Friendly Fire
How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for Its Future
by Ami Ayalon; Anthony David
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Pub Date 8 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 17 Aug 2020
Steerforth Press | Steerforth
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Description
In this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspective from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own. As head of the Shin Bet security agency, he gained empathy for "the enemy" and learned that when Israel carries out anti-terrorist operations in a political context of hopelessness, the Palestinian public will support violence, because they have nothing to lose. Researching and writing Friendly Fire, he came to understand that his patriotic life had blinded him to the self-defeating nature of policies that have undermined Israel's civil society while heaping humiliation upon its Palestinian neighbors. "If Israel becomes an Orwellian dystopia," Ayalon writes, "it won't be thanks to a handful of theologians dragging us into the dark past. The secular majority will lead us there motivated by fear and propelled by silence." Ayalon is a realist, not an idealist, and many who consider themselves Zionists will regard as radical his conclusions about what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security and to sustain itself as a Jewish homeland and a liberal democracy.
Advance Praise
"How can a staunch Zionist who was raised on one of Israel's earliest settlements and trained as a kill-or-be-killed elite commando spearhead a campaign for peace with his enemies? The answer, in Ami Ayalon's captivating narrative, is an eye-opener for Palestinians and Israelis alike." -- Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life, former president of the Al-Quds University and former Palestinian National Authority representative in Jerusalem
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781586422585 |
| PRICE | US$27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Featured Reviews
David R, Reviewer
This is a memoir by one of the leading military men of modern Israel. Ayalon grew up on a kibbutz in Israel during the 1940's. Against his mother's wishes he joined the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit and was honored with the Medal of Valor, the Israeli equivalent of the Medal of Honor. He rose in the ranks to become the commander of the Israeli Navy from 1992 to 1996. After the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin he was asked to be the head of Shin Bet, Israel's version of Mossad that deals with internal security and anti-terrorism. He is an advocate for peace with the Palestinians and went against his conviction to avoid politics and was elected to the Knesset in 2006. He ran against Ehud Barak for leadership of the Labor Party, but lost in a runoff.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in modern Israel. Ayalon spent most of his career killing terrorists. However, when he started meeting with the Palestinians during his time with Shin Bet, he realized that they are human beings with needs and desires. "Seeing Palestinians as people changed me. I saw them no longer as abstract targets but as people with dreams mostly thwarted because of Israelis' determination to actualize our own dreams. Learning to view Palestinians as humans beings with rights alerted me to a basic flaw in our approach to security. Our absence of empathy corrupted our ability to assess dangers and opportunities. Fear made us overreact." He came to realize that retaliation for terrorist attacks only lead to more attacks.
Ayalon is a strong advocate for a two state system in Israel. "Our most pressing security question was, therefore, no longer a military one. It is how best to foster hope among Palestinians. Only when the Palestinians believe that the political process will lead to an end to the occupation and discrimination, and to the establishment of their own state alongside Israel, will they stop supporting terror."
One of the eye opening aspects of this book was the revelation that Israel is becoming increasingly radicalized. Ayalon described a conversation he had with a messianic rabbi who described the preparation for the alter and sacrifices to be built on the ruins of the Dome of the Rock. Ayalon stated that these are the people we should really be afraid of.
This book is a philosophical look at a new nation that is torn apart by warring factions. It is also an autobiography of one of the heroes of modern Israel. It is as important a book as any that I have read in a long time.
Thanks to NetGalley and Steerford Press for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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