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Between East and West

Israel's Foreign Policy Orientation 1948–1956

Uri Bialer author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:21st Jan '08

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Between East and West cover

Dr Bialer describes the internal debates within the Israeli political parties on the choices between pro-Soviet, pro-Western or non-aligned foreign policies.

In this important book Dr Bialer describes the internal debates within the Israeli political parties, and particularly the highly ideological labour movement, on the choices between pro-Soviet, pro-Western or non-aligned foreign policies.Israel's political allegiance to the West is unquestioned. In the early years after 1948, however, the direction of Israel's foreign policy remained uncertain. In this important book Dr Bialer describes the internal debates within the Israeli political parties, and particularly the highly ideological labour movement, on the choices between pro-Soviet, pro-Western or non-aligned foreign policies. Making use of declassified documents, the author has carried out extensive research in the State Archives and other archives, and his account is based overwhelmingly on primary sources. This book examines the ideological components of these debates as well as the more material motivation factors, such as dependence on US aid, trade links with the Soviet bloc, the reliance on Czech arms supplies and the degree of freedom allowed to the Soviet and East European Jewish communities to emigrate to Israel. Dr Bialer concludes that there was no alternative strategy for Israel to adopt; the tilt towards the West was inevitable. This book provides valuable material for comparative research on the foreign policies and security relationships of small states in the international system immediately after the Second World War.

'Bialer's book is extraordinarily well researched and offers a stimulating insight into an almost untouched subject … It is a very important book which will be of interest to analysts and students of Israel and the Middle East alike.' Millennium
'… his scholarship and analysis have made a major contribution to the on-going historical debate.' Shofar

ISBN: 9780521055352

Dimensions: 215mm x 139mm x 16mm

Weight: 400g

304 pages