After decades of branding Yasser Arafat an arch-terrorist, Israel has embraced the PLO leader as a partner for peace. In this study of one of the most extraordinary examples of secret diplomacy in the second half of the twentieth century, David Makovsky, diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, explores the personal, domestic, regional, and

After decades of branding Yasser Arafat an arch-terrorist, Israel has embraced the PLO leader as a partner for peace. In this study of one of the most extraordinary examples of secret diplomacy in the second half of the twentieth century, David Makovsky, diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, explores the personal, domestic, regional, and international factors that led Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and other top aides to negotiate the peace accords. Makovsky traces key episodes prior to the breakthrough in Oslo-including Israel's deportation of radical Islamic activists in December 1992 and its retaliation against Hizbollah rocket attacks from south Lebanon in July 1993-and examines their impact on the fateful decisions that led to the remarkable diplomatic achievement. Working from exclusive interviews with dozens of Israeli, Palestinian, American, and Egyptian officials, Makovsky depicts in fascinating detail the intricacies of the Israel-PLO bargaining. He also examines lessons learned about Israeli decisionmaking from the Oslo experience and assesses the influence of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan on the implementation of the Israel-PLO accord.

At a time when the identity of Israel is more uncertain than at any moment since its modern founding, Be Strong and of Good Courage celebrates the defining generation of leaders who took on the task of safeguarding the country's future. David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon were all present at the creation of the new nation, and each faced a threat that directly imperiled the country's existence. The book is a history of those moments when Israel, a country born of existential peril, required extraordinary acts of leadership and strategic judgment to secure its future. The strength its leaders showed, their character and calculation in the most agonizing moments, made them not just the political center of the country but its moral compass too. The leaders were not perfect; sometimes the decisions they made had consequences they could not foresee or control, but they managed to maintain the character of the nation without jeopardizing its survival. Israel is currently more secure than ever in its recent history, but it may be on the verge of sacrificing the essential character that its greatest citizens fought to secure. This is the story of that epic fight.