The Rise of Israel: A History of a Revolutionary State (Israeli History, Politics and Society) - Hardcover

Superbly researched and passionately argued, The Rise of Israel fills a glaring gap in the study of Zionism and the Jewish State. Taking on the academic establishment view of Israel as the embodiment of militarism and Western imperialism, Jonathan Adelman has revealed Israel's achievements--often in the face of incalculable adversity--in the fields of science, technology, democracy, and the arts. The Rise of Israel is an essential book for any student of Israel and the modern Middle East. Michael Oren, Georgetown University, USA

Professor Jonathan Adelman develops a fresh perspective (on how) Israel came to be the only innovative, revolutionary first-world democracy in the Middle East.The Rise of Israel is essential reading for those who want to understand how the Jewish state has overcome so many threats in the past and how it has the power to do so today and in the years ahead.Near East Report, April 2008

The Rise of Israel takes a fascinating, refreshing and inspiring approach to the history of the Jewish state. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how Israel has not only survived but flourished over the sixty years since its founding. Orde Kittrie, Arizona State University

'...A Summation of the Zionist counter-argumentation, ... providing novice readers with a useful introduction to a right-of-center Iasraeli perspective of the Middle East conflict.' - M. Gershovich, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Choice, June 2009

The state of Israel is one of the most controversial countries in the world. Yet, its unique creation and rise to power in 1948 has not been adequately explained either by its friends (mainstream Zionists) nor by its detractors (Arabists and post-Zionists).

Using a variety of comparative methodologies; from contrasting the Jewish state to other minorities in the Ottoman Turkish Empire to the rise of the four Tigers in Asia to newly independent countries and revolutionary socialist countries in Europe and Asia, Jonathan Adelman examines how Israel has gained the strength to overcome great obstacles and become a serious regional power in the Middle East by 2007.

Themes addressed include:

• how the creation of Israel is strikingly different from that of most new states, as undetermined by the major structural forces in the world in the twentieth century
• how voluntarist forces, those of individual choice, will and strategy, played a major role in its creation and success
• in-depth analysis of the creation of a revolutionary party, government, army and secret police as critical to the success of the socialist revolution (1881–1977)
• the enormity of the forces aligned against the state; from major international and religious organizations representing billions of people, international reluctance to helping Israel in crisis, and internal Israeli and Jewish issues
• the tremendous impact of revolutionary (socialist and semi-capitalist nationalist) factors in giving Israel the strength to survive and become a significant regional power over time.

Jonathan Adelman provides a fresh perspective to view one of the most controversial states in the world and avoids the highly charged ideological descriptions that often plague such discussions. Understanding the rise of Israel, a central state in the region, helps to explain a great deal about the Middle East today.