A Little Too Close to God: The Thrills and Panic of a Life in Israel

A Little Too Close to God is a candid, funny, passionate, and deeply personal portrait of present-day Israel. David Horovitz, an English journalist who emigrated to Israel in 1983, now faces the painful question of whether to stay in his chosen country, where, he writes, "I care about what's happening with a passion that simply doesn't apply anywhere else," or to raise his three children in a safer, saner place. Horovitz deftly weaves personal concerns with political analysis. He is a liberal and a committed supporter of peace with the Palestinians, but his book also accounts for the most convincing arguments against reconciliation--arguments conveyed lightly, through family anecdotes about his relationships with a brother-in-law in the West Bank and an Orthodox cousin. No one will finish A Little Too Close to God with any doubt about where Horovitz stands regarding Israeli politics, however. His book is, finally, a strong attack on the idea that Israel is invincible. He sees a great deal of violence and moral failure in his society (at one political rally: "I felt as if I were among wild animals, vicious, angry predators craving flesh and scenting blood."). He sees so much of this sort of thing that he cannot believe that Israel can afford to do anything but compromise. --Michael Joseph Gross