Book Review: The Fall of Israel – The Degradation of Israel’s Politics, Economy & Military

At the beginning of last January, an important book was published by the American publishing house Clarity Press, authored by Dan Steinbock, an American expert and Director of Research at the India-China-America Institute. The book is titled:

The Fall of Israel: The Degradation of Israel’s Politics, Economy & Military

This book covers the political, economic, social, and military changes Israel has undergone, the shifts in the Palestinian struggle for sovereignty, Israel’s descent into an apartheid regime, the atrocities it commits, the regional and global repercussions, and the human and economic costs—both before and after Israel’s devastating war on Gaza. It examines Israeli policies that have led to its scrutiny by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), the resurgence of international boycotts, and unprecedented mass global protests.

The author connects these deadly headwinds, demonstrating that Israel’s fall did not begin on October 7, 2023. Rather, the path to Gaza’s destruction was paved by a convergence of entrenched forces, and how this situation has transformed the complex face of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The book highlights the key factors behind this explosive situation:

• The successive expulsions of Palestinians,
• The expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied territories,
• Half a century of failed U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East,
• Israel’s militarization, enabled by its symbiotic bilateral relations with the U.S. and massive American military aid.

It explains how settlements have destabilized the Middle East on a scale not seen since the early 1970s, exacerbating Israel’s political, economic, and geopolitical crisis—now pushing it toward decline.

The book also explores efforts to establish a Jewish state rather than a secular one, showing how right-wing extremist alliances replaced the labor coalitions that dominated post-war Israel, thanks to American neoliberal economic policies, hardline neoconservatism, and wealthy American Jewish donors.

It analyzes the rise of messianic far-right movements, the decline of centrist parties, and the failure of the left, while examining how the erosion of Israeli society and politics has led to an economy constrained by negative decay—evident in the struggles of its high-tech sector, brain drain, the undermining of welfare policies, and growing support for the religious sector.

The author reveals how the already apparent political and economic costs of the Gaza war have set the stage for extraordinary uncertainty in Israel’s near future.

Key Questions Raised in the Book

• How could this happen?
• Why does Israel impose collective punishment on Palestinians for an attack carried out by a few?
• Why does the international community allow such a regime to persist day after day, night after night?
• Why are tens of thousands of women, children, and elderly forced to die because of militants’ actions?
• Why doesn’t the U.S., Israel’s powerful military ally, intervene to ensure even minimal proportionality?
• Why does the EU, which proudly supports “human rights” elsewhere, implicitly permit this slaughter?
• Why does the international community claim “the whole world is watching” while turning a blind eye?

The months before October 7 were marked by massive Israeli protests—the largest in the country’s history—against Netanyahu’s judicial reforms, as seen in the book’s cover image. In its push to transform a secular democracy into Jewish self-rule (with some extremist members favoring theocratic rule), Israel’s most far-right government has continued its judicial coup amid the fog of war. The author argues that these societal divisions are a key factor in Israel’s political disintegration.

These urgent questions led to the book’s title, The Fall of Israel. The common thread between Gaza’s destruction and mass protests against Jewish authoritarianism is Israel’s decline—now permeating its economy, politics, society, military, and moral core.

The Path to Gaza’s Destruction

A convergence of entrenched forces paved the way for Gaza’s annihilation. This complex situation has reshaped Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, pushing the region to the brink.

The book examines:

• Political and ethnic divisions in Israel,
• Economic polarization,
• Social and military changes,
• The transformation of Palestinian resistance due to Israel’s genocidal atrocities in Gaza,
• The human, economic, and geopolitical costs,
• How Israel is now exacerbating its own political, economic, and geopolitical crisis.

The erosion of Israeli society and politics is already reflected in exceptional economic polarization, seen in:

• The struggles of its high-tech sector,
• Brain drain,
• The decline of welfare policies,
• Rising poverty,
• Increased support for the religious sector.

But now, the clear political, economic, and military costs of the Gaza war have set Israel on a path toward unprecedented uncertainty in the near future. If Israel continues on its current trajectory, it will bankrupt itself.

Beyond Occupation: The Roots of Israel’s Decline

Many attribute Israel’s fall primarily to its 1967 occupation of Palestinian lands and subsequent settlement expansion. While colonialism and settlements have played pivotal roles, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs has been a core strategy since the late 19th century.

Contrary to popular belief, this book shows why the rise and fall of the two-state solution between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs is not a recent phenomenon—but the result of eight decades of missed opportunities, lost peace prospects, and unjustified “forever wars.”

The U.S. and China: Part of the Problem and Solution

Thanks to its military power and catastrophic complicity, the U.S. is both part of the solution and the problem. In contrast, China’s efforts to counter military force with diplomacy and economic development offer a glimmer of hope after decades of lost opportunities and generations of lost lives.

Conclusion: The Need for International Intervention

The author concludes that influential actors have failed to stabilize the region, and a just and lasting solution can no longer come from within Israel or Palestine. Instead, it must come from outside—through international cooperation, not just from the prosperous West (led by Washington and Brussels), but also from major emerging economies (led by Beijing).

Unipolar solutions are doomed to fail in an increasingly multipolar world.