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A frank assessment of Israel’s uncertain place in a region scarred by conflict and insecurity. Where can the country and its people go from here?
Days before his country signed a deal to normalise ties with Israel, the Emirati Ambassador to the US penned an article in Hebrew, directly addressing Israelis. Israel, he argued, faced a choice between engagement with the rest of the region, or isolation. His words struck a chord then, and will continue to ring true in the decades to come.
Michael A. Horowitz tells the unfolding story of this decision: of tension between the hope ushered in by the normalisation agreements, and the enduring despair both Israelis and Palestinians feel about the waning prospects of peace. Rather than examining the past, Horowitz looks to Israel’s future—one marked by new opportunities, but also tremendous challenges, as the country tries to find its place in a region trying to find itself.
Israel is a ship in a storm, navigating a ‘new’ Middle East where unfinished revolutions, regional competition, perceived US disengagement and an unstable but menacing Iran all warrant caution. In the ‘promised land’ itself, existing gaps are widening, and the space for optimism is shrinking. Hope and Despair is a brutally honest exploration of what lies ahead for Israel: the waves, the winds, and the ray of light above the clouds.
Introduction
PART 1: A NEW MIDDLE EAST
1. Arab Springs and Arab Winters
2. The Return of Great Power Competition
3. Palestinian Fatigue?
PART 2: BREAKING ISRAEL’S ISOLATION
4. A Deep Desire for Engagement
5. Aligning the Stars
6. Security Ties
7. The Crown Jewel
8. Building Roads, Hoping People Will Use Them
PART 3: MANAGING DESPAIR IN THE ISRAELI–PALESTINIAN ARENA
9. Trading Peace for Quiet
10. The Palestinian Authority
11. Chaos in the Post-Abbas Era
12. Israel’s Identity Crisis
13. The Path of Despair and Disillusion
14. The Space for Hope in a Shrinking ‘Universe of Possibles’
15. Jumping into the Unknown after the 7 October Massacre
PART 4: ISRAEL’S COLD WAR
16. Failed States, Successful Iran?
17. A Not-So-Distant Enemy
18. An Inevitable Collision?
19. An Empire at Risk of Collapsing Upon Itself
Conclusion: Thinking about the Future
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index
Description
A frank assessment of Israel’s uncertain place in a region scarred by conflict and insecurity. Where can the country and its people go from here?
Days before his country signed a deal to normalise ties with Israel, the Emirati Ambassador to the US penned an article in Hebrew, directly addressing Israelis. Israel, he argued, faced a choice between engagement with the rest of the region, or isolation. His words struck a chord then, and will continue to ring true in the decades to come.
Michael A. Horowitz tells the unfolding story of this decision: of tension between the hope ushered in by the normalisation agreements, and the enduring despair both Israelis and Palestinians feel about the waning prospects of peace. Rather than examining the past, Horowitz looks to Israel’s future—one marked by new opportunities, but also tremendous challenges, as the country tries to find its place in a region trying to find itself.
Israel is a ship in a storm, navigating a ‘new’ Middle East where unfinished revolutions, regional competition, perceived US disengagement and an unstable but menacing Iran all warrant caution. In the ‘promised land’ itself, existing gaps are widening, and the space for optimism is shrinking. Hope and Despair is a brutally honest exploration of what lies ahead for Israel: the waves, the winds, and the ray of light above the clouds.
