Israel

During these difficult times in Israel, we often feel helpless and wonder, "What can we do to help?" Here are just a few BASIC ways you can help now:

Buy Israeli products to support the terrible economy in a country usually supported by tourism. Check out sites such as www.israelexport.org and www.shopisrael.com .
Address the media. Keep informed and share information. When the reporting is one-sided and inaccurate, write a letter to the editor.
Send letters to your elected representatives and other American politicians to continue to support Israel.
Invest in Israel. Buy Israeli bonds and support Israeli businesses and companies.
Charity and Tzedakah. Support your favorite Israeli charity in these difficult times

For the Whole Family: Small Things that can make a Big Difference

Package from Home: Send care packages and letter to IDF soldiers.

Send a Hug Campaign: Send a chocolate hug and supportive message to an IDF soldier

Websites

Daily Alert prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

Current Middle East Updates (Jewish Federation of Greater Houston)

American Jewish Committee Weekly Briefing on Israeli and Middle Eastern Affairs

Print (Non-Fiction)
Israel & The Middle East

Israel and the Palestinians by Shlomo Avineri

Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell Bard - Covers every aspect of the Israeli-Arab conflict from the Mandate period through 2002.

Heroes and Hustlers, Hardhats and Holymen: Inside the New Israel by Ze’ev Chavets

O Jerusalem by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz

Israel: a History by Martin Gilbert - Comprehensive overview of the Zionist enterprise: its roots, growth, and hurdles.

Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century by Martin Gilbert -Renowned historian presents dramatic testimony of the division of Jerusalem in 1948, and its reunification in the Six Day War.

Right to Exist: A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars by Yaacov Lozowick

A Place Among the Nations: Israel and the World by Benjamin Netanyahu

The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism by Conor Cruise O’Brien - Definitive overview of 20th century Israeli history.

Six Days of War by Michael Orren - Detailed account of the 1967 Six Day War.)

A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz

From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters - Exhaustive research on the Palestinian refugee issue.

A History of Israel by Howard M. Sachar

Jewish Issues
The Destruction of the European Jews by Raul Hilberg - Representing a lifetime of research, this book shaped the entire field of Holocaust studies.

A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson - Renowned Christian historian begins with the Bible and ends with the establishment of the State of Israel

Why the Jews? The Reason for Anti-Semitism by Dennis Prager and Joseph Teushkin - Discards conventional explanations of anti-Semitism to argue that its root causes are, paradoxically, the very convictions that have ensured Jewish survival.

Terrorism
A Mandate for Terror: The United Nations and the PLO by Harris Schoenberg

Islam
Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler

Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews by Reuven Firestone

What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis - A scholarly account of the current state of affairs in the Arab world.)