The Hope is a historical novel by
Herman WoukHerman Wouk is a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish American author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.- Biography :...
about pivotal events in the history of the State of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
from 1948 to 1967. These include Israel's War of Independence, the 1956
Sinai WarThe Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956....
(known in Israel as "Operation Kadesh"), and the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
. The narrative is continued in the sequel
The GloryThe Glory is the sequel to The Hope written by American author Herman Wouk.-Plot introduction:Interweaving the lives and fates of fictional characters and real-life notables, the sequel to The Hope continues the story of Israeli history to the climactic events of the Yom Kippur War and the promise...
.
These crucial events are mainly seen through the eyes of two fictional characters, who meet near the beginning of the novel: Zev Barak and
Joseph BlumenthalJoseph Blumenthal is one of the main characters in the novel The Hope by Herman Wouk. He is more commonly known as "Yossi," and also as "Don Kishote" . Americans call him "Joe" and Yiddish-speakers call him "Yussele." He earns his "Don Kishote" nickname when he appears at the Battle of Latrun...
.
Discussion
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The Hope is a historical novel by
Herman WoukHerman Wouk is a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish American author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.- Biography :...
about pivotal events in the history of the State of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
from 1948 to 1967. These include Israel's War of Independence, the 1956
Sinai WarThe Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956....
(known in Israel as "Operation Kadesh"), and the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
. The narrative is continued in the sequel
The GloryThe Glory is the sequel to The Hope written by American author Herman Wouk.-Plot introduction:Interweaving the lives and fates of fictional characters and real-life notables, the sequel to The Hope continues the story of Israeli history to the climactic events of the Yom Kippur War and the promise...
.
Plot summary
These crucial events are mainly seen through the eyes of two fictional characters, who meet near the beginning of the novel: Zev Barak and
Joseph BlumenthalJoseph Blumenthal is one of the main characters in the novel The Hope by Herman Wouk. He is more commonly known as "Yossi," and also as "Don Kishote" . Americans call him "Joe" and Yiddish-speakers call him "Yussele." He earns his "Don Kishote" nickname when he appears at the Battle of Latrun...
. We also meet several of the most important real-life heroes of Israel: David Ben Gurion,
Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan, was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
,
Golda MeirGolda Meir was the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel....
,
Mickey MarcusDavid Daniel "Mickey" Marcus was a United States Army colonel who assisted Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and who became Israel's first general ....
,
Yigael YadinYigael Yadin was an Israeli archeologist, politician, and the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.-Early life and military career:...
,
Motta GurLt. Gen. Mordechai "Motta" Gur was an Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the IDF .Gur was born in Jerusalem and later joined the Haganah...
, and others. All these people, both the real ones and the fictional ones, are portrayed as brave and decent human beings with comical character flaws, who somehow managed to lead Israel through three major wars in spite of the nation being surrounded, outgunned, and torn by internal conflicts as well as external threats. During the War of Independence, Israel had no air force, no tanks, no large artillery, not even decent rifles. Yet they had to fight off an invasion by five armies that were well-supplied with all those weapons. In the 1956 war, Israel had to fight to free itself from constant terrorist attacks and economic strangulation, with the bumbling and inconsistent help of Britain and France, and against the fierce hostility of both the USA and the Soviet Union. Just before the Six-Day War, it was believed by the Arabs, many Israelis, and most of the world, that the extermination of Israel by its enemies was imminent.
Zev Barak loves two women: his wife Nakhama, a placid but strong woman of Moroccan Jewish descent, and his mistress Emily Cunningham, a charming American woman. Joseph Blumenthal is also torn between two women: Shayna Matisdorf, his true love, and Yael Luria, whom he marries.