The first English-language biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, the divisive and controversial Prime Minister of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the longest serving Prime Ministers of Israel. For much of the world, Netanyahu is a right-wing nationalist zealot; for many Israelis he is a centrist who is too soft on Arabs and backs down too easily in a fight. Love him or loathe him, Netanyahu has been at the very center of Arab-Israeli politics since 1990, when he became the telegenic Israeli spokesman for CNN's coverage of the Persian Gulf War, arguably ushering in the Americanization of the Israeli media. Netanyahu is famous for his TV skills, but there is so much more to reveal--good and bad--about the man and his place in Israeli, Middle Eastern and world political history. At present there is no major profile of Netanyahu in the English language, so the publication of this book is a landmark of considerable importance, especially as in March 2015 he was re-elected for a further term in office. Using the juncture of the Oslo Accords to take the reader back to Netanyahu's formative years, Neill Lochery, a renowned scholar of Middle Eastern politics and history, chronicles not only the Prime Minister's life but also the issues his career has encompassed, from the rise of militant Islam to the politics of oil; from the transformation of Israeli politics by the 24/7 cable news cycle to the US's changing role in the Middle East.

Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the longest serving Prime Ministers of Israel. For much of the world, Netanyahu is a right-wing nationalist zealot; for many Israelis he is a centrist who is too soft on Arabs and backs down too easily in a fight. Love him or loathe him, Netanyahu has been at the very centre of Arab-Israeli politics since 1990, when he became the telegenic Israeli spokesman for CNN's coverage of the Persian Gulf War, arguably ushering in the Americanization of the Israeli media. Netanyahu is famous for his TV skills, but there is so much more to reveal - good and bad - about the man and his place in Israeli, Middle Eastern and world political history. At present there is no major profile of Netanyahu in the English language, so the publication of this book is a landmark of considerable importance, especially as in March 2015 he was re-elected for a further term in office. Using the juncture of the Oslo Accords to take the reader back to Netanyahu's formative years, Neill Lochery, a renowned scholar of Middle Eastern politics and history, chronicles not only the Prime Minister's life but also the issues his career has encompassed, from the rise of militant Islam to the politics of oil; from the transformation of Israeli politics by the 24/7 cable news cycle to the US's changing role in the Middle East.

Benjamin Netanyahu is currently serving his fourth term in office as Prime Minister of Israel, the longest serving Prime Minister in the country’s history. Now Israeli journalist Ben Caspit puts Netanyahu’s life under a magnifying glass, focusing on his last two terms in office. "A biography of the steely Israeli prime minister that underscores his relentless, seemingly emotionless competitive drive ... A highly readable portrait of an enigmatic politician." - Kirkus Reviews Caspit covers a wide swath of topics, including Netanyahu’s policies, his political struggles, and his fight against the Iranian nuclear program, and zeroes in on Netanyahu’s love/hate relationship with the American administration, America’s Jews, and his alliances with American business magnates. A timely and important book, The Netanyahu Years is a primer for anyone looking to understand this world leader.

This series gives kids from other parts of the world insight into various aspects of life in Israel today. Written and crafted by three authors currently living in Jerusalem, this series is the first of its kind to bring such insight to children. This narrative biography of Israel's outspoken prime minister includes his early life, young adulthood, political career, and challenges he faces in office.

From the former editor in chief of Haaretz, the first in-depth comprehensive biography of Ariel Sharon, the most important Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years. The life of Ariel Sharon spans much of modern Israel's history: A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, Sharon participated in the 1948 War of Independence, and played decisive roles in the 1956 Suez War and the six day War of 1967, and most dramatically is largely credited with the shift in the outcome of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. After returning from the army in 1982, Sharon became a political leader and served in numerous governments, most prominently as the defense minister during the 1983 Lebanon War in which he bore "personal responsibility" according to the Kahan Commission for massacres of Palestinian civilians by Lebanese militia, and he championed the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. But as prime minister he performed a dramatic reversal: orchestrating Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Landau brilliantly chronicles and analyzes his surprising about-face. Sharon suffered a stroke in January 2006 and remains in a persistent vegetative state. Considered by many to be Israel's greatest military leader and political statesman, this biography recounts his life and shows how this leadership transformed Israel, and how Sharon's views were shaped by the changing nature of Israeli society.

From a leading journalist in Moscow and correspondent for The New Yorker, a groundbreaking portrait of modern Russia and the inner struggles of the people who sustain Vladimir Putin's rule "Unforgettable. . . . This is a book about Putin's Russia that is unlike any other." --Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing In this rich and novelistic tour of contemporary Russia, Joshua Yaffa introduces readers to some of the country's most remarkable figures--from politicians and entrepreneurs to artists and historians--who have built their careers and constructed their identities in the shadow of the Putin system. Torn between their own ambitions and the omnipresent demands of the state, each walks an individual path of compromise. Some muster cunning and cynicism to extract all manner of benefits and privileges from those in power. Others, finding themselves to be less adept, are left broken and demoralized. What binds them together is the tangled web of dilemmas and contradictions they face. Between Two Fires chronicles the lives of a number of strivers who understand that their dreams are best--or only--realized through varying degrees of cooperation with the Russian government. With sensitivity and depth, Yaffa profiles the director of the country's main television channel, an Orthodox priest at war with the church hierarchy, a Chechen humanitarian who turns a blind eye to persecutions, and many others. The result is an intimate and probing portrait of a nation that is much discussed yet little understood. By showing how citizens shape their lives around the demands of a capricious and frequently repressive state--as often by choice as under threat of force--Yaffa offers urgent lessons about the true nature of modern authoritarianism.

The ecological crisis is the most overwhelming to have ever faced humanity and its consequences permeate every domain of life. This trenchant book examines its relation to Islamophobia as the dominant form of racism today, showing how both share roots in domination, colonialism, and the logics of capitalism. Ghassan Hage proposes that both racism and humanity’s destructive relationship with the environment emanate from the same mode of inhabiting the world: an occupying force imposes its own interest as law, subordinating others for the extraction of value, eradicating or exterminating what gets in the way. In connecting these two issues, Hage gives voice to the claim taking shape in many activist spaces that anti-racist and ecological struggles are intrinsically related. In both, the aim is to move beyond what makes us see otherness, whether human or nonhuman, as something that exists solely to be managed.

'The State of Things' - part of Norway's official representation in the Biennale di Venezia 2011 was developed against a landscape of dramatic events, and addressed, as its title suggests, the socio-political and cultural situation of today, through a series of lectures by art historians, philosophers, sociologists, activists, and political theorists. In each of the essays gathered in this volume, the authors address what they consider the intellectual and political priorities of today.

Here is a short book with a clear argument on a contentious subject. Neill Lochery demythologises the Arab-Israeli conflict with an examination of its history and a view of the future. >

"A recent poll revealed that over half of Europeans think Israel poses the biggest threat there is to world peace - above the infamous 'axis of evil' countries or the USA." "The Israeli government's tough response to Palestinian insurgency has made it a pariah state in the eyes of many. Is this at all fair?" "Neill Lochery, a non-partisan expert on Israel and the Middle East, attempts to get to the truth about Israel and the bloody conflict with the Palestinians."--BOOK JACKET.