MY BROTHER'S KEEPER

An insider’s account of Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in a time of crisis.

Though Harow’s book is unquestionably timely, given the renewed hot war with Hamas, the narrative centers on the military operation that gives the book its title. In 2014, Hamas terrorists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers, leading to a fierce Israeli response that included aerial and naval bombardment of Gaza and, soon after, an invasion by the Israeli Defense Forces. According to Harow, a former chief of staff to Netanyahu, he was just the right man for the task, “an alpha male who was perfect for the job of prime minister.” But Netanyahu had to contend not just with Hamas but with Barack Obama, who hoped to broker peace in the region, a nuclear deal with Iran, and, eventually, the creation of a Palestinian state. “The Obama White House did not want to see an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas,” Harow writes, “but it offered no other solution to defend the population of southern Israel and preserve our national integrity.” In the end, Hamas’ actions were self-destructive, bringing American arms to bear in the region while helping heal some of the rift between Obama and Netanyahu. Furthermore, notes the author, Netanyahu, though known to be abrasive, has also shown attributes of a shrewd diplomat, maintaining an uneasy status quo relationship with Putin’s Russia while also exploiting the desires of surrounding Muslim nations to improve their standing with the U.S. Harow is unapologetic in his support for Netanyahu and a hardliner in defense of Israel (“Evil [has] to be shown no quarter”), but, allowing for that, he also offers a revealing look at how the Israeli government works within what he characterizes as “a fractious nation.”

A useful aid to understanding today’s headlines as well as Israel’s recent past.