Ben-Gurion: His Later Years in the Political Wilderness

(Hardback)

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This is the first in-depth account of the later years of David Ben-Gurion (18861973), Israels first Prime Minister and founding father. One of the first to sign Israels declaration of independence and a leading figure in Zionism, Ben-Gurion stepped down from office in 1963 and retired from political life in 1970, deeply disappointed about the path on which the state had embarked and the process that brought about the end of his political career. He moved to a kibbutz in the Negev desert, where he lived until his death. Robbed of the public aura that had wrapped him for decades, his revolutionary passion, which was not weakened in his 80s, pushed him to continue seeking social and moral change in Israel, a political solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict, and to conduct a personal and national soul-searching about the development of the State he himself had declared. Based on his personal archives and new interviews with his intimate friends and family, the book reveals how the founding father explored the Israeli establishment he created and from which he later disengaged. It provides a thorough examination of the decisive moments in the annals of Zionism as revealed through the lens of Ben-Gurions worldview, which are still relevant to present-day Israel.

Reviews

In the final years of David Ben-Gurions life, he lived in the Negev, marginalized from the circles of Israeli political and social power. Based on interviews and Ben-Gurions personal archives, this deeply researched examination of Ben-Gurions philosophy and actions as a state-builder articulates his role as a framer of Zionism and illuminates the political and social developments that shaped Israel from its inception up to the Yom Kippur War, which broke out just months before Ben-Gurions death in December 1973. Shilons distinctive focus on Ben-Gurions final years opens for readers a heretofore unexamined chapter in his life, revealing how he coped with his marginalization even as he continued to press his distinctive, and increasingly contrarian, vision of the Jewish state. This is a fascinating biography, both for what it reveals about a statesman in his years of decline and for its insights into decisive moments in Israels history. A translation from Hebrew, this [is a] perceptive and engaging study. . . . Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty. * CHOICE *
Avi Shilon has uncovered a little known period in Israeli history warts and all.... He has reminded us of Ben-Gurions uniqueness, his flaws and his greatness. It is easy to either love him or to hate him. Shilon has injected a realistic complexity into the imagery of this enigmatic and probably shy man who without exaggeration changed the course of Jewish history. * Fathom *
[T]his book should be seen as an important contribution to the growing library of works on the 'Old Man' and his outstanding role in Jewish history.... Shilons most important contribution is his examination of areas largely neglected by previous biographers. He discusses at length Ben Gurions efforts to write the history of modern Israel. * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *
David Ben-Gurion comes alive in this volume, not as a man of action but as a man in decline, increasingly marginalized and, in the end, living in near-isolation on the periphery of the society that he himself had done so much to create. But Shilons fine portrait of a fading octogenarian nevertheless casts a revealing light on the unchanging personality of the man whose zealousness had once been of decisive historical importance. -- Allan Arkush, professor of Judaic Studies and History, Binghamton University

Author Bio

Avi Shilon is a historian and journalist, whose articles have been published in all of Israels major newspapers: Maariv, Globes, Israel Hayom. He currently writes a weekly column in Haaretz.