Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman, 753 pages.

Bergman, a correspondent for the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, presents a detailed, and well-indexed history of the Israeli government's evolving program of assassinations. Targets have varied over the years from very specific individuals, with layers of approval necessary, to the "Grass Widow" method that at times seems like "anyone within a given area with a gun is a target."
It was amazing to see how many future Prime Ministers were involved in the various incarnations of these programs, from Menachem Begin as commander of the Irgun, to former paratrooper Ariel Sharon as IDF commander, and then Defense Minister, to Yitzhak Rabin as defense minister.
From letter bombs (which almost never worked), to the failed tracking a terrorist to Oslo which resulted in the  gunning down the wrong man, to the carefully planned, but almost comically botched poisoning of Khaled Mashal in Jordan right outside of the Hamas offices, the Mossad and Shin Bet were not always as successful as their reputation would indicate.
The more recent methods involving computers, drones, decoys, and shooting blinds seem to be more effective and have a quicker response time, but the morality is perhaps even murkier. This interesting, and provocative book raises many questions.

City on A Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement

City on A Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement by Sara Yael Hirschhorn, 350 pages.

Hirschhorn gives an account of several groups of American Jews who became an integral part of the Israeli settlement movement. Beginning in the 1960s, groups of American Jews have crossed the Green Line and begun settlements in what became the Israeli occupied territories after the 1967 Six Day War.
The author explores the motivations of these settlers with a balanced hand. A fascinating look at a complex subject.

1947: Where Now Begins

1947: Where Now Begins by Elsabeth Asbrink, 280 pages.
Asbrink moves chronologically through this year, month-by-month through a  year that she argues was a turning point for humanity, or for a good part of it. She tells us about refugees in Vienna, in London, in France, and in Palestine. She talks of the weariness the English seemed to feel in Palestine, unwilling to struggle anymore with Jewish refugeesor with the Palestinians, leaving the fate of  a one-state or a two-state Palestine up to an international committee and then to the UN. The English left India in a hurry as well in 1947. Lord Mountbatten quickly and recklessly moved ahead with partition despite the warnings of imminent violence.
Asbrink also tells of the growing hostility shown by the Soviet Union towards politicians and citizens with any ideology other than the state-sponsored one in their newly acquired satellite states.
She ably weaves the big stories with the more focused and personal in the compelling book.

Hostage / Elie Wiesel 224 p.

It is 1975 and Shaltiel Feigenberg has been abducted from his Brooklyn home, seemingly at random, by an Arab and an Italian and will be released when Israel releases 3 Palestinian prisoners. During his time in captivity, he tells himself and his captors stories, mostly from his own life: hidden in the home of a wealthy German nobleman during the war to serve as his chess opponent, a brother in love with Soviet communism emigrates to Moscow only to later escape, a wife, beloved in spite of Shaltiel's infidelities, for which he makes flimsy excuses to both her and the narrator.

The narrative of Shaltiel's abduction is faintly drawn, only barely visible amidst the constant fog of Shaltiel's memories. I found myself unable to care whether S. survived or not, although his many back stories were interesting. His captors, Luigi the Italian and Ahmed the Arab, play good cop, bad cop with him. The portrait of Ahmed is pure caricature; of course there are many fanatically religious and violent young Arab men, but Wiesel never allows us to see anything remotely distinct or individual about him.

The weak frame of this story was obviously constructed for hanging Wiesel's philosophical and historical thoughts. Nothing wrong with that, of course; I frankly just didn't understand quite a lot of the writing.