Theodor Herzl’s dream of a national homeland for the Jewish people was realized when Israel declared its independence in 1948. Yet it was made possible through the deaths of millions of European Jews and at the expense of Palestinian society — a people who would never forget what they saw as a grave injustice. Herzl’s dream would prove illusory. This important new study from the former Australian ambassador to Israel shows how little the dynamics of the conflict have actually changed; how eerily reminiscent today’s antagonisms and falsehoods are of yesteryear’s; and how much today’s self-righteous intransigence — on both sides — owes to what went before.
Peter Rodgers is a former Australian ambassador to Israel and is now a consultant on foreign affairs, defence and trade. His commentary on Middle Eastern affairs appears regularly in the national press. He is the winner of the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award for his reporting on East Timor.
