First published 2013
In June 1967, the paratroopers of Brigade 55 liberate Jerusalem during Israel's Six Day War victory. These young reservists restore Jewish control to the holy city, but their shared triumph soon divides them into opposing camps. Yossi Klein Halevi follows seven of these soldiers over four decades as they become leaders of conflicting movements that define modern Israel. Some emerge from religious Zionist backgrounds to found the West Bank settlement movement, viewing Israel as the catalyst for messianic times. Others rise from secular kibbutz communities to lead peace activism, seeing Israel as a laboratory for democratic communism. Through extensive reporting, Halevi traces how a songwriter, a radical, an economist, and religious revolutionaries evolve from brothers in arms into political opponents. The author chronicles their changing beliefs alongside family members, politicians, and rabbis who shape their paths. This human story reveals how victory transformed a nation and created the divergent forces that continue to influence Israel and the volatile Middle East region today.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, 21st-century, military-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Jerusalem, Israel, Middle East
Period: 1967, 20th Century, 21st Century
608 pages · Hardcover · Harper