On The
Bookshelf
A roundup of new books
commemorating Israel's 50th
anniversary.
GAIL ZIMMERMAN
Arts and Entertainment Editor
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1998
126
Testament: At the Creation of the
State of Israel
By Aaron Levin with an introduction by
Shimon Peres; Artisan; $35.
American photojournalist Aaron
Levin interviewed 80 extraordinary
men and women — the famous and
not-so-famous — who struggled
to bring the State of Israel into
existence. Their stories — in their
M1CHA BAR AM
own words — comprise a unique
testament to their determination,
pride and sacrifices.
Recollections of danger, depri-
vation, combat, arrest, terrorism
and raw emotion are illuminated
by archival photographs of the
subjects as young men and
women, juxtaposed with Levin's
present-day black-and-white por-
traits of them at the very site at
which their stories take place.
Chaim Herzog is photographed
on the "Burma Road" and
recounts how his brigade broke the
siege of Jerusalem by mapping a
secret road to the city. Mazal
PHOTOBIOGRAPH
Linenberg worked for the central
post office as a spy and decoded
British telegrams for Haganah.
FRIEnmAN
THOMAS L.
Shalom Massvari, a stationery
store owner, tells of his self-imposed
starvation so he could be smuggled out
of prison in a suitcase. Amoz Oz, pic-
tured on the book's dust jacket, recalls
the evening of Nov. 29, 1948, the date
of the U.N. vote on partition.
Of these extraordinary photographs,
Shimon Peres writes in his introduc-
tion: "The most authentic of all testi-
monies is the expression on their faces
— somber from struggle, and radiant
with hope for the day of reaping."
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One Hundred Years of Art in Israel
By Gideon Ofrat; Westview Press; $75.
Gathered together for the first time
in one volume for Western audiences is
a definitive collection of Israeli art mas-
terpieces. Author Gideon Ofrat, one of
Israel's premier art historians and cura-
tors, traces the history of Israeli art
from 19th-century Jewish folk art in
Ottoman Palestine to the postmodern <
pattern of Israeli art today, all the while
incorporating a running commentary
of every movement and artist in Israel's
rich and varied embrace of the arts.
With over 350 illustrations, includ-
ing 200 in full color, ranging from tra-
ditional paintings and sculpture to war
memorials and environmental installa-
tions, this book is a testament to the
brand of cultural expression that has
mixed outside influences with the
atmosphere of the times.
Lionhearts: Heroes of Israel
Edited by Michael Bar-Zohar; Warner
Books; $30.
Four Israeli presidents, three prime
ministers, 10 cabinet ministers, Knesset
members, generals, writers and scholars
come together to pay tribute to the
Lions of Israel — the fighters who
risked and even sacrificed their lives for
their nation.
Among those profiled in 50 essays
are Sarah Aharonson, a daring female
spy in Turkish-controlled Palestine dur-
ing World War I; Meir Har-Zion, the
paratrooper who in the years after inde-
pendence trained and led into battle c' \
the boldest Israeli soldiers; Eli Cohen,
the audacious secret agent executed by
Syria; Colonel Yoni Netanyahu, the
brother of the present prime minister
who was killed while leadinc , the leg-
endary hostage rescue at Entebbe; and
dozens more.