Description: Benjamin Netanyahu has carefully cultivated a self-image as Israel's 'Mr. Security' during his decades of political activity. His reputation as a security-minded leader has resonated with large swathes of the Israeli public, enabling him to become Israel's longest-serving prime minister. Yet the Israeli security community has long questioned Netanyahu's approach to national security. The Netanyahu era has seen unprecedented civil-military tensions, while retired generals and former heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, some of whom were appointed by Netanyahu, have publicly rejected both his leadership and his policies. Drawing on interviews with dozens of senior veterans of the Israeli security establishment, this book addresses this intriguing paradox. It sets out to explain the mutual distrust and intense disagreements between Netanyahu and the security community, as well as the underlying reasons behind the Israeli public's inattention to the collective judgment of hundreds of ex-generals and former spymasters.
Brief description: Guy Ziv is Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security, School of International Service at American University, where he has been the recipient of two "Outstanding Teaching" awards. A regular commentator on major media outlets, Dr Ziv's articles have been published in both scholarly journals and leading newspapers. His first book, Why Hawks Become Doves: Shimon Peres and Foreign Policy Change in Israel, was published in 2014.
Review Quotes: 'This book is absolutely essential for understanding how Israel finds itself today in one of the most precarious security realities it has ever experienced. Ziv traces how, for years, Israel's entire security establishment - including military leaders and Israel's internal, and external intelligence community - has relentlessly warned against the dire consequences of the policies advanced by the country's longest serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Through an in-depth examination of the evolution of civil-military relations under Netanyahu, he explains the underpinning of a central paradox in Israeli politics, namely, why while many Israelis see Netanyahu as 'Mr. Security, ' Israel's security establishment 'has long viewed him as a security liability'.' Lihi Ben Shitrit, Henry and Marilyn Taub Associate Professor of Israel Studies, New York University