1. The Jewish State - The Struggle for Israel's Soul by Yoram Hazony, A New Republic Book

This book is a must read. Consciously titled after Theodor Herzl's The Jewish State (and not the State of the Jews). This book discusses the danger of post-Zionism, it's roots, causes, and possible consequences. As stated in the introduction, the hope is that understanding post-Zionism will better equip us to combat it.

2. Perfidy by Ben Hecht

K'Cholmim will be having its first annual Religious Zionist Conference, the title of which will be: Israel-Dream or Nightmare. While these Recommended Readings have been referred to as the books of dreamers, this book is one that would be more aptly described as a nightmare. The part that makes the nightmare described in this book so much more terrible is that it was true. I quote from the books inner leaflet, "A seemingly insignificant refugee from Hungary accuses an important member of David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party of collaboration with the Nazis during the murder of over a million Jews in Hungary. The Israeli government files suit for slander. Represented by a brilliant lawyer, the refugee turns the tables on the government as Ben-Gurion's colleague, Rudolf Kastner, is trapped in lie after lie. The judge finds that Kastner did indeed collaborate with the Nazis and acquits the Hungarian refugee of the charge of slander. The government appeals. Before the appeals court can act, Kastner is murdered outside his home. The government arrests three right-wing youths and charges them with murder. Many believe that the Israeli Mossad had Kastner murdered to prevent his talking about contacts between the Nazis and Jewish Labor Zionist during the Holocaust. Everyone loves a thrilling courtroom drama about murder. This one is not fiction, but a true life drama..."

To understand much of the history of Israel, and the present Israeli left, you can not possibly omit reading Perfidy. It is a must read, difficult and painful as it is. Personally speaking, the fact that such a trial took place in Israel, with such amazing revelations and possible consequences and that I never heard about it before the age of 20 speaks to a incredible gap in the modern Jewish history we are presented with. I heard Rav Riskin joke about a pasuk (sentence) in the Torah that seems "shocking" at first. He said, "Yes, it is there. Wouldn't you know it? And it was always there. Been there the whole time." His point was that we notice what we choose to notice and we ignore what it is fitting for us to ignore. But it is not fitting or acceptable for us to ignore a Jewish government's role in the Nazi Holocaust that was reveled in Israeli court rooms! Being K'Cholmim, being dreamers, does not mean being fools! Our dream is one of righteousness and truth (with God's help!), but we can not avoid the mistakes of the past if we are ignorant of them, unwilling to learn from them, and unwilling to punish them. Wake up Am Yisrael!

3. O Jerusalem! by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, Simon and Schuster New York

This book speaks to the wonder that Israel and her creation really are. Written by two non-Jews, who are not necessarily Zionists, are none-the-less not able to describe the history of the birth of Israel without writing a story of wonder and magic. As stated on the leaflet, "Their story-the fruit of five years of intensive research and many thousands of interviews- is the epic drama of 1948, in which the Arabs and the Jews, heirs to generations of bitter conflict in a land sacred to them both, fought each other for the city of Jerusalem and for the hopes of fulfillment it represented to each. Here, for the first time, is an account of that struggle which encompasses the full spectrum of its participants, whose experiences, emotions and acts of bravery have been meticulously brought together and illumined in this monumental and dramatic work."