{"product_id":"9781509573783","title":"Israel and the Lure of History","description":"\u003ch1\u003eIsrael and the Lure of History\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGerard Araud | Sarah Clift\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolitical Science \/ World \/ Middle Eastern\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe pogrom of October 7th signalled the end of an illusion: that of the possibility of ignoring Palestine. This fated illusion first rose and then collapsed not only in Tel Aviv, but throughout the globe. Israel appears variously as the only possible refuge for a persecuted people, as brutal colonial enterprise, or as devastatingly vulnerable and traumatised. But what’s certain is that no other state today provokes such mental fixity and intransigent polarity across the West.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGérard Araud, former French Ambassador to Israel and to the United States, seeks to bypass the declarative, black-and-white 'for or against' trap. Recounting his encounters with political figures, including Arafat, Obama, and Jared Kushner, he describes how they navigated fears and ambitions under the immovable constraints imposed by power dynamics. He also shows that historical narrative has been integrated into the extremist war machines of Netanyahu's state and Hamas: history becomes one more vehicle for unrestrained emotion, one more ideological tool, and something which undermines perception. This use of history seeks not to bring reality into view, but to disqualify the legitimacy of the other. Without a change of course, the future of Israel is at stake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis even-handed and scrupulously fair book will renew the quality of debate surrounding a status quo which must be abandoned in favour of an empathy which extends to all innocent victims.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eGérard Araud\u003c\/b\u003e is a former diplomat who served as Ambassador of France to the United States from 2014 to 2019.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19 January 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781509573783\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e136\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50592379699340,"sku":"9781509573783","price":22.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9781509573783.jpg?v=1781091003","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9781509573783","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}