Israel on the Brink: And the Eight Revolutions That Could Lead to Decolonization and Coexistence

In this striking account, Israeli historian Pappé (Lobbying for Zionism) examines the present crisis of Israel’s legitimacy as a liberal democracy as it perpetuates “mass destruction” and “atrocities against civilians” in Gaza. He begins by analyzing the decades-long “failure of the so-called peace process,” which he partly pegs on the “appeasement” approach to Israel’s aggressive expansionism taken by the U.S. This appeasement, Pappé contends, allowed for a radical Israeli right wing to flourish and build up a notion of a long-lost “State of Judea” that will be recolonized by modern Israel (which includes large chunks of several present-day Middle Eastern countries). The “Judea” faction finally came to full power in the November 2022 elections, Pappé explains, and he warns that should it continue to consolidate power, “its victims would not be limited to Palestinians. Jewish citizens who want to live in a liberal, democratic, and pluralist state would also suffer.” In later chapters, Pappé presents several “cognitive and political mini-revolutions” that would allow for the restoration of liberal order and liberal values, including a robust “judicial process” for human rights violations and the “total demolition” of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The book’s final section is a moving “fictional diary” set in a liberated “post-Israel Palestine in 2048.” It’s a bracingly principled and hopeful blueprint for the future. (Sept.)