Israeli History Book

I'm currently reading Pollution in a Promised Land: An Environmental History of Israel by Alon Tal. It's about the environmental movement in Israel, including studies of the early Zionist attitudes towards nature, of the exuberant tree-planting efforts, and the various disasters of misguided development. With 20-20 hindsight, he explains how you can understand the disasters really well. However, the reader learns, the agents of these disasters also sometimes received clear warning from people who had pretty good foresight. Some should or could have seen what was going to happen -- if they had only paid attention. Some nature lovers, for example, from the start disapproved of planting regimented pine forests all over the country. Some experts warned that draining swamps and diverting all the rivers could endanger ecological balance.

The author is himself a participant and advocate of ecological responsibility and activism. He is sympathetic, committed, and tries to understand past mistakes and help the reader to learn about the issues. He may see how overcommitment to agriculture led to problems, but he also shows its role in Zionist ideology. It's a very informative work.

My main realization in reading this book is this: Israel is so small, that its rather short history is frequently related as a series of character sketches and biographies. Many of the Israelis who made the country what it is were very colorful, so it's also a history full of anecdotes. But mainly, it's a history where each individual really made a difference, depending on his education, country of origin, politics, even personal quirks. Further, the main leaders of the pre-state efforts, participants in the Independence War, and early political leaders are important in every aspect of history -- even of ecology, air and water pollution control, and conservation. This small, personal scale just doesn't play out when I read about the history of other countries and political or social trends. It's fascinating.