Rating: 
Summary: Creating Clarity in a Complicated Region
Review: "Right to Exist" is the rare book that deals with complicated subjects in a clear manner that ordinary people can understand while still being interesting for academics. The Middle East is a very complicated region with a very complicated history that most people really know nothing about. The author deals with the dilemas faced by ethical Israelis, fighting a war they never wanted.
The author touches on his personal experiences of living with daily terror attacks, telling of his personal odyssey from Israeli Left to the New Center. He places it all in the context of wider events.
This is the story of Israeli Everyman and I couldn't put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: a personal plea that could use more footnotes
Review: A better subtitle for this book would perhaps be "A moral defense of Israel." Lozowick is not a particularly experienced polemicist -- this book could have done with some editing and rearrangement -- but his prose is constantly engaging.I am an agnostic, secular American who has little patience for people killing each other over religious objects. I bought this book for two reasons. One: to understand where my Jewish and Israeli colleagues "were coming from" in a broad sense. Two: because after years of reading about the conflict in the media (mostly in the BBC, the Guardian and the New York Times, my three news sources), I found myself confused and wondering exactly why Israel was considered to have a "right to exist." This book satisfied both. Lozowick is a (self-described) liberal who voted for Sharon; when talking about Palestinian terrorism, he sounds a lot like many liberal Americans did after 9/11. He is conflicted -- a war of heart and mind -- about how to understand the violence and anti-semetism that surrounds Israel. He is very wary of attributing some special kind of goodness to his own country. And yet, the ever increasing piles of civilian dead in Israel, coupled with Palestinian (and Arab) intransigence to the peace process makes it impossible to tell a neutral story that has equal blood on both sides. Lozowick is particularly concerned to fight this "equal guilt" story of Palestine and Israel. Since this is the dominant story in the media and in casual conversation, his book is particularly interesting in this regard. Other benefits in this book include very personal accounts of the various strains of political thought among Israelis, and his own personal anecdotes about raising his son to live and act morally in a country constantly threatened by terrorist attack. A side benefit is that Lozowick is also a "secular Jew," in as much as he has a great deal to say about the Jewish tradition as independent of its religious content. A bit of a "crash course" in Judaism. One particular downside of the book is the near absence of footnotes. For those, like me, interesting in learning more (and suspicious of pretty much anything said by anybody), they would have been invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: a personal plea that could use more footnotes
Review: A better subtitle for this book would perhaps be "A moral defense of Israel." Lozowick is not a particularly experienced polemicist -- this book could have done with some editing and rearrangement -- but his prose is constantly engaging. I am an agnostic, secular American who has little patience for people killing each other over religious objects. I bought this book for two reasons. One: to understand where my Jewish and Israeli colleagues "were coming from" in a broad sense. Two: because after years of reading about the conflict in the media (mostly in the BBC, the Guardian and the New York Times, my three news sources), I found myself confused and wondering exactly why Israel was considered to have a "right to exist." This book satisfied both. Lozowick is a (self-described) liberal who voted for Sharon; when talking about Palestinian terrorism, he sounds a lot like many liberal Americans did after 9/11. He is conflicted -- a war of heart and mind -- about how to understand the violence and anti-semetism that surrounds Israel. He is very wary of attributing some special kind of goodness to his own country. And yet, the ever increasing piles of civilian dead in Israel, coupled with Palestinian (and Arab) intransigence to the peace process makes it impossible to tell a neutral story that has equal blood on both sides. Lozowick is particularly concerned to fight this "equal guilt" story of Palestine and Israel. Since this is the dominant story in the media and in casual conversation, his book is particularly interesting in this regard. Other benefits in this book include very personal accounts of the various strains of political thought among Israelis, and his own personal anecdotes about raising his son to live and act morally in a country constantly threatened by terrorist attack. A side benefit is that Lozowick is also a "secular Jew," in as much as he has a great deal to say about the Jewish tradition as independent of its religious content. A bit of a "crash course" in Judaism. One particular downside of the book is the near absence of footnotes. For those, like me, interesting in learning more (and suspicious of pretty much anything said by anybody), they would have been invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: Right to Exist: A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars
Review: A must read book for those wanting clarity about Israel, the Palestinians ,the Arabs and the Middle East conflict.
If only Israel would give back the territories it captured in 1967, all problems in the middle east would be solved. That seems to be the mantra of the Left these days. If such an action really would bring peace, it would be worth the price. A detailed description of the history of the Israelis and the Palestinians shows that the situation is much more complex than that. Israel's' history is one of wars, most forced upon her by outside enemies. This book describes the morality of these wars, some just, others not.
With all the mistakes Israel has made, this book details how this small country is following a moral code all of her neighbors, reject out of hand. There is a need for compromise with the Palestinians, but not at the expense of the existence of the State of Israel.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best analyses on Israel and the Palestinians
Review: A superb work based on history and fact, not on rhetoric. Told with both points of view and perspectives on this historial in mind, this book sees beyond the misconceptions and biases on both sides of the press to present the reader with an informative, accurate accounting of the events and background in the region from the Balfour declaration of 1917 to the present day. Engaging and easy to read; highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: More balanced than most
Review: After reading such books as "Fabricating Israeli History" and "The New Anti-Semitism", I didn't expect a new perspective from a book called Right to Exist. However, the book was actually quite refreshing compared to most of the pro-Israel books that have come out recently. Yaacov Lozowick, as a lifelong liberal, accepts that some actions that Israel has taken were the wrong decision and have caused the Palestinians some grief. He also attempts to create a solution to the current conflict by dictating the actions each side needs to take. For attempting this, I would usually give 5 stars.
However, the book in certain places seems poorly constructed, especially at the end. His attempt at dividing responsibility and offering solutions isn't the most scientific. If you want to defend Israel in a debate, this is not the book for you. The first 90% gives you some good history and presents you with a rudimentary understanding of the conflict from a dove's side, but the book doesn't go into an in-depth analysis of any of the events. What some of these reviewers are missing though is that the purpose of this book is not to enter the debate necessarily but to provide a foundation for those interested in Israel's defense of itself.
Therefore, I would recommend this book to people who want to know more about an Israeli's view of the conflict and not to anyone who has done serious study of this issue. It truly is an excellent book to delve into foreign relations and is an easy read until the final few chapters. But if you want a scholarly account or one that will make you question your previous conceptions, you may want to look somewhere else.
Rating: 
Summary: Compare it to Mein Keimpf
Review: And see just how similar the racist Zionist rhetoric propagated in this book is. A truly despicable work. If anything like this was written about the Jews it would be exposed all over the news and the media as a racist propaganda designed for a political purpose - and correctly.
Rating:
Summary: A clear and compelling statement
Review: By his own admission Yaacov Lozowick did not come easily to the conclusions that he subscribes to, yet he presents one of the most logical and historically consistent explanations and of Israel's current policy positions I have read. As the title suggests, this book defends the Israeli position, and may not be seen as "balanced" by those who believe that the wars against Israel are justified. Still, Mr. Lozowick's detailed, logical, and balanced (yes, I believe that is the right word) presentation of the historic and political landscape make this book a must-read by anyone who wishes to inform themselves of the current conflict.
Rating:
Summary: Drivel
Review: I guess the spin artists hold nothing scared. The words "moral defense" are used in this context to justify aggression, uprooting people from their land, murdering the rest and continuously terrorizing the Palestinians in their own homeland, in short committing acts of genocide against Palestinian people. To be able to justify as "moral" the sending of European settlers who in turn uprooted Palestinians from their homeland, you have to be either a hypocrite or a true racist. Overall, it is another fatuous zionist argument.
Rating:
Summary: zionist propaganda
Review: Israel is a made up country and the zionists know it. There was a Palestine before 1948 and they can not stomach the fact that they have occupied arab land for over 50 years. Zionists say that it is their land and say that they are Gods people; hey, for a people that can't even right God but writes G-d I have no respect and I pray that one day the land will go back to its rightfull owners.
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