DIARY OF A CRISIS

Diary of a Crisis explores the past tumultuous and traumatic year in Israel Palestine The eminent historian Saul Friedländer began a diary of Israeli politics in January 2023 as the country was convulsed by protests against Netanyahu s attempt to overhaul the judiciary Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against this threat to democracy But the protests said nothing about the Palestinian question the elephant in the room according to Friedländer who resumed his diary after Hamas s 7 October assault on southern Israel Israel was facing one of the worst crises in its history he observes under the worst possible internal conditions Friedländer weaves together profound reflections on a national history in which he has been an active participant He describes how Prime Minister Golda Meir once flatly declared to him There is no Palestinian people For Friedländer on the other hand the fight for democracy is inseparable from equality of treatment for Arab and Jewish citizens and an end to Israeli domination over Palestinians in the Occupied Territories He argues that despite the continuing bloodshed a two state solution remains the only long term answer to this most intractable of conflicts