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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Empty phrases of 21st Century Zionism Apr 23, 2007
By Z. Bendor
This book is an insult to the readers' intelligence. To begin with, Ms. Wilf is an aspiring member of the Labor Party of Israel who is trying to get elected as a member of the Israeli parliament. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it is misleading not to mention this little point in a book that tries to present a "vision" for Israel's future. I learned about the Labor party membership from the author's website, after I read the book, and I felt misled. I began reading the book curious about what an Israeli person, about ten years younger than myself, has to say about Israel's third generation. After visiting the website mentioned on the cover (I initially went there to express my disappointment), I learned the vacuous book I read, is in fact a party pamphlet for primaries' promotion. Simply put, Wilf "invents" the third generation and then wants to represent it in the Knesset. It is all about self promotion, not Israel's future.
Second, and more important, Wilf displays close to zero understanding or grasp of Israel's social and political problems. The occupation and its horrors, the social gaps, the discrimination against Arabs and Jews of Middle Eastern origins (members of Wilf's generation included), are not mentioned. I learn from the short bio of the author that she is one of most privileged of Israel's youngsters: from the prestigious high-school in Jerusalem, to the elite military unite, to Harvard and to the various other prestigious European schools. I doubt it, if she ever visited Palestinian village, a refugee camp, or for instance the housing project in Southern Jerusalem where I grew up (not very far from her home, I presume). None of this issues in mentioned in the book, and if there hint of that, it is done is passing, as if the author wishes to avoid excrement on the sidewalk. The whole book is empty slogan after slogan. Its author sounds like--how depressing!!-- her patron: Shimon Peres. We have seen the earlier wave of Peres' protégés (men like Novik and Beilin and other "blazers" and "poodles" as Rabin nicknamed them). It is depressing to see that he is trying yet again, to promote another one of those: rich, Ashkenazi, and disconnected from Israeli society. To be ambitious is not enough, and is certainly not a value in and of itself.
*****
Addendum:
Rarely it happens that one get such a good reason to come back to a review he wrote almost 3 years ago.
Here is what was published this morning (Jan. 20th 2011) on now MK Wilf in HaAretz daily. As you can see, it shows that my assessment of the author and my predictions were quite right. Contrary to what the nice gentleman Mr. Berman tries to imply I am not "jealous" of WIlf, just angry that I was fooled to buy her book just to realize that it was a political pamphlet and even as such manages to say nothing. Also, I'd be interested to know how Berman decided that I am jealous of Wilf because I am supposedly "far less educated and far less accomplished" than her. Berman has no way to know that, but he seems to speak with authority on someone he does not know at all. Perhaps he makes it us because of my declared middle eastern origins...
Enjoy the article.
Published 01:42 20.01.11Latest update 01:42 20.01.11
Redemption won't come from Israel's 'young success stories'
We have to free ourselves from the mirage of the young success stories. The hilltop youth and Anarchists against the Wall are more worthy: at least they believe in something.
By Gideon Levy
The moaning and groaning about Israeli politicians is always accompanied by a yearning for "young and talented" people who will go into politics. Give us scientists, businessmen, graduates of prestigious universities and high-tech whizzes, and watch how everything will change. Enough of the party hacks, bring on the success stories.
This week one of their prominent representatives participated in the press conference where a fresh ideological movement was announced, and proved that redemption will certainly not come from those quarters. The titles, proven successes and impressive resume won't help. There's no such thing as a successful politician without a clear-cut worldview, honesty and courage.
She sat there as a striking ornament beside Edud Barak, wearing giant earrings, articulate, elegant, impressive in her appearance, young, educated and promising. And then the air went out of any promise she had. Named by Forbes magazine as one of the world's most promising young women, she turned out to be a major phony while still a political rookie.
MK Dr. Einat Wilf turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary hack. If we once had an MK-electrician from Ashkelon who sold his soul for a Mitsubishi, this time it was the MK and Ph.D. holder, graduate of the Insead business school, who sold her soul to head a minor committee in the Knesset. Between Wilf and Alex Goldfarb there is only one line, the line of opportunism.
She explained that "you can't sit in the government holding a stopwatch for the diplomatic negotiations." That's apparently why she joined the renowned watch expert, Kalanter-Barak.
Stopwatch? Not even an hourglass. Two lost years, 40 lost years, and the academic promise of the alleged left is in no hurry. The left? Wilf explained that she is heading for the mythical center. Labor is too left wing for her. Benjamin Ben-Eliezer is post-modern, Isaac Herzog is post-Zionist, as Barak put it. So be it.
So be it, that a young MK is already joining the party of two-year jobs. But the person who wrote a book whose title was "Founders, fighters and us - the young generation and the next struggle for the image of the State of Israel," came with a different pretension. But if this is the face of this generation and this is its struggle, better to stick with the old, sweaty hacks. At least they don't write "visionary" books full of cliches.
Who needs young people like Wilf, conservative and opportunistic. Their predecessors are enough.
Her prestigious and celebrated resume didn't help. The right high school in Jerusalem, an officer in the right intelligence unit, a Harvard graduate, Insead and Cambridge, no less, adviser to Shimon Peres and consultant to McKinsey and Company, what more can we ask - and what did we get from all this?
An ideological fellow of Orit Noked? A partner to the philosophy of Shalom Simhon? A year in the Knesset, and she's already been a member of two factions. And not a single interesting initiative, beyond calling for the removal of Yitzhak Rabin's portrait from her faction's meeting room.
Wilf is not alone. She claims to speak for an entire generation, "which is not just a collection of people who think of themselves."
We have to free ourselves from the mirage of the young success stories. The hilltop youth and Anarchists against the Wall are more worthy: at least they believe in something.
It was no coincidence that Wilf once said in a Haaretz interview that she admired Abba Eban and Benjamin Netanyahu. They're also graduates of the right universities and masters of hollow rhetoric.
The new politics that Wilf is offering is disturbing: free of any worldview, burnished with cliches about "Zionism" and "vision," "education" and "future."
Its proponents don't like the "endless rehashing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," as Wilf put it. They want high-tech, nanotechnology, prosperity and progress, and above all - success and staying away from the mouth of the volcano.
Neither the occupation nor the destruction of democracy, neither the social rifts nor the racism disturbs them: That wasn't taught at Fontainebleau's Insead or practiced at McKinsey.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Bendor's Complaint Apr 23, 2007
By Robert Berman
"Robby Berman"
Bendor's review seems to be less of a review and more of a jealous ad hominem attack on someone who he feels, justifably so, is more accomplished and better educated than he is and belongs to a political party that he doesn't ascribe to. His review is guilty of his own criticism: it is vaacuous.(If the review board of Amazon removes my comments, then they should also remove Bendors)
Robby Berman
Refreshing Perspective of Israeli Society Jan 04, 2010
By NZS
"NZS"
Einat Wilf's My Israel, Our Generation, in addition to providing a refreshingly clear explanation of Israel's three generations within a historical context, serves primarily as a call to the 3rd generation (those born in the 1970s and 1980s, now the young adults of the state) of Israeli society to reconstruct the vision of the state. Wilf appeals to the 3rd generation to take action and change the status quo. Her bold claim that Israel doesn't have to be exactly what it was created to be, that it can be a place for many, not just Jews, is an example of her fresh thinking and bright vision for the future of the state.
While acknowledging the unique circumstances surrounding the establishment of the state of Israel, Wilf challenges the status quo as she bravely suggests that Israel can and should be a country
whose citizens are citizens because of values, ideas and a culture that they choose, not because of a birthright, and not because of a precedent set before them by prior generations. She discusses striking generational transformations that we have observed such as standards in the military, perceptions of war, movement towards and then away from political activism, and post-army service escape, which she uses to highlight the clear need for a shift in the 3rd generation's approach to leadership. So much has changed since the time of the 1st and 2nd generations whose tasks were to build and reinforce the Jewish state, and it is therefore time for Israeli leadership to take this into consideration and adapt the country's original vision to one more appropriate to the challenges Israelis face today.
Wilf's story is one of truth and hope. This is a great read for anyone who wants to get a better idea of the Israel that today's generation is facing and how it came to be, as it provides readers with a clear cut timeline and progression that today's media fails to provide. Further, it is truly inspiring to see a young leader like Wilf, speaking out to the next generation of Israeli leaders and preparing them for what lies ahead.
The Optimistic Jew Aug 31, 2007
By Tsvi Bisk
I originally read this book in Hebrew. It exemplifies what I claim in my own book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century" -- that in the 21st century there is little difference between the young university trained Jew from New York, Paris or London and one from Tel Aviv or the Kibbutz. Both are engaged in the search for excellence and the contribution to society through self-actualization. A good book for Diaspora Jews to read in order to get an insight into the thinking of a new generation of young Israeli Jews.
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