Entrepreneur, former NU editor and founder of MENA-Watch Erwin Javor, together with journalist Stefan Kaltenbrunner, asked 15 authors to sketch their image of Israel and thus make the country viewable from a new, very personal perspective. I am grateful to be a part of this project. In addition to my text contribution in the book, I was also allowed to moderate the book presentation.
There is no other country in the world that is reported on and discussed as much as Israel. A country that is not even as big as Lower Austria and about which most people have only a rudimentary knowledge of the historical background, the political context or the social conditions, if any at all. The book "Israel. What's it to me?" offers very different insights into the only democracy in the Middle East. Julya Rabinowich calls Israel "a safe haven." Doron Rabinowich writes about "his Israel", Robert Schindel about "the third love", Esther Schapira calls Israel "her other fatherland. Harry Bergmann, who was born in Israel, reports on the shock of being uprooted when his parents move with him to Vienna. Ben Segenreich also describes the many different impressions of Israel in his work as a correspondent. Charles Lewinsky searches for answers, and finally, Ahmad Mansour, an Arab Israeli living in Berlin, who only really understood Israel in Germany. The book "Israel. What's it to me?" offers very different insights into the only democracy in the Middle East. The relationship of the various authors to the state of Israel is diverse, but they all agree that Israel is the only guarantee for the survival of Jews in an emergency.