Restless Books' New eBook THE ISRAELI REPUBLIC is Featured in Foreign Affairs Magazine

Restless Books' new eBook The Israeli Republic by Jalal Al-e Ahmad and Samuel Thrope has been featured in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs. You can read an excerpt of the book and new commentary by Bernard Avishai here. One of Israel's leading political thinkers, Avishai highlights the urgency of this book and its relevance to the contemporary scene:

"The travelogue conjures up a long-lost era of calmness and curiosity between Iranians and Israelis, as well as the naive yet potent Third World ideology so common in developing countries at the time. But it is important for what it says, not just for what it represents. It suggests how the Iranian and Israeli leaders who feel such intense mutual hostility today actually mirror one another in certain ways, particularly in their foundational attitudes toward religious authority, political and economic populism and the West. That a writer such as Al-e Ahmad, guru to the ayatollahs, liked Israel now seems touching. What he liked about Israel seems cautionary."

You can also see a review of The Israeli Republic in The New Inquiry, and listen to a radio segment about it on PRI's The World.

This book should be required reading for Israelis, Iranians, and anyone interested in the ongoing conflict between them. In 1963, a leading Persian intellectual visited Israel, a place he had studied and revered from afar. In the thriving Jewish State, Jalal Al-e Ahmad saw a model for a possible future Iran. The Israeli Republic, based on his controversial travelogue, is a record of his idealism, insight, and ultimate disillusionment towards Israel. This surprisingly modern book will change the way you think about current events.

To post a comment, you must register and login.