A great and very important book. Barak’s life parallels the history of the nation of Israel. He was not only involved in and influenced events during the brief history of the country, he left his mark in many ways.
I briefly served alongside Barak in the military, and on a personal level I learned a lot from him. I’m a big fan and admirer. The book is well written!
Prime Minister Barak was raised on socialist Kibbutz principles, and it dominated his outlook on life. He must have believed that the Palestinians share similar principles as his for making peace with their neighbors. That lead to the failed Camp David summit where PM Barak, as well as president Clinton and his team failed to realize that the perspective of the Palestinians on the dispute with Israel is not territorial. Hence it made no difference offering Arafat 90% or 95% or even 100% of the West Bank including partial control of the Old City. The dispute is between civilizations, cultures, and religious in nature. PM Barak should have realized that when during his victory lap, after Camp David, Arafat proudly stated that he (Arafat) protected Jerusalem. The rest of PM Barak political career was spent solving the wrong problem (the territorial problem). Even getting a declaration that ends all mutual claims between the Palestinians and the Jews forever, means little if 50 years later hot-headed Palestinian youth may restart the conflict. And that time from a more advantageous position. This almost happened in Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood was elected to power in 2012. Who knows if the peace between Egypt and Israel would have survived (even though Morsi said he would support Egypt’s international obligations). Fortunately, el-Sisi overthrew Morsi. Moshe Dayan called that the “salami method” – they get one slice at the time….
I’m also surprised that the book doesn’t discuss the “Jordanian option” for the Palestinian problem (may not be politically correct in light of the peace agreement with Jordan). The Sykes-Picot treaty that formed Jordan after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and later imported the Hashemite family to rule over Jordan, will collapse eventually. And Jordan (the Emirate of Trans-Jordan), with 4/5 of the area of the old British Mandate, would be the Palestinian state. The Palestinians in the West Bank can stay where they are, but they will be citizens of Jordan, and vote in Jordanian elections (just like Americans living in Canada can vote in American elections while paying taxes in Canada). But Israel should not create yet another Muslim state in the West Bank.
PM Barak has had pure intentions to do good. His military service was impeccable. He developed bonds with every Israeli leader in the past six decades and they all came to rely on his judgment and knowledge. And as a politician his actions indeed were very helpful in preserving the friendly relations between Israel and various US administrations. But his slant on achieving peace got in his way of achieving that peace.
Yet this is A MUST-READ BOOK for anyone who has interest in the Middle East, the Palestinians, and the rise of Israel from a dream to a high-tech and military tower of power.
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