The Road to Power: Herut Party in Israel (review)

114 SHOFAR Worschech draws a distinction between the nomadic population of eastern Palestine and the more urbanized western Palestine natives still under the aegis of the Egyptians. The author conjectures that when the Egyptians transferred their interest to the more sparsely settled territory in eastern Palestine, the Shasu people developed into a more sedentary society. He then speculates that one of the sheiks from eastern Palestine became the nrst king of Moab. Drawing on the works of K. A. Kitchen, the author believes that the sudden appearance of forts and villages in Central Moab was due to Egyptian foreign policy. In fact, he reiterates, Central Moab remained intact into the Persian period, not wishing to nght stronger opponents until 649 H.C.E. when nomadic Arab tribes overtook the area. Through the artifacts gained during many years of digging, Worschech is able, at least partialIy, to explain how and why the central Moab reagion was settled. It would be difficult to imagine a more thorough discussion of the relics and geography of the area, yet if there is a criticism it is that the book is too specialized. Not knowing much about Iron Age settlements, I would have appreciated some more background on the area, and perhaps a greater survey of its history and religious past. Worschech needs to relate this book more to the Old Testament and the turbulent history of ancient Judaism. The artifacts need to be more closely tied with the habits and beliefs of the people. This, however, should not detract from a splendid exhibit of historical archaeology. Worschech provides a useful bibliography and ample notes le)r those who want to explore the subject further, and he points out areas for future investigations. Glenn R. Sharfman Department of History Hiram ColIege The Road to Power: Herut Party in Israel, by Yonathan Shapiro. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. 208 pp. $39.50 (c); $12.95 (p). Yonathan Shapiro, Professor of Political Sociology at Tel Aviv University and author of two other books on Israeli politics, has brought forth a worthwhile and welI researched volume on the important topic of the Herut Party in Israel, its antecedents in the Zionist Hevisionist movement in Europe and Palestine, and valuable material on Menachem Begin and his proclaimed mentor Ze'ev Jabotinsky (the relationship between the two was not as felicitous for important occasions and periods as Begin has liked to strongly assert. Jabotinsky on one occasion likened a Begin speech Vol. 10, No. 4 Summer 1992 115 to "the squeaking of a door," and characterized the plans of the Irgun, the underground right-wing military organization that Begin later came to head, as absurd and unworkable). With Herut as the core group that came to dominate Likud as the currently preeminent force in Israeli government this study is significant, and it is well documented in terms of a wealth of excellent primary and secondary sources. Historical materials on the Betar youth movement and Jabotinsky in Poland play an important part in Shapiro's development and analysis. He argues that Herut leadership represented a "generation unit" whose members reached maturity in Poland of the 1930s and who acquired their formative political experience and political socialization in Betar, with a reference group orientation toward the radical right in Europe, and specifically Jozef Pilsudski and his movement which came to dominate Poland. The author makes a number of comparisons throughout the book vis-a-vis Pilsudski's concepts and operations with the Irgun and Begin; in both there was the myth of independence achieved by a military force of the radical right, and that military force was the basis of international relations and the sole guarantee of the preservation of a nation's independence and standing in international affairs. It is intriguing to see the autocratic leader Jabotinsky dominating the Revisionist Movement with ploys Begin employed later in Herut Oabotinsky appointing party ofl1ce holders and announcing to the press that he had dismissed the party Executive, Begin appointing party committees and proclaiming at a party convention to boisterous applause that a decision of the affiliated National Workers' Federation was null and void and that '''In this convention I will...