The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World

This is a fascinating book. It's actually quite an accurate depiction, at least from my personal experience having visited the country several times for business and getting to know more about the people and culture. The nature of what surrounds also impacts what takes place within and provides an insight into the thinking (they do say necessity is the mother of invention and you understand why.) The description and contents of the book provide an insight of what is contained therein and, if you are interested by what you browse, you should definitely appreciate the content. Highly recommended about a fascinating and impressive place, people and culture that has overcome insurmountable odds.

Before the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct 7, the major news from Israel seemed to be the massive protests within Israel against the government’s plan to reduce the power of the Supreme Court. What was missing from the stories was the reason the Netanyahu government wanted to change the court.I found the answer in “The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World” by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. Israel does not have a constitution. In 1995, Israel’s High Court of Justice declared that the court had the power to strike down ordinary statutes that the court determines are in conflict with what is known as the Basic Law. Essentially, the court decided, on its own, that the Basic Law was Israel’s constitution, even if no one, including Israel’s Knesset, had ever previously determined that.The Netanyahu government determined to change what it saw as the court’s overreach (imagine courts legislating in America!). A lot of people liked what the High Court had done, especially in overriding other laws that couldn’t be passed by the legislature. Protests and riots were the result.To read American newspapers, what is going on is a power grab by the Netanyahu government. The cause, the original overreach by the courts, is conveniently omitted. Like everything else these days, the media report a narrative instead of the news.This is why books like “The Genius of Israel” are important. The discussion about the court is a small part of the overall book. The main theme of the book is how has Israel, a country in which no two Israelis ever seem to agree on anything, managed to pull off what it has – economically, militarily, socially, and culturally. The answer lies in the Israeli character, and the authors make a convincing case.Senor and Singer tell stories, give examples, and show data. From that, they reflect on how these things have happened – everything from winning a competition to land a spaceship on the moon, move it 500 meters, and take pictures to how two orthodox Israelis, exempt from military service and other group-building programs, became tech entrepreneurs. It delves into Israeli history, noting that Israelis were disagreeing with each other from the beginning (in 1948, the new nation was not only fighting for its life against all the Arab nations around it, Israelis were also fighting and often killing each other). Despite the internal conflicts and differences, As the title indicates, Israel does have a particular kind of genius, one marked by hevre, or the group a person is part of, and gibush, how people are brought together to deepen the bond between them.The Hamas attack did one thing that Israelis often seem incapable of doing on their own, and that was to unify the country. It created both a national hevre and a national gibush.Previously, the two authors published “Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.” Senor is a former U.S. Defense Department official based in Baghdad and Qatar; a columnist for such newspapers at the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post; and currently a media communications and public policy executive at a global investment firm. Singer is a former editor and columnist at the Jerusalem Post; advisor to U.S. members of Congress; and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other publications.“The Genius of Israel” is a timely book. Published Nov. 7, it doesn’t address the Oct. 7 attack. But it goes a long way to explaining why and how Israel will respond. Enemies underestimate Israel at their peril.

I wonder how the recent war with Gaza would belie the wonderful argument that the authors construct this captivating book.

The book is an easy as well as entertaining read. Again I was struck by the way its soldiers ask questions and are how the officers of higher rank respond. In fact the entire society seems to be always asking questions.

A quality product and as advertised 👌

The Genius of Israel is far outside my general reading interests. Frankly, I had no idea what to expect and only read because a friend highly recommended. The sum of the parts of this book exceed the whole. Learning about the furtherance of autistic individuals in the military, technology businesses that will merge with giants but only if they continue to work in Israel and the community army are very, very interesting subjects —- not a book for a religious experience —- a book to understand the reality of Israel today. Very well written.

My idea of Israel has always been that it is a place I wouldn’t want to live. Surrounded by threatening neighbors with the constant sound of sirens, I thought to myself, “How can people live like that?” This book completely changed my mind and gave much food for thought as to the lifestyle here in the United States. Well written, interesting and informative, I could hardly put it down. I highly recommend “The Genius of Israel” to anyone wanting to know more about this tiny country and its fascinating people.

This book explains why Israel is on the higher part of the scale concerning the happiest nations, or most content nations. The genius of Israel actually is community. Constantly under pressure, mandatory military service, the incredible sense of family and community is well described in this book. individual and communal at the same time. Good book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learned a great deal about community and individualism and family and the importance of community.