After WW2, Western democracies united in trying to create a new world order protecting human rights, preventing wars and promoting free trade. Philippe Sands in Lawless World has shown how the US –and the UK- have repeatedly broken those rules. In Web of Deceit Barry Lando demonstrates the cynicism and greed driving foreign intervention in Iraq since it was founded and beyond the reign of Saddam: an excellent illustration of Philippe Sands’ thesis. Amongst other thin...

‘Language as much as deeds laid down the lines of a political tragedy’ In her latest book, The Last Resistance, Jacqueline Rose explores the power of writing to create and transform our political lives. The role of literature in the Zionist imagination is presented as a unique form of dissidence, with the power to expose the unconscious of nations. Examining writers ranging from David Grossman, through W.G. Sebald, Freud, Nadine Gordimer,and topics including the concept of evil and...

Antony Lerman’s The Making and Unmaking of a Zionist: A Personal and Political Journey movingly describes his gradual disenchantment but continuing thoughtful engagement with Israel and Zionism. Diana Pinto’s Israel Has Moved is a profound and unsettling account of a country that is no longer where we might think it is. As leading advocates of the revival and autonomy of European Jewish life, they discussed their contrasting experiences and conclusions about Israel’s trajectory.