Israel under Siege

"it combines an in-depth analysis of Israeli politics and society with an engaging style, rendering it accessible to many kinds of readers. Even those who are not experts on these issues will gain a clearer, nuanced picture from reading Del Sarto's book." — Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs

"Thought-provoking... Offers a unique and valuable perspective." — Middle East Journal

"Many Israelis understand their debates about security and foreign policy historically: a strong national consensus on such issues in their state's first decades gave way to a lively and raucous set of debates in the last third of the twentieth century. Those debates are easy for outsiders to follow. Raffaella A. Del Sarto argues provocatively, however, that a new consensus has formed that may be missed by those distracted by the liveliness of day-to-day debates. Israel's policies seem to many critics to be unwise in their pugnaciousness and informed more by fear than wisdom, and Del Sarto shows the origin and nature of the widespread domestic consensus underlying them." — Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs; Director, Institute for Middle East Studies; Director, Middle East Studies Program, George Washington University

"Israel under Siege is a comprehensive and well documented study on present Israeli foreign relations and security doctrine. Del Sarto shows very convincingly that contrary to Oslo Agreement years, Israel's neo-conservative ethno-religious self-identity shapes its strategy of extensive force-use and maintaining regional hegemony." — Menachem Klein, Professor of Political Science, Bar Ilan University, Israel

"This book is a wide-ranging and consistent analysis of a very important recent development in Israeli politics and its impact on Israel's foreign policy and regional relations." — Israel Studies Review