My Country, My Life
Fighting for Israel, Searching for Peace
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD
The definitive memoir of one of Israel's most influential soldier-statesmen and one-time Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, with insights into forging peace in the Middle East.
In the summer of 2000, the most decorated soldier in Israel's history—Ehud Barak—set himself a challenge as daunting as any he had faced on the battlefield: to secure a final peace with the Palestinians. He would propose two states for two peoples, with a shared capital in Jerusalem. He knew the risks of failure. But he also knew the risks of not trying: letting slip perhaps the last chance for a generation to secure genuine peace.
It was a moment of truth.
It was one of many in a life intertwined, from the start, with that of Israel. Born on a kibbutz, Barak became commander of Israel's elite special forces, then army Chief of Staff, and ultimately, Prime Minister.
My Country, My Life tells the unvarnished story of his—and his country's—first seven decades; of its major successes, but also its setbacks and misjudgments. He offers candid assessments of his fellow Israeli politicians, of the American administrations with which he worked, and of himself. Drawing on his experiences as a military and political leader, he sounds a powerful warning: Israel is at a crossroads, threatened by events beyond its borders and by divisions within. The two-state solution is more urgent than ever, not just for the Palestinians, but for the existential interests of Israel itself. Only by rediscovering the twin pillars on which it was built—military strength and moral purpose—can Israel thrive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this memoir of "the formative challenges in my life and in Israel's," Barak who, after a military career, became Israel's head of military intelligence, then its tenth prime minister, and later a defense minister for Benjamin Netanyahu reveals a great deal about Israel's post-1967 military, strategic, and diplomatic history. He lets readers in on debates within the military that preceded the 1976 Entebbe rescue and Israel's plans to assassinate Saddam Hussein (dropped because of the First Gulf War). He also includes a detailed account of the 2000 Camp David meeting among President Bill Clinton, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and himself the last significant attempt at a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. It foundered partly because of the thorniest peace issue of all: Jerusalem. (Arafat insisted on total Palestinian sovereignty over the Old City.) Barak ends by criticizing Netanyahu's government, calling it "the most right-wing, deliberately divisive, narrow-minded, and messianic... we have seen in our seven-decade history." While Barak stints on details about his personal life, his writing is clear and full of colorful anecdotes. This is a significant resource for understanding Israel's recent history.
