The historical illiteracy surrounding Israel in the media and in my social media feed is, to say the least, frustrating. Though, perhaps “historical illiteracy” is being too generous. Oftentimes it is just moral illiteracy, or, more probably, pro-Hamas propaganda or degenerate both-sideism. Whatever the case — and for whatever it’s worth — I thought I’d share some of my favorite books on the topic. This list isn’t in any particular order and it is by no means exhaustive.
Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael Oren:
A fast-moving, accessible overview of the history of the war that shaped the conflict. Though it did occur to me while flipping through it recently, that there is no longer an “Arab-Israel conflict.” The Arab world, with the help of the Soviets, created the “occupied territories” myth as a political cudgel against the Jewish state. Today, however, most of the Arab nations have not only come to terms with Israel’s existence, they are in open peace. This is a war of Islamic-Palestinian terror funded by Iran (and, sadly, by the West.) Still, this book is vital in understanding how we got here.
Palestine Betrayed by Efraim Karsh:
A deeply researched debunking of the myths that calcified around the formation of modern Israel. Karsh meticulously details how, beginning in the 1920s, a corrupt Palestinian leadership ginned up nationalistic and religious backlash to shatter any hope of Arab coexistence with Jews. Tragically, these leaders also initiated an
