Brother Against Brother: Violence and Extremism in Israeli Politics from Altalena to the Rabin Assassination

Israel never has been free of violence, but for many years the country was widely believed immune to the virus of religious extremism that has characterized several of its neighbors. That perception changed, however, after 1994's Hebron massacre, in which 29 praying Muslims were slaughtered by a machine-gun toting Jewish doctor, and the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a young orthodox Jewish student. While there are many books studying Muslim extremism, this is the first to focus on Jewish extremism within Israel. Ehud Sprinzak, a noted Israeli political scientist, shows that these elements have been present within his nation from its founding; right-wing violence has accelerated in recent years thanks to the Oslo peace accords and nonstop Palestinian terrorism. He is hopeful, but not a Pollyanna. Sprinzak admits his biases: he's a strong supporter of the peace process--which means that some readers may think he doesn't adequately appreciate Israel's national-security needs. Yet this is a fine book, full of keen historical observations and modern political analyses. Anybody who wants a full understanding of Israeli politics at the end of the 20th century will want to read it. --John J. Miller