Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth

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Simon and Schuster, Apr 6, 2021 - Biography & Autobiography - 352 pages
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel.

Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts?

Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.
 

Contents

A Brief History of Me
3
A Brief History of the Middle East
37
A Brief History of Zionism
51
Chasing That Dream
71
A State Is Born
93
A Tug of War and Peace
123
Settlements
149
Arabs
167
BDS
197
May the Melting Pot Not Melt Us All
223
Whats with the Obsession World?
263
This Is a Promise
289
A Much Quicker Guide
295
Glossary
301
Copyright

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About the author (2021)

Noa Tishby is the New York Times bestselling author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth and Israel’s former Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization. A native of Tel Aviv, she served in the Israeli army before moving to Los Angeles and launching a career in the entertainment industry. An award-winning producer, Tishby made history with the sale of In Treatment to HBO, the first Israeli television show to become an American series. One of the most visible activists on social media, Tishby is the founder of several nonprofit organizations, including Act for Israel and Eighteen, which combats antisemitism and inspires Jewish pride. She lives in Los Angeles and is a proud Jewish mother to her son, Ari.

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