAND: A History of Zionist Thought
by David J. Goldberg. Condition: New 1996 Penguin UK Trade PB, but does have pale near-crease bottom back corner. Interior perfect. Content: People either love or hate this book which leads me to believe it is probably a balanced account. A sympathetic but balanced account that lays bare both the paradoxes and the genuine achievements of the movement that changed the course of Jewish history. The origins and developments of Zionism, its politics and ideology are examined through the movement's leading thinkers and activistsMoses Hess, Theodor Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, and Vladimir Jabotinsky. [1 copy available]
$ 5.65 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

TRIPLE CROSS: Israel, the Atomic Bom, and the Man Who Spilled the Secrets
by Louis Toscano. Condition: Good only, 1991 Knightsbridge Paperback, first printing. Spine crease with small edgewear and a slight roll. Interior clean & tight. Content: Recently the hero/villain of this true story, Mordechai Vanunu, was released from his Israeli prison. He had been a technician at Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor when in the mid 1980s he began to photograph his country's secret manufacture of atomic weapons. In 1986 the London Sunday Times published the story and the photos. The Western world was outraged as Israel had gone back on its pledge not to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East. What the world and Vanunu did not know was that Israel wanted this information leaked to the world and used Vanunu to this end. The story takes another improbable turn when after the story had broken, the Israeli's violated international law to kidnap Vanunu and take him back to Israel. Why? A true spy tale with all the twists and turns of a fiction thriller. [1 copy available]
$ 3.65 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

TWENTY CENTURIES OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE HOLY LAND: The Forgotten Generations
edited by Dan Bahat. B&W maps, photos, & charts illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1976 Israel Economist soft cover, second edition. Very very light shelf wear. Content: Wonderful history of Israel from the 1st century to the 19th century - showing that Jews have been in the Holy Land "forever." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 13.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.