Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul by Daniel
Gordis, part of the excellent Jewish Encounters Series, is an unabashedly
pro-Begin biography. I say this not to disparage
the work, but just to let the reader know what he or she will read. The premise is simple: Begin is a hero of the
Jewish people and their state, and Gordis writes his account accordingly.
Begin is an unlikely hero.
But Gordis makes a good case that his accomplishments have been largely
unsung, particularly among American Jews.
Ben-Gurion labeled him a fascist and terrorist, but as Prime Minister,
he negotiated Israel’s first peace treaty with an Arab state, and traded land
for that peace.
Begin was framed by widely varying definitions, most of them
negative. So, perhaps it is time for a
book such as this, to tip the scales a bit in the other direction.
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