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History Lesson: The Rise and Decline of the State of Israel

Israel has managed to survive 50 years of military attacks by its Arab foes; now it faces the troubling question of whether it can survive the "peace-seeking" offensives launched by its own leaders.

From 1948, when it was founded, until the early 1980s, Israel took an uncompromising stand against anyone endangering its security. It was morally certain of its right to exist, and of its concomitant right to forcibly repel those who threatened that right. Israel's raid on Entebbe and its bombing of Iraq's nuclear reactor are just two examples of its moral self-assertiveness.

In recent years, however, this firm policy has been abandoned. Now, Israel responds to aggression with passivity, it deals with its enemies through appeasement, and it grants moral respectability to vicious terrorists.

In this illuminating lecture Dr. Brook explains how the philosophical foundations on which Israel was founded are leading that country down a suicidal path. He reveals the myths about Palestine and shows how Israel, despite its mixed economy, is a tiny oasis of freedom in a vast desert of despotism.

Dr. Brook pays particular attention to the parallels between Israel and America, including the intellectual forces behind the rise, and the decline, of both countries.

This lecture was recorded at the 2000 Objectivist Summer Conference in Richmond, VA.

Service: Spreaker
Publshed on: Jun 02, 2000
Duration: 01:31:45
Channels
Yaron Brook Lectures
Objectivist Conference Presentations


Segments
A brief history of Israel
00:00 to 05:07
5.1 minutes
Why Care about Israel
05:08 to 06:59
1.9 minutes
Founding of Israel, & Jewish Persecution throughout history, and Zionism
07:00 to 18:54
11.9 minutes
Israel Founded, Zionism, and a New Intellectual movement
18:55 to 25:29
6.6 minutes
Israeli Politics: Zionist Left, Secular Right, and Religious Right
25:30 to 28:39
3.2 minutes
Jewish Intellectuals: Post-Modernists, Multiculturalists, and Pragmatists
28:40 to 44:29
15.8 minutes
America and Israel’s decline
44:30 to 58:21
13.9 minutes
Israel’s fundamental ideas
58:22 to 01:01:06
2.7 minutes
Q: Why are there so many Objectivists in Israel?
01:01:07 to 01:03:44
2.6 minutes
Q: Why was Netanyahu such a bad leader?
01:03:45 to 01:06:14
2.5 minutes
Q: What should Israel do about Arafat and the PLO?
01:06:15 to 01:08:16
2.0 minutes
Q: What weight should Jewishness play in the life of individual Israelis?
01:08:17 to 01:09:16
59 seconds
Q: What is the likely outcome of the Camp David Accords?
01:09:17 to 01:11:59
2.7 minutes
Q: How is the PLO organized?
01:12:00 to 01:13:44
1.7 minutes
Q: What is the cultural-political status of Arabs in Israel?
01:13:45 to 01:16:25
2.7 minutes
Q: What about Madeleine Albright?
01:16:26 to 01:17:45
1.3 minutes
Q: Why doesn’t Israel have a Constitution?
01:17:46 to 01:19:49
2.1 minutes
Q: How are the kibbutz run?
01:19:50 to 01:23:29
3.7 minutes
Q: How is the Holocaust remembered in America and Israel?
01:23:30 to 01:25:26
1.9 minutes
Q: Is Objectivism making progress in Israel?
01:25:27 to 01:26:12
45 seconds
Q: Why do Jewish intellectuals lean Left?
01:26:13 to 01:28:16
2.1 minutes
Q: what level does Nietzsche influence Israel?
01:28:17 to 01:28:59
42 seconds
Q: Is Israel experiencing a brain drain?
01:29:00 to N/A
2.8 minutes