Impossible Takes Longer

75 Years After Its Creation, Has Israel Fulfilled Its Founders’ Dreams?

By: Daniel Gordis

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

WINNER OF THE RABBI SACKS BOOK PRIZE

A nuanced examination of the Israel’s past, present, and future, after reaching its seventy-fifth anniversary and enduring its most challenging year ever, from the two-time National Jewish Book Award–winning author of Israel. Revised and updated throughout for the paperback edition.

In 1948, Israel’s founders sought a “national home for the Jewish people,” where Jewish life would be transformed. The state they ultimately made, says Daniel Gordis, is a place of extraordinary success and maddening disappointment, a story of both unprecedented human triumph and great suffering.

When it marked its seventy-fifth anniversary, Israel was in the throes of a judicial reform crisis, its most dangerous internal rupture ever. Then, with the October 7th War, it was attacked from the outside and plunged into existential uncertainty. In light of those first seventy-five years and the events of 2023 that shook the country to its core, Gordis asks: Has Israel fulfilled the dreams of its founders?

Using Israel’s Declaration of Independence, Gordis measures Israel’s achievements, critiques its failures, and acknowledges its inherent contradictions—ultimately suggesting that, though it has often fallen short, the Jewish state is a success far beyond anything its founders could have imagined.

©2023 Daniel Gordis (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Important read

This is a great overview of Israel’s challenges, opportunities, and progress amidst immense challenges. Especially important today.

Nuanced and Thoughtful

Reading this post October 7th raises many more questions than answers, but the analysis overall is thought-provoking and balanced.
Minor performance annoyance: the reader mispronounced Hebrew and Arabic names of people and places more than a few times. Seems like a basic requirement for this recording would have been to verify and help the reader pronounce things correctly...
Would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in understanding and thinking about Israel and the Jewish people.

As always, Gordis comes through

One of the great Jewish minds of our time. A must read for anyone interested in Israel

In depth analysis of many facets of Israel, Judaism and Zionism.

THIS BOOK FILLED IN MANY OF THE GAPS OF MY KNOWLEDGE. WELL WORTH THE EFFORT TO DISCOVER THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SOCIETY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

Nuanced, well researched, thoughtful

The book follows the aspirations of Israel’s founders for the state as laid out in the Declaration of Independence. It provides rich context on the circumstances that led to the text of the declaration, and then evaluates Israel’s success of achieving those: Jewish security, language and culture, economics, minority rights, relationships with diaspora Jews and with other nations among others. A great read, highly recommend.

Beyond Excellent

I so appreciate, during these troubled times in Israel (11/2023) and the world, to have a balanced account of Israel. I have always had a heart for the JEWS along with respect snd admiration for what they have done with the Israel. Previously I had relied on historical fiction to learn about the Jewish people. Daniel Gordis has filled that gap.

Has Israel fulfilled its dream?

As usual, Daniel Gordis writes in a way that is inviting yet biting at times.

The principle of this book is that Israel's Declaration of Independence is the basis for which we will look at the question "Has Israel fulfilled its Founders' Dreams?" And in typical fashion, Daniel Gordis answers the question not one way or the other, but showing that, like history is apt to show, there is no black-and-white answer. While Israel has fulfilled the dreams of its founders in some ways, it has, in other ways, failed immensely.

A great book.

What an Analysis - An Incredible Book

Thought provoking, insightful, and introspective. So many ways to dissect so many issues. Very balanced. Fantastic reader.

Great book to understand the liberal Zionist view.

This was a great book that helped me not just gain a few tidbits of history here and there but also get a deeper feel for the modern liberal Zionist perspective which Mr. Gordis seems to be a great and popular representative of.

I have to preface my brief remarks by mentioning that I am what you may call an Anti-Zionist. I simply believe that the idea of Zionism, and especially its numerous calamities leading to the creation of Israel and ongoing polarizations, were and remain an intellectual error. It is important to recall that during the early days of Zionism the ideas was strongly rejected by most Jews. The rabbinical establishment, reflecting views shared by most Jews in Munich, Germany, where Herzl wanted to hold the First Zionist Congress, strongly rejected the idea so the meeting was moved to Basle Switzerland(29-31st/8/1897). They told him :

“…how can one speak with people who on the one hand are fanatics regarding Jewish nationhood and, on the other hand, complain that the Austrian government required a baptismal certificate from the candidate for the position of secretary of Bukowina. If the Austrian Jews support the efforts of the Zionists, then they should not complain that they are treated by the government like foreigners and are barred from public office. *We, however, can say to our fellow countrymen with complete conviction that we comprise a separate community solely with respect to religion. Regarding nationality, we feel totally at one with our fellow Germans and therefore strive towards the realization of the spiritual and moral goals of our dear fatherland with an enthusiasm equaling theirs…*.Eighteen hundred years ago, history made its decision regarding Jewish nationhood through the dissolution of the Jewish State and the destruction of the Temple”

This makes perfect sense. German, Polish, Russian, Spanish Jews spoke German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and for centuries their identities had evolved in those locations where their Synagogues had been built and they made real tangible contributions to the evolution of Western Civilization. Until the last couple of centuries most people had never even seen a map and their "identities" were tied, not to a nation, but to a local town or village. The cultural concept of a 'Nation' as we currently treat it, did not generally arise until maps, better communication, faster transportation, etc. allowed our more local-tribal 'identities' to be expanded to now include much larger groups. This of course has led to bigger and bigger tribalistic National and then World Wars.

If you just look at the title of the book, it wonderfully captures the naive liberal Zionist perspective.

"Impossible Takes Longer: 75 Years After Its Creation, Has Israel Fulfilled Its Founders’ Dreams?"

Right, a monumental error, which to many seemed 'impossible', and understandably continues to polarize the entire planet into us vs. them, good vs. evil views, with unimaginable suffering in countries devastated by American and Israeli popularized military interventions like Iraq. All of this suffering and the little recognized destruction of the American economy via 1.2+trillion yearly military spending and more.... All of this suffering is just glossed over, as some people just pursue their "dream".

Mr Gordis rightly criticizes the current Israeli state and wants to see certain changes. In reality, I have a feeling that Mr. Gordis is ultimately an Anti-Zionist, because if Israel changes its Jew-only character by having multiple national anthems and-or flags as Gordis suggests, and eventually makes other changes where all citizens are really treated equally regardless of religion, then Zionism is in many ways ended. Is Mr. Gordis secretly working for Khamenei?

Again, excellent book, as well as Gordis' "We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel"... Which also shows how many Jews are increasingly realizing how Zionism was a monumental error. As with Communism, often times bright and caring people fool themselves into monumental errors and any astute observer can see that liberal non-religious Jews are starting to see Zionism as an error that really needs massive changes. We really have two ways to undo this error. The angry sorta antisemitic way which sees Zionism as the result of bad Jews, or the compassionate wise way, which simply sees it as an understandable error. I'm glad to see that the latter correct approach is slowly gaining ground. We desperately need a Zionist Gorbachev before it is too late. The Neocons are going to destroy civilization otherwise.

Leftist agenda all over the place

Beginning of the book is interesting and factual. However at later stages of the book leftist propaganda is so obvous it's disgusting. Book was released before October 7th massacre. After October 7th this book with it's leftist push sounds like a very naive and childish to put it nicely. Not recommend.