\ [Note to my readers: If you're interested, Zeek Magazine asked me to write an article on teh occasion of Israel's 60th anniversary. Click here to read it--M] \ In the realm of Israel-related politics, there is always a \ new group, and a steady stream of new books on the market. But there are some \ recent books and a new organization that folks should really be examining \ carefully. BOOK: The Much Too Promised Land by Aaron David Miller There is no end of reasons for anyone interested in Israel \ and Palestine to read this book. Miller worked for the State Department for a \ quarter century, under six different Secretaries of State and five presidents. \ The two Camp David summits essentially bookend his career. The book is a veritable fountain of insight into American \ Middle East diplomacy. Miller never loses sight of both the political \ complications of attempts to bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, nor of \ the human elements that are such a vital part of diplomacy. Unusual for a book of its kind, The Much Too Promised Land is exceptionally well-written and fully \ engages the reader throughout. It's that rarest of creations, a book of \ politics and history that's also a real page-turner. Miller gives us priceless material on a quarter-century of \ American engagement in the Middle East; is unsparing in his criticism, \ including of himself; but is also quite clear in his praise. One gets a really \ good picture of what worked and what didn't and why. We also get a picture of \ the circumstances, which is crucial to understanding why a given course of \ action might work in 1978 but not in 2007, or might fail at one time but \ succeed at another. Perhaps the most important point Miller brings out in his \ book, though this is not his focus, is the role of the "Israel Lobby" in \ American policy-making. Miller makes clear what I, among others, have been \ saying for years-that the "Lobby" is certainly powerful and effective and has \ an impact, but decisions are not based on what it wants. Miller illustrates \ well the importance of citizens organizing lobbying forces promoting reasonable \ policies but also makes clear where the power of lobbying ends and the \ leadership of a president begins. Click here and here for more of my own work \ on this issue. We'll get back to the issue of lobbying below. Miller's book is simply indispensible for anyone wanting to \ truly understand America's policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict from Carter \ to George W. BOOK: The Hebrew Republic: How Secular Democracy and Global \ Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace At Last by Bernard Avishai Bernard Avishai is a thinker and writer I've admired for \ some time. His rather unfortunately-titled 1985 book, The Tragedy of Zionism, was not, as one might think, a statement of \ opposition to Zionism. Rather, it harkened back to the roots of Zionism, \ calling for their ideological re-establishment while offering an insightful \ analysis of how out-moded Zionist institutions, mixed with the ongoing conflict \ with the Arabs, were impeding the full establishment of Israeli democracy. In Avishai's 2002 afterword to the updated edition of his \ book, he gave hints of where he would go in The \ Hebrew Republic. Even in the original, Avishai began to crystallize his \ vision of a centrist, business class in Israel, playing the game of globalization \ as well as, or better, than anyone. In The \ Hebrew Republic, Avishai goes to great lengths to demonstrate that the \ current state of affairs-the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and conflict \ with Hamas in Gaza, as well as the increasing stratification of Israeli \ society, most particularly the growing numbers and political power of the \ Orthodox Jewish community and the increasing marginalization of Israel's Arab \ minority, mixed in with the influence of more recent immigrants from the former \ Soviet Union-cannot be sustained while also preserving Israel's role in the \ global economy. It is in this globalized class of centrists that Avishai \ places his hopes, and frankly, it's a good place to place them. Avishai mentions a few times, but doesn't really dwell on, \ the natural disconnect of capitalist entrepreneurs and left-wing peace \ activists. But even though he's not explicit about it, this book is a call for \ a union between those two forces. In this era, where there is considerable \ overlap on regional political issues between moderate peace activists and \ independent entrepreneurs, this is not a pipe dream. But neither would it seem \ to be on the horizon in the immediate future. Avishai does an excellent job of diagramming how the ongoing \ occupation of the West Bank and, most crucially, the increased influence of the \ settler movement in Israeli politics, impact Israel's present and its future. \ But perhaps his greatest contribution in this book is his presentation of \ Palestinian pragmatists and business-people, who have every reason in the world \ to wish the conflict over and a mutually beneficial relationship between \ Palestinians and Israelis to emerge. It's a group not without influence among \ the Palestinians, but one whose voice has been much quieter than it needs to \ be. Avishai reveals the sector among Palestinians that Salam Fayyad represents, \ and, one can hope, whose influence will continue to grow. Indeed, it is this sector that must be supported if Avishai's \ vision of peace, or some form of it, can possibly emerge. Where I find my most \ profound difference with Avishai is in his vision, after which he titled the \ book, of a "Hebrew Republic." Once again, Avishai tempts those who don't read the book to \ believe he is blaming Zionism for all of the Middle East's ills. He isn't, but \ he is, I believe, promoting a vision of a transformation of Israeli society \ that would take a very long time, much longer than is suitable to stop the \ killing of innocents in Israel, the Occupied Territories and beyond. Avishai wishes Israel to become a secular democracy similar \ to many of the countries of Western Europe. Not unreasonable, as Israeli \ society has, in recent years, begun to resemble Europe more and more, more so \ than it has the USA, which had been the trend for quite some time. But it's hard to ignore the sheer magnitude of destruction \ and bloodshed that brought Europe to where it is now. Indeed, as Avishai \ envisions, it was a lessening of nationalistic fervor that brought the EU \ about. But it was also years in developing, and a distance from intra-European \ conflict was a key ingredient at every stage. Israel doesn't have that kind of \ time, particularly since it remains situated in a place where its very \ existence is, at best, resentfully accepted and at worst the target of attack. \ That's not an atmosphere where nationalism diminishes, no matter what happens \ inside Israel. Even in the event of peace with the Palestinians and the \ establishment of relations with the Arab League nations, it will be a long time \ before true acceptance of Israel takes full hold, and some time after that \ before Israelis begin to really trust that acceptance en masse. But Avishai's fundamental premise is a sound one. His view \ of Israel is more than a Jewish state. It's a state which was built by Jews, \ will always...