Good books on Israeli history and Israel's wars range from the Zionist ideas behind Israel's founding to the Entebbe raid, the Yom Kippur War and the war that began on October 7, 2023. Some of the clearest are firsthand: a Mossad operative who helped smuggle Ethiopian Jews out of Sudan, an IDF officer held prisoner in Damascus, and a hostage rescued from Gaza after 129 days. This guide groups the books we carry by topic, so you can start with the part of the story you most want to understand.
All of the books below are in English. Some are history, some are memoirs and letters, and some argue a clear point of view, so we note which is which.
Quick picks
- A broad overview of Israel, Zionism and October 7: Israel's War of Self-Defense
- A firsthand account of October 7 and its aftermath: Rescued
- A rescue operation that reads like a thriller: Mossad Exodus
- The Entebbe raid, through the commander's own letters: The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu
- The Yom Kippur War, from a prisoner's perspective: Sane in Damascus
- The case for Zionism, argued in letters: Letters to an American Jewish Friend
Understanding Israel and Zionism
If you want the big picture before the battles, start here. These books explain why Israel exists, what Zionism means to its supporters, and how Israel's history is told and contested today.
Israel's War of Self-Defense
By Rabbi Alan Silverstein
A wide-ranging look at Israel's history, values and challenges. Silverstein traces the roots of Zionism, the impact of antisemitism, the attitudes of Diaspora Jews toward Israel, and the strategies of adversaries such as Hamas, and he responds to charges of apartheid and colonialism. Personal stories and accounts of bravery run through the book. It's a good first read for anyone who wants one volume connecting Zionist history to the current war.
Letters to an American Jewish Friend: A Zionist's Polemic
By Hillel Halkin
Halkin, an American-born Jew who made his life in Israel, writes to an imaginary American friend who believes a full Jewish life is possible outside Israel. The two argue about Zionism, Jewish history and culture, and what it means to be Jewish, and Halkin makes his case that Jewish history and Israeli history are converging. This edition is a reissue of the classic, with a new introduction by the author. Read it if you're interested in the ideas behind Israel, not only the events.
Fact Over Fiction
By Dov Lipman
Former Member of Knesset Dov Lipman offers a point-by-point rebuttal of the chapter about Israel in Barack Obama's memoir A Promised Land, examining how the history of Israel and the conflict is described there. It's useful for readers who want to see how a well-known Western account of the conflict is challenged from the Israeli side.
Contested chapters from Israel's early years
Some episodes from the founding era are still debated. This book takes a strong position on an affair that still divides opinion about Israel's early leadership.
Perfidy
By Ben Hecht
Playwright Ben Hecht tells the story of the Kastner affair, in which a refugee from Hungary accused a senior member of David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party of collaborating with the Nazis during the murder of Hungarian Jewry. Back in print after more than 30 years, it covers one of the most sensational, and least remembered, stories in Israel's early history. A good choice for readers interested in the links between the Holocaust and the young state's politics.
Israel's wars, spies and rescue operations
For many readers, personal accounts are the most memorable way into Israel's military history. These three books follow individual soldiers, agents and commanders.
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu
By Jonathan Netanyahu
Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan "Yoni" Netanyahu led the July 4, 1976 rescue of hostages from a hijacked Air France flight at Entebbe, Uganda, and was killed during the operation. This collection of his personal letters covers thirteen years, from high school in Philadelphia to the raid itself, and comes with an introduction by Herman Wouk. Read it for the person behind one of Israel's best-known rescue missions.
Mossad Exodus
By Gad Shimron
In 1977, Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the Mossad to rescue Ethiopian Jewish refugees in Sudan. Gad Shimron was one of the operatives who ran a covert base in a deserted holiday village, hosting tourists by day and moving refugees through the desert by night, then out by sea and air in the early 1980s. This updated English edition of the 1998 Hebrew book also covers American involvement in the final stages. It suits anyone who enjoys true espionage stories.
Sane in Damascus
By Amnon Sharon
IDF officer Amnon Sharon was captured during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and held in a Syrian prison for eight months, four of them in solitary confinement. He describes the interrogations and harsh treatment he endured and how faith and prayer helped him hold on. It's a personal window into one of the most difficult periods in Israel's history.
After October 7
These recent books deal with the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza that followed, and the reaction around the world.
Rescued
By Luis Har
On October 7, Hamas terrorists abducted Luis Har, his partner Clara Marman and three members of her family from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. Har tells the story of his 129 days in captivity in Gaza, the ways he found to endure, and the military operation that brought him and Fernando Marman home. It begins with his childhood in Argentina and his decision to make Israel his home. A firsthand testimony for anyone who wants to understand October 7 through one family's experience.
Heroes of Palmar
By Dr. Tuvia Book
A memoir with photographs, paying tribute to the men and women of the author's IDF Palmar combat medical extraction unit. It follows their work treating and evacuating wounded soldiers on the battlefield during the Swords of Iron war in Gaza. Read it for a view of the war from the medics who served in it.
Intifada Globalized
By Ofir Dayan
Ofir Dayan, president of Students Supporting Israel (SSI), a Columbia University graduate in international relations and a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, looks at the wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment that spread through Western campuses, workplaces and streets after October 7. She asks how Israel came to be seen as an oppressor and how this affects Jewish and Zionist students and professionals. It's especially relevant for students, parents and educators.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good book to understand the Israeli–Palestinian conflict?
For a single overview, start with Israel's War of Self-Defense, which covers Zionism, antisemitism, Hamas and common accusations against Israel. Fact Over Fiction responds to the way the conflict is presented in Barack Obama's memoir.
What should I read after October 7?
Rescued is a hostage's own account of captivity and rescue. Heroes of Palmar shows the war through an IDF medical unit, and Intifada Globalized looks at the rise in antisemitism abroad that followed.
Is there a good book about the Entebbe raid?
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu tells the story through the letters of the officer who led the operation and was killed during it, with an introduction by Herman Wouk.
Are there firsthand accounts of Israel's wars and operations?
Yes. Sane in Damascus is an IDF officer's account of captivity after the Yom Kippur War, Mossad Exodus is written by one of the agents who rescued Ethiopian Jews through Sudan, and Rescued is a former hostage's story of October 7 and its aftermath.
You can browse more titles in our Israeli history collection.