My Israeli Journey, Shaul Mofaz, author; Reuven Ben-Shalom, translator
I have been reading this book for a very long time. In the interest of other readers, that I believe will devour this book, I feel compelled to write something about it now. I do not want my own silence to discourage others. Those that agree with the politics of Mofaz and those that understand the military jargon and are more familiar with the many names of the leaders involved in Israel’s development will really enjoy it.
I, however, am finding it to be a very difficult read. Still, I am determined to keep on reading it, even in small doses, so that I can become more familiar with the history of the battles and the government that Mofaz describes. He kept a journal, so it is quite comprehensive in its details.
The book covers the life of this Iranian born Jew, Shahram Mofazaz-kar, who became an Israeli when his family moved to Eilot, Israel. He rose through the ranks of the IDF with great patience and perseverance. His journey to the very top of the Israeli military and Israel’s political world was arduous. Mofaz reveals the positive and negative side of Israel’s development as he reveals his experiences in many of the wars and battles, but often, he seemed to dwell on the more negative results of some of the incidents rather than the positive effects of the Israeli effort.
Shahram changed his name to Shaul Mofaz. He described his childhood in Iran and his loneliness when he moved to Israel, away from his friends and family and from all with which he was familiar. He covered his experiences over the decades as he carefully examined the facts and offered intensely descriptive explanations about them. He was involved in so many wars and battles. He was actually with Yoni Netanyahu in Entebbe. A plane had been hijacked to Uganda and the Israelis mounted a rescue of the Jews taken hostage. Sadly, it was in that place that one hostage was never found and Yoni Netanyahu, Bibi Netanyahu’s brother, made the ultimate sacrifice with his life. Still, the rest of the hostages were saved, so it was a successful though tragic effort.
Because I am Jewish, and I support Israel completely, I find it difficult to agree with some of the author’s judgments in this memoir. I believe in focusing on Israel’s success and security. I forgive any errors or differences of opinion because I am determined to support Israel’s survival. In that effort, I am for Israel, right or wrong. I believe that Israel has been unfairly criticized and attacked for decades. Mofaz, from what I have read, is not quite as positive in his approach to Israel as I am. Although he often pointed out the positive results that were achieved in every experience he had witnessed or participated, he also managed to make me feel that Israel had failed in some way or behaved badly on many of those occasions. That is why I am unsure of his actual intended message. Was he being supportive or unsupportive of Israel? Was Mofaz pointing out the shortcomings to make the successes seem less effective? Was he disappointed with Israel?
Because I had these unsettled feelings about Mofaz, I did some research on his background and learned that he was actually part of the opposition party in Israel. I am a supporter of Israel’s current leadership which explains my discomfort with some of the way certain incidents were portrayed by the author. Still, I am determined to finish this memoir, albeit slowly, in order to try and understand the author’s philosophy, while not inadvertently damaging my own. He deserves great praise because he has devoted most of his life to the country, and for that reason, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until I finish the book. I want to believe that in the end he will dwell less on the chaos of Israel as it struggled to exist and more on the courage it took to survive. He is an impressive individual. He rose through the ranks of the military and then the government to become the Deputy Prime Minister. He has been uniquely involved in Israel’s fight for freedom and independence and its effort to become a country that affords all Jews the right not only to live, but to also live in peace, a fight that has taken on a more serious effort since the October 7th massacre. I hope the message that readers of this book will get is that Israel and Jews deserve to live in peace in their own safe country.