The Unmaking of Israel is an angry book about the current state of a troubled and increasingly isolated nation. Its author, Gershom Gorenberg is a prolific American-born journalist who went to live in Israel more than three decades ago and whose children have served in the Israeli military. His absorbing, realistic and disillusioned account of what is happening in contemporary Israel reminded me of May 15, 1948, the day Israel was officially born.
That Israel is no longer, if in fact it ever existed. The Israel to which Gorenberg immigrated is now quite different from what he hoped to find, even though many Israelis still believe in peaceful coexistence with Palestinians and an end to the Occupation. It is now the home of a militarized state with an immense nuclear stockpile, heavily dependent on American domestic support.
Gorenberg details the mounting influence of Orthodox and secular extremists in and out of the Knesset, all of whom are spreading their influence into military and civilian life. Meanwhile, the occupation of the West Bank continues and more settlements are opening, with little hope of peaceful compromise in sight.
Today about six hundred thousand Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, subsidized by the Israeli government and U.S. financial support. Settler sites are often on land stolen from Palestinians. This is only one of the many offenses committed against Palestinians, who are regularly jailed for offenses ranging from trivial to very serious. In contrast, repeated acts of settler violence against Palestinians go relatively unpunished.
Gorenberg rightfully fumes at what he describes as the ‘racist interpretation of Judaism’ preached by many fanatic Orthodox rabbis and their followers. The book presents a critical examination of modern Israel’s departure from its founding democratic principles.