Fighting Heroes Of Israel

This autobiography of one of Israel's most controversial military and political leaders offers an insider's view of Israel's military strategies and includes vivid descriptions of their most dramatic and historical battles. "Battle-scarred, he (Eitan) is living testimony to Israel's struggle for survival".--Yitzhak Rabin, former Defense Minister & Prime Minister of Israel. Photographs.

The author takes us beyond the history books, into the real world of the Jewish Underground of the 1920s and 30s, before there was a State of Israel. Building on years of painstaking research of archival material plus in-depth interviews via participants who still recall those 'Wild West' years, Zev Golan reveals how the heroes of the Jewish people performed some less-than-heroic acts while chasing the Arab gangs and the entire British Empire off their land. These same heroes, heroines and rogues went on to become the elite leaders - Prime Ministers, Rabbis and world-famous scientists -- of the State of Israel.

Fighting Back is the story of Stan Andrews, an assimilated American Jew and World War II veteran who became one of the first fighter pilots in the history of the Israeli Air Force. “Jeffrey and Craig Weiss have uncovered the story of a Jewish hero in the mold of a Leon Uris character. Readers will enjoy trying to keep up with Stan Andrews—a typical Jewish New Yorker turned daring combat pilot—as he chases history from the air force planes of the United States and the nascent state of Israel.” –Dan Senor, New York Times bestselling co-author of Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. “Absorbing and beautifully written, Fighting Back tells the thrilling story of an unlikely American Jewish hero. At a time when some American Jews are distancing themselves from the Jewish state, this book is a powerful reminder of the deep roots connecting American Jewry and Israel.” –Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, author, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor In 1948, Stan Andrews left a comfortable postwar life in Los Angeles to travel to the war-torn Middle East, where a four-front Arab invasion threatened to destroy the newly-declared State of Israel. There he joined the Israeli Air Force and became one of its first fighter pilots. Andrews was an unexpected volunteer for the fight for a Jewish state. He was many things—an artist, writer, assimilated Jew, ladies’ man, pilot, and combat veteran of the Pacific War. He had previously been aloof from the struggle for Jewish independence but found himself so roused by the anti-Semitism of 1940s America that he decided to go to Israel and risk everything. Stan made the most of his time in Israel, serving in fighter and bomber squadrons and leaving his mark on an Israeli Air Force that has since become the stuff of legend.

Instantly recognizable with his iconic eye patch, Moshe Dayan (1915–1981) was one of Israel's most charismatic—and controversial—personalities. As a youth he earned the reputation of a fearless warrior, and in later years as a leading military tactician, admired by peers and enemies alike. As chief of staff during the 1956 Sinai Campaign and as minister of defense during the 1967 Six Day War, Dayan led the Israel Defense Forces to stunning military victories. But in the aftermath of the bungled 1973 Yom Kippur War, he shared the blame for operational mistakes and retired from the military. He later proved himself a principled and talented diplomat, playing an integral role in peace negotiations with Egypt. In this arresting biography, Mordechai Bar-On, Dayan's IDF bureau chief, offers an intimate view of Dayan's private life, public career, and political controversies, set against an original analysis of Israel's political environment from pre-Mandate Palestine through the early1980s. Drawing on a wealth of Israeli archives, accounts by Dayan and members of his circle, and firsthand experiences, Bar-On reveals Dayan as a man unwavering in his devotion to Zionism and the Land of Israel. Moshe Dayan makes a unique contribution to the history of Israel and the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This book is dedicated to the proposition that Israel can and will win the argument in the marketplace of ideas because her greatest commodity is the minds and souls of those who care enough to learn the truth and then, armed with that truth, the courage to take a stand.