The Israeli Century

How the Zionist Revolution Changed History and Reinvented Judaism

By: Yossi Shain, Ronnie Hope, Eylon Levy

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

As Israel increasingly becomes the center of global Jewish life, Jews everywhere are undergoing a process of Israelization.

In this important breakthrough work, Yossi Shain takes us on a sweeping and surprising journey through the history of the Jewish people, from the destruction of the First Temple in the sixth century BCE up to the modern era. Over the course of this long history, Jews have moved from a life of Diaspora, which ultimately led to destruction, to a prosperous existence in a thriving, independent nation state. The new power of Jewish sovereignty has echoed around the world and gives Israelis a new and significant role as influential global players.

In the Israeli Century, the Jew is reborn, feeling a deep responsibility for his tradition and a natural connection to his homeland. A sense of having a home to return to allows him to travel the wider world and act with ease and confidence.

In the Israeli Century, the Israeli Jew can fully express the strengths developed over many generations in the long period of wandering and exile.

As a result, Shain argues, the burden of preserving the continuity of the Jewish people and defining its character is no longer the responsibility of Diaspora communities. Instead it now falls squarely on the shoulders of Israelis themselves.

The challenges of Israeli sovereignty in turn require farsighted leaders with a clear-eyed understanding of the dangers that confront the Jewish future, as well as the incredible opportunities it offers.

©2021 Yossi Shain (P)2021 Recorded Books

Deep dive into Jewish and Israeli Thought Currents

This is a somewhat academic book in the sense that there are seemingly endless quotes from, and references to, other works that at times annoyed this listener. However, the end result, which is a fairly detailed survey of historical as well as modern Jewish thoughts on the issue of national sovereignty vs diasporic existence, is quite rewarding. The author alternates and attempts to draw parallels between centuries-old (at times millennia-old) ideas and modern ones on the issue, fairly reviewing the key arguments of numerous thinkers. I found the performance to be slow at times so I recommend setting the reading speed to 1.2 - 1.5.