An excellent analysis and a very good narrative. If you want to know the main reason(s) behind Israel start-up companies' phenomenon success, read this book. Gilder's analysis of the real cause behind antisemitism and anti-Israel feelings is well thought off and clearly explained.

George Gilder's perspective on the subject of Israel and America's linkage to it are excellent. He puts the theories of
conservatism in a more real world understanding. Considering what is currently going on in this country and around the world,
this and other Gilder books are a must read.

Within the context of how history panned out, and with the need to adopt a rational position vis-à-vis the existential threats which emanate from within and without, by those of an Islamist and/or not dissimilar disposition, this book makes the convincing case that Jews are an indispensable component of any country which advocates liberty and prosperity, underpinned by capitalism. And that Israel is a country to be supported wholeheartedly instead of being vilified for perceived abuses, as propagated by the sworn enemies of liberty, prosperity and capitalism.

As per the Arrivista of Dubai, it would make good sense for them to be stacking this book at Dubai International as a counter to the stacks of Mein Kampf at Jordan International, so as to head off the likelihood of the Burj Dubai becoming a victim of the 'dirt and rubbish' syndrome, to be a castle made of sand, that slips in the sea, sooner than eventually. Albert Speer Jr. (Der Spiegel) gives a significant amount of Dubai as little as ten years, before it has to be demolished.

With his latest book, The Israel Test, George Gilder presents solid arguments as to why everyone on the side of civilization should stand solidly with Israel in its lonely battle to survive as a nation in an increasingly hostile world. He points out that our current levels of prosperity and technological advancement owe a great deal to Jewish "genius" in nearly ever field imaginable. But in his efforts to champion the Jewish people and their intellectual savvy, he often sounds as though he is trying too hard to win acclaim in their world. You will note that there is not a single Jew he mentions worthy of disdain, every one of them is a mensch, even those like the evil and incredibly dangerous George Soros whom self-proclaimed capitalists like Gilder have every reason to oppose.
If you can get beyond the unctuous and slavish glossing of Jewish boots by George Gilder, you will find much in this book that is valuable. Yes, Jews as a whole are more intelligent than most goyim. They value education, have done so for centuries, and do a fine job of inculcating in their offspring the importance of achieving excellence in their chosen fields. This is admirable and should be emulated by gentiles but is often merely envied instead. Gilder points to this envy as being at the heart of anti-Semitism. But that is simplistic, anti-Semitism has many fathers, envy is only one of them. And Gilder does Jews no favors when he asserts that almost no scientific advances of any importance would have been made without Jewish minds behind them.
But getting away from that, I think that Gilder is correct in his assertion that as goes Israel, so goes the free world and the future of capitalism with it. Read through this and you'll be amazed to learn how Israel has almost literally bent over backward to accommodate the demands of the "Palestinians" and of Arab states with which it has a cold peace. You will see that Israel has done all it can short of committing national suicide in the interests of finding a lasting peace, each time to find itself denounced as a racist, apartheid state in world bodies like the United Nations and in the halls of academia.
When I was much younger, my sympathies were with the Palestinians. The corrupt terrorist Arafat and his Fatah organization were made to look like freedom fighters in most of the Western press. I looked at Israel, saw a socialist sinkhole for our tax dollars not much better run than the Soviet Union, and concluded that the place could be no worse off under Arab rule. But then Israel changed and has become a beacon of progress and innovation in a region seemingly frozen in medieval thinking. And as Israel changed, my thinking changed. If anything, The Israel Test has convinced me that standing firm with Israel is not only a moral imperative, it is the correct choice. Read this and see if you too agree.

I recently heard about The Israel Test, George Gilder's new book, during an interview with Gilder on a local radio station and it sounded fascinating, but seemed like such a departure from his previous books. There is nothing simple about this book and it doesn't take long before the reader realizes Gilder really put a lot of time and research into this project. It's really quite a remarkable book, and unlike most of the other books on this subject.

Gilder wastes little time in letting the reader know the premise of his book. Right from the first chapter he draws the line in the sand and separates the readers into one of two groups based on their response to The Israel Test. First he defines the two groups as follows:

"Israel defines a line of demarcation. On one side, marshaled at the United Nations and in universities around the globe, are those who see capitalism as a zero-sum game in which success comes at the expense of the poor and the environment: every gain for one party comes at the cost of another. On the other side are those who see the genius and the good fortune of some as a source of wealth and opportunity for all."

Then Gilder poses several questions that he says will identify which group a reader belongs to, based on his "moral challenge" he calls The Israel Test. The questions are as follows:

1. "What is your attitude toward people who excel you in the creation of wealth or in other accomplishment?"

2. "Do you aspire to their excellence, or do you seethe at it?"

3. "Do you admire and celebrate exceptional achievement, or do you impugn it and seek to tear it down?"

According to Gilder's book, some people admire success; some people envy it. Those, he says, who envy success hate Jews and hate Israel, whether they will admit it or not. And the cause of the hatred is resentment toward superior achievement and capability. Gilder bluntly states that those who oppose Israel do so "not" because of issues pertaining to land, religion, history, ethnicity, or personal appearance. They oppose Israel because of envy; envy of Israel's amazing success. Those who hate Israel claim their rationale is that Israel has been successful at the expense of the poor. They demand that poverty results from their exploitation of available resources limiting opportunity for those around them. Therefore, the wealth of Israel is, in fact, the cause of others' poverty. It is this rationale that Gilder believes is a completely erroneous viewpoint and, therefore, motivated him to write The Israel Test--to set the record straight.

Gilder divides his book into three parts. In Part One, he establishes his premise and adds support for the historical superior achievement of the Jews. After establishing his premise, Gilder spends the majority of Parts Two documenting specific cases of individual Jewish accomplishments to support his premise. In Part Three, he lays out how Israel went from a struggling relatively small market economy to a global leader in a large variety of markets in little more than a decade. By the time he is finished, it is abundantly clear that the claim that Israel's successes have created poverty for the Palestinians and the other surrounding nations is a mirage created by those who failed Gilder's Israel Test. He shows by historical and statistical analysis that with the necessary freedom and a capitalist business environment, the Jews are proven to be especially remarkable as entrepreneurs, traders, wealth creators, in most fields of mathematics and the sciences, and especially in the creation of new and useful innovations. More importantly, Gilder shows that those who cooperate with Israel clearly benefit from Israeli successes. In other words, they create a "win-win" outcome for themselves and those around them.

Gilder says that from 1948, the establishment of an official state-nation of Israel, to 1967, prior to the 6-day war, the Palestinians lived in Israel in a peaceful relationship with the Jews and prospered economically as individuals and as a people group. He postulates that, envious of the immediate success of this small nation (about the size of New Jersey), Israel was attacked by several of its Arab neighbors in 1967 and several times thereafter. Then enter the terrorist-trained and supported PLO and the Arab-Israeli relationship crumbled. Israel's progress and prosperity began to slow as the Jews, of necessity, went into a defensive military mode to protect itself from continuous aggressive terrorist attacks.

Early in the 1990's Israel threw off the burden of their movement toward Socialism, dependence on foreign aid and a large intrusive central government and embraced a more democratic, capitalistic free-market society. Within two decades and through Israel's own business ventures and scientists, especially in information technologies, the world has benefited from Israel's amazing innovations. In fact, Israel now leads the world in per capita innovations, outperforming all other nations, except the United States, in new software, telecoms, microchips, clean energy and medical technological advances.

I really enjoyed this book. Personally though, I thought it could have been better in at least two important areas. Gilder wrote The Israel Test almost completely from a secular viewpoint, completely dismissing the viewpoint of authors like Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin, who asserted that at least some of the hatred toward Israel is rooted in their long historical religious grievances with the Arabs (Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism). Secondly, I think Gilder fails to ask the most obvious and relevant question. "Why have Jews been so gifted and superior in applying mathematics, sciences, and business techniques?" Both the Arabs and Jews believe in a God who providentially interacts in the affairs of men to bring about his own sovereign will. Why wouldn't one consider that factor?

Very importantly, both the Arabs and Jews are aware of the promises in the OT concerning Israel:

"The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave you country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed trough you." Genesis 12:1-3

The Arab nations have been very outspoken for decades now about their intent to "Wipe Israel and the Jews from the face of the earth." Based on what we have seen in the last century, especially in the last half century, this appears to be no idle threat.

I guess a simple answer to my question is Gilder planned to approach this subject from a secular viewpoint and purposefully omitted the religious aspect of these nations. If so, that's fine, but without this essential part the book just seems to me as unfinished. After stating the Jews are superior in accomplishments and carefully backing that up with statistical analysis and excellent historical and biographical documentation, why wouldn't you go the next step and answer the "Why" question? Maybe he is saving that for the next George Gilder book; "The Israel Test (The Rest of the Story)."

Gilder's research in this book is very impressive. For those who are fact checkers, his sources are cited and stored in a 21-page Endnotes section which is immediately followed by a carefully documented Bibliography section. As with his other books, Wealth & Poverty, Men and Marriage, Recapturing the Spirit of Enterprise, et al, Gilder rarely picks a plain, run-of-the-mill subject to write about. He seems to look for a topic relevant to the times, researches the breath out of it, and then gives it new life again in another book by George Gilder. Regardless of your Pro or Anti-Israel stance, or whether or not you passed Gilder's test, The Israel Test is definitely a worthwhile read.

From the very 1st book (Wealth and Poverty) that I read by George Gilder, I have become convinced that Capitalism has an inherent morality that enables the free development of potential within humanity creating wealth both monetary and that of the spirit/mind.

Here we get to see how a society, Israel, initially encumbered by its socialist ideology literally explodes in job and wealth creation once these arbitrary binders are released. Israel as a capitalist country not only benefits its citizenry but that of the world with its vast list of accomplishments from computing to medical to drug breakthroughs and pioneering of irrigation techniques etc.

Similarly, the Chinese economy has experienced a quantum growth once the chains of communism were removed/loosened.

George Gilder shows us over and over again the very real benefits of an enlightened capitalist system. I just pray that this administration will buy the book and learn its vital lesson.

Jeff G.

George Gilder's "Israel Test" is a masterpiece of political and social analysis. This book reaffirms Gilder as one of the most innovative, brilliant writers of our era. The "Israel Test" does vindicate the essential proposition that the free world, and those who aspire to be free, need Israel. But the book is much more. Gilder's pen demonstrates eloquently that the cardinal sin of envy is ever at work in anti-Semitism, and never more so than in some contemporary anti-Israel broadsides.

To read Gilder's "Israel Test" is to revive hope that the world will someday be as ready to receive a thriving, innovative Israel as America was ready to receive its first black president.

"Worthless" is the precise description of this misleading material.
This guy has no idea about the occupation of Palestine or he chooses to skip that important point and judge the rest afterwards.
He judge it with chutzpah amusing he has authority to do such!

Bottom line, save your dollar and move on.

This book opens up with a didactic, even polemic, point of view: that everyone in America --- indeed, everyone on the planet --- is being tested right now by Israel. Not physically or politically tested, but morally tested. As it happens, I'm on Gilder's side, and so with me he's preaching to the choir.

The book then veers off into totally unexpected territory, recounting the career of John von Neumann, and this titanic genius's involvement with "just about everything important" in the science of his time, from the Manhattan Project through the invention of the computer. We are treated to a new retelling of this history, which brings out and emphasizes the Jewish contribution to winning World War II and paving the road for the future Silicon Valley.

The book then veers off into another unexpected place: the history of Israel, with emphasis on the past two decades. This stuff is absolutely fascinating: how the huge influx of Russian Jews suddenly brought sleepy Israel out of a somewhat dopey-dreamy socialism (you can probably imagine how fond the Russian Jews were of anything resembling Communism!) and turned the country into a high-tech frontier almost overnight (in historical time reference). Even though I spent my working life in the Silicon Valley, I missed this very important story, and if you are at all interested in high-tech and the future of information handling, you won't want to miss this.

By the time you have read these "digressions," it becomes clear why Gilder made them. Everyone in America needs to realize that Israel is no longer a "needy friend," if indeed it ever was. Modern defense has become drenched in high-tech, and in that regard alone Israel is a very valuable ally. The jihadis have this fixed idea about destroying both Israel and America, and we need to pay attention to this.

Just last week I somehow managed to wind up having dinner next to an Australian who confidently told me that Israel "could use a few bombs dropped on it." An Australian! And his favorite country was apparently....Iran...because it had a good birth-control policy, or something. I'm quite sure that this creepy man viewed himself as a "progressive" and maybe even a "peace-lover," but he struck me as The Mad Bomber, and one more piece of evidence that anti-Semitism is scarily on the rise in our times.

I hope you don't flunk the Israel test as badly as my erstwhile dinner companion. Reading this new book by George Gilder does wonders in clarifying a lot of issues which sinister people are trying to make murky. And when I say "sinister people," I mean people like Ahmedinejad, who is a very real and very sinister person indeed.

This slim volume by the brilliant George Gilder is the definitive solution to the mystery of anti-Semitism. If you want to know "Why the Jews?" you will find the answer here.
The Israel test is also a real test, applicable to countries as well as individuals. Take the test and you will know immediately where you stand, and what kind of country you live in. Along the way, Gilder tosses in the formula for a brighter future for all humanity.
I have read libraries about Jews and Israel, and I can tell you confidently that no one was more illuminating than Gilder.

And you can read it on your Kindle.

"The Israel Test" presents an unique perspective on the importance for
Western democracies to support a strong, defensible Israel as a democratic
outpost. The author, George Gilder,an American gentile, sets forth the
proposition that major contributors to the progress of civilization do not
view other achievers and successful pioneers with envy, but rather with
admiration and support. And he proceeds to describe in detail the achievements
of the Zionist endeavor in the creation and maintenance of the Jewish State.
He answers the critics of Israel and anti-semites of this world with keen
observations and historic facts by cramming his book with loads of perceptive
stories and recollections which add immeasurably to the reader's understanding
of the present Middle East tensions.
His bibliography alone is a remarkable contribution.

I found this book to be a wonderful piece of history. For some readers the technical recap of the period leading to the internet explosion and computers in general may be tedious and overdone. For me it was the most fascinating part of the book.
The principal thesis of the book may be debated but the facts presented make a good case for the essential nature of Jews and Israel in particular to the expansion of technology and the advances of western civilization especially.

The threat of a new dark age if something were to happen to Israel is very real.

The Israel Test resembles a strong cold front that blasts away oppressive, tropical, misty air with the clarity of a sparkling Northwester. Being an Exeter/Harvard educated Brahmin whose family interest in Tiffanys was richly displaced by Jewish owners, he remarkably understands that the Jewish people since their emancipation in Europe have led the modern world in science, technology, and economics. This fellow thinks originally with little academic pretentiousness, though a glance at the extensive biblography of this book makes clear that he learned a few things in Cambridge.

Gilder clearly explains how Jewish scientists, including Einstein, Bohr, Pauli, and Wigner, developed quantum physics that was given mathematical elaboration by the Hungarian Jew, Von Neumann. He with incisive clarity explicates the contribution of Jewish applied scientists who were instrumental in winning WW II through encryption, radar, and the nuclear bomb, the Cold War, and spark-plugged the digital computer revolution. Following this he remarks on the atmosphere of democratic capitalism that allows the Jews and some of the rest of us to develop a way of life that is fulfilling and prosperous.

He well understands that the Arabs, mainly from base envy and hatred, are involved in a vicious campaign to impugn and annihilate Israel, Aiding this are the delusive Peace Now Leftists in the West and Israel, just as with the Oxford peace movement in the Twenties and Thirties during the rise of Fascism.

Read this rich book that might well be regarded as prophetic.

Since an underlying theme of Gilder's books is the excellent value of Western Judeo-Christian civilization, I hope that someday he will put together a volume about this.

George Gilder is one of the most important people in American public life. In fact, he has been for the bulk of my life. When Gilder decides to champion as issue, he masters it, and then writes about it eloquently and persuasively - so much so, that his work changes lives. Gilder has been an intellectual authority against the vast majority of late 20th century ideological disasters, from radical feminism, to messianic environmentalism, and, most importantly, the politics of envy known as socialism. His Wealth and Poverty is the standard-bearer in arguing for the moral imperative of free markets. It is no surprise that his latest work, The Israel Test, is such a profound gem of a book.

There is no shortage of very good books available in defense of the nation of Israel. Right-wing intellectuals like Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol have been the godfathers of an intelligent and ethical apologetic for America's alliance with Israel. Even left-wingers like Alan Dershowitz manage to get this fundamentally obvious issue right. While I still believe anti-semitism (implicit and explicit) is the base causation behind much of paleo-conservatism's foreign policy plunders, and so many other ideological catastrophes of the day, the fact is that plenty of good repudiations of anti-semitism exist for those looking. What Gilder's book does, though, is lay out the true major motivation behind all sorts of anti-semitic behavior and attitude. The Israel Test draws the lines conclusively between his seminal Wealth and Poverty work and the subject of animosity toward Israel; yes, for Gilder, and now for me, anti-Jewish sentiments have always been, and are no less so in modern times, anti-prosperity sentiments. Indeed, what drives Jew haters is fundamentally a hatred and resentment of a success, achievement, and performance that the world has never, ever seen.

It is tempting to blow the entire book with a review like this. Gilder is such a masterful writer that for a "quote fanatic" like me, I could pepper this review with enough quotes to warrant your skipping the book. But I do not want to do such a disservice to you. I want you to read this book. I want you to appreciate the Jewish people even more after reading this book, and see the Israeli-conflict for what it is: "a battle between creative excellence and covetous `fairness'; between admiration of achievement versus envy and resentment of it." You will not finish the book unconvinced of the Jewish entrepreneurial accomplishments of the last generation. And you certainly will not fail to recognize the feats of Jewish scientists, feats that happened to have saved the world in the mid-20th century. I hope this book will convince you that "an ideological belief that nature favors equal outcomes fosters hostility to capitalism and leads directly and inexorably to anti-semitism."

Gilder does not shy away from justifiable criticism of many Jews either. Indeed, one of his first critiques of the Jewish people is their frequent self-loathing. "Jews, amazingly, excel so readily in all intellectual fields that they out-perform all rivals even in the field of anti-semitism." Wow. He meticulously demonstrates how the radical leftist economic policies of the nation-state Israel throughout most of the 1960's and 1970's led to the near economic collapse of the country in the 1980's, and properly observes how the Reaganite revolution of Netanyahu and others opened up floodgates of prosperity and opportunity for this tiny desert nation. What kind of contempt does Gilder hold for the leftist socialist leadership of early Israel? "Israeli leaders balked the entrepreneurs and inventors who gathered there, creating a country as inhospitable to Jewish genius as any anti-Semite could contrive." Wow again.

You will have to read for yourself the incredible technological contributions that Jewish scientists and engineers have made in the last thirty years, both inside and outside Israel. Gilder's true love is technology, and he is the prime authority on the subject of techno-innovation. The damning flaw in most analyses of the Jewish situation is the insistence on seeing it as purely geo-political, and ignoring the vast economic lessons of tiny Israel.

"The more the players focus on politics rather than on economics, the more the game tends to deteriorate. Without capitalism, democracy is a zero-sum game and leads to conflict and war. Without the increasing economic rewards of an expanding pie of goods and assets, the democratic struggle for power hardly differs from a series of coups. In both cases, the losers are deprived not merely of political power but also of their livelihoods and futures. The way to transcend the zero-sum trap into the golden rule economy is to move from political and military relationships to the spirals of gain in capitalist economic interplay."

Imagine that. If Nazi butchers and Palestinian hate-mongers did not begrudge Jews their God-given right to create a better life for themselves, the conflict would end. Gilder does plenty more in this work than demonstrate the case for Israeli-enterprise endeavors. He is uncompromising in his critique of the repugnantly named "Peace Now" movement, and he waxes and wanes philosophically about the paradoxical challenge that exists for Israel ("by repeatedly informing the Arabs that it wants peace more than victory, Israel evinces a short-term strategy that powerfully and consistently rewards bad behavior; as a result, Israel gets neither peace nor victory."). Yes, wow.

Gilder's conclusions are no less eloquent than they are powerful. "Anyone who obsessively denounces Jews has a name: Nazis. Anyone who believes that these people should command a nation-state ensconced next to Israel is delusional." Gilder takes behind the woodshed those who advocate a continued appeasement of jihadists, and even worse, the "peace movement" that seeks to neuter America's ability to defend herself and her allies. "The Israel test" is a test for America. For if we can not defend Israel, we will "prove unable to defend anything else; the Israel test is finally our own test of survival as a nation."

This book is about so much more than Israel. Jew hatred has been with us since the beginning of history, and it will always be with us. But for those of us who passionately believe in the cause of freedom - of prosperity - of technological advancement - of transcendent values - there is only one way to take the Israel test. The values of America are threatened more than just indirectly by the enemies of Israel; they are placed squarely in the laser sights of our Nazi jihadist enemies who loathe all that is good and pure. Rank envy and covetousness goes beyond a simple matter of class warfare; it is dire sin, capable of genocidal horror. Gilder's work is a wake-up call to all of us who recognize that our values - our very civilization - depend on us passing the Israel test.

http://www.davidbahnsen.com

In recent years, the main locus of anti-Semitism has swung, slowly but perceptibly, from right to left. In this purposefully provocative book, Gilder, the author of WEALTH AND POVERTY and several other modern conservative classics, lays a finger on one potential reason why: Jews, by their success in all manner of fields -- in particular, by their success in turning Israel into a miniature technological dynamo -- have provoked envy and resentment in those less adept in straddling the cutting edge of change. Gilder's "test" posits that how one feels about Israel mirrors how one feels about exceptional individuals in any walk of life. Do you resent their success, or do you subscribe to Gilder's "golden rule of capitalism," that "the good fortune of others is also one's own"? By a logical extension, one's attitude toward Israel reflects how one regards human freedom. In the years after World War II, many liberals supported the establishment of Israel because of the fresh memories of the Holocaust, which cast Jews as victims. Now, the left has found other victims to succor, and a thriving Israel has become one of the "haves," and, therefore, a target.

Gilder's book breaks into three parts. The middle portion, with its lengthy description of how Israel shook up its slumbering socialist economy and encouraged venture capital to invest in the country, can be skimmed over by those not overly interested in contemporary technological developments. Even if "Israel Inside" doesn't interest you, you should still read the historical matter covering such important figures as John von Neumann and Albert Einstein. Parts one and three lay out the lineaments of Gilder's "test" in measured but straightforward language. I happen to believe that Gilder's argument holds water for the most part, though making it stick "on the ground" in the Middle East would be difficult; so many interests have a stake in the rather squalid status quo, and ethnic and religious disputes far predate the development of modern capitalism. Granted that its relentless focus on the importance of economic development leaves many other issues unexplored, Gilder's thesis is sound enough to be taken seriously by anyone interested in the maintenance and extension of political and economic freedom.

A tour de force, even against the very high bar Gilder has set for himself by his earlier writings. Gilder doesn't just think outside the box; he creates a brand new box and then fills it to the brim with completely original insight and understanding. And as always, it's unmistakeably Gilder in the same way that the Jupiter Symphony is unmistakeably Mozart: a sublime product of a singular, remarkable voice.

You cannot openmindedly read any Gilder book without changing the way you look at the world, whether you agree with Gilder or not. The Israel Test is the most cogent explanation I have ever read of why the middle east is as it is. More important, it's a blueprint for what could be--a brilliant future for Israel AND its neighbors---that could only have been written by an incurable optimist with deep human feeling and an unparallelled grasp of economics.

GG pulls no punches, leaves no canard paddling. If you're uncomfortable with political incorrectness, you may as well just buy "Goodnight Moon" instead and save yourself six or seven dollars. Gilder's treatment of Dershowitz' concession of the premises of the discussion to the opponents of Israel---and how that renders nugatory Dershowitz' sophisticated lawyerly defenses---is alone worth the price of admission. And The Israel Test is a page-turner---spare prose, not a wasted word---right up there with the best James Patterson, so try not to get too much sand in the binding.

The Gilder Telecosm Conference will feature Gilder and many of the companies that appear in the book. [...]

A clear and intelligent analysis of what is happening in the middle east and a tribute to a small group of people that the world owes a debt to.

The Israel Test is yet another example of blind allegiance towards Israel where no effort whatsoever is made to examine the issues fairly and subjectively. Claiming that Israel is hated because 'it is good' or 'free' shows an astonishing ignorance of the situation. Instead, perhaps Israel is hated because of the thousands of civilians dead at Sabra and Shatila in 1982, or even the 1,300 mostly civilian casualties in the recent invasion of the Gaza Strip that included the bombing of a UN operated elementary school. Anger as a result of actions like these can hardly be described as anti-semitism, an accusation Gilder uses far too often when describing critics of Israel. Gilder's wild use of the term 'Nazi' is also a rather disconcerting distortion of events founded in his unshakable bias. While Gilder is right to warn of the dangers of nuclear weapons in the hands of ultra conservative regimes such as Ahmadinejad's Iran, we must not forget that Israel is the only country in the region with large stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Israel has undoubtedly made numerous contributions to the world in the fields of science, economics and culture, but this does not justify its actions towards Palestinian civilians that sometimes borders on genocide. Blame does and should of course fall on extreme Palestinians that resort to despicable acts of terrorism, but Gilder's failure to recognize the often substantial faults on the side of Israel makes this book a rather worthless addition to the Israel-Palestinian debate.

If you are looking for an intelligent, non-biased assessment of the current situation in Israel, steer well clear of The Israel Test.

The essence of this book is not about Israel; it's about a choice we all need to make: Do we live in envy of others who are smarter and richer, or do we instead appreciate them, work with and learn from them and thereby enhance our own lives. It's a choice we make on an individual level and essentially the same choice is made at a national level. Do we allow the forces of envy (most egregiously dominant in the Arab world, but also seen in the west) destroy the state of Israel, or do we help support a shining star of human achievement: the Jewish nation and the Jewish people.

Gilder's book is brilliant in its simplicity and simple in its brilliance.
in its essence all that it does - and does very well - is make the case
for excellence and against envy. He demonstrates that a rising tide
does indeed lift all boats. Unfortunately, there are too many who would
rather wallow in victimhood and rely on grievance than even take advantage
of other people's efforts let alone make any effort to succeed. It is an
excellent book and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Ken Eliasberg

I wrote a poor review for "The Cellist's Guide to the New Technique", but the seller corrected all the problems I had. I tried to have the poor review withdrawn and thought I had accomplished it, but here it came up again, just as if I had never withdrawn it. So I am done with reviews and with your complicated website procedures!!

Bloated prose, you must search hard for a kernel of information. Reads like a college textbook, which is sad because you feel that the author knows his subject, has something to say, and the issues are timely (e.g., settlements), but it's a tough slog getting through his writing. Was recommended by "The Jewish World Review", but doesn't live up to expectations--big disappointment. Deshowitz's book is a much better read.

George Gilder has been a constant source of inspiration to me over the years. Not only is he a first-rate writer, but his research skills are superb and his insights, penetrating. What I admire above all is George's work ethic and his rigorous approach to research. Put simply, he does his homework. In a way, he reminds me of the great physicist and Nobel Laureate, Richard Feynman. Feynman preferred not to take the conventional path to solving a problems or pursuing opportunities. He chose, instead, to approach them from the ground up in unique and innovative ways. Working in such a fashion, Feynman could see things that others had difficulty seeing. The same can be said of Gilder's approach. You may not agree with everything George says, but he will make you think long and hard about any subject he tackles.

And so it is with his latest book, The Israel Test. The book deals with a very important, sensitive, and politically-charged topic, and it does so in a refreshing and innovative way, reminiscent of Feynman. Gilder weaves a radiant tapestry that illuminates the importance of Israel and those of Jewish descent, to science, technology, capitalism, and the world at large. If you have enjoyed George's previous books, then I highly recommend reading The Israel Test. It is classic Gilder.

Other reviewers have described the book, I just wanted to add that this is a stunning book. I'm not a Jew, I don't live in Israel and have never read Gilder's books before, but this was a wonderful, amazing, eye-opening read. I would hope all Jewish people, especially Israelis, read this book and stop trying to apologize to the world for their existence. Gilder's analysis is so clear and obvious that anyone in the US State Department, foreign policy community, media, etc would be rendered simply speechless if they dared to read this book and consider its implications.

The writer Gilder gives an empowering view about the existence of modern-day Israel and the Jews. If you have doubts about Israel and its existence, this book will help you clarifying your doubts. After reading this book, you will be able to have a clear vision on the existence of modern-day Israel. Based on secular arguments only, you will come to understand the importance of the Jews and Israel. The public opinion is largely against Israel (and the Jews), but this book will certainly change the public opinion in favor of modern-day Israel and the Jews, based on psychological arguments and not on its current existence or the Jewish religion. I recommend this book to all readers interested in Israel, especially those readers opposing modern-day Israel and the Jews; I am convinced this book will put these opinions into its perspective.

In his satirical National Brotherhood Week, Tom Lehrer sings "Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics, And the Catholics hate the Protestants, And the Hindus hate the Moslems, And everybody hates the Jews.

Why does everybody hate the Jews? Perhaps Shakespeare had the answer in Shylock, the ultimate capitalist entrepreneur. "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?" So says Shylock, the Merchant of Venice. Venice's greatness was due to its willingness to admit the Jews, kicked out of Spain and reviled around the world. Everybody hates the Jews, says Gilder, because they are the world's greatest and most creative inventors and entrepreneurs.

From page one of Gilder's book: "The real issue is between the rule of law and the rule of leveler egalitarianism, between creative excellence and covetous "fairness," between admiration of achievement versus envy and resentment of it." Israel defines a line of demarcation. On the one side...are those who see capitalism as a zero-sum game in which success comes at the expense of the poor and the environment...On the other side are those who see the genius and the good fortune of some as a source of wealth and opportunity for all...The enviers hate Israel.

Gilder makes the point that the stateless Jews were vilified just as many other entrepreneurial ethnic minorities around the world: the Kikuyu in Kenya, the Ibo and Yoruba in Nigeria, the Lebanese in Ghana, the Chinese in Indonesia, and Koreans in US black ghettos. I am not sure, however, that Gilder is correct about this. Anti-Semitism in Europe, leading up to the Holocaust, was based on the extreme hatred of the Jews promulgated by the Catholic Church for reasons having to do with religion, not economics. However, Gilder quotes strategically from Hitler's Mein Kampf: The Jew's "commercial cunning...made him superior in this field to the Aryans [and turned] finance and trade [into] his complete monopoly...The Jew...organized capitalist methods of exploitation to their ultimate degree of efficiency."

The Israel Test is a "what side are you on?" book. Gilder challenges the reader to choose between excellence and mindless leveling. He closes Chapter One with "Which side are you on?, and Chapter three with "Are you an exponent of excellence and accomplishment or of a leveling creed of troglodytic frenzy and hatred?" His chapter on the economic growth of Israel after it shed its socialist culture (Zionism and socialism were intimately linked in the birth of Israel), beginning in 1985 with the influx of Russian Jewish anti-Communists and American entrepreneurs, is enlightening and basically correct. His chapter on the role of European Jews who fled from Hitler to form an important part of the scientific backbone of the United States in World War II is quite excellent. Gilder's personal statement at the end of the book is tender and charming, a refreshing contrast to Gilder's tendency to talk like a right-wing no-nothing talk show host.

I suspect that Gilder is correct in attributing left-wing criticism of Israel to left-liberal ambivalence concerning market competition and innovation. However, I believe he is wrong concerning Arab and Muslim hatred of Israel. This hatred is clearly religious and ethnic. However, Gilder's message is much more important for the Arab countries than it is for us Americans. The hatred of competition, scientific learning, and the entrepreneurial spirit in the Arab countries (which is extremely strong, accounting for the virtual economic stagnation of virtually every Arab country) is not based on European left-right political philosophies, but rather on the intensely family-oriented, indeed patriarchal, structure of these societies. In the forefront of liberation in these countries, I believe, will be women fighting for gender equality and urban youth wanting a piece of the Western education and entertainment action.

Which side am I on? The answer is: both. Gilder is right to glorify (yes, glorify) the benefits of market competition and the ethic of innovation that it supports. Even European social democracy, I believe, is excessively bureaucratic and hostile to innovation; Europe will be eclipsed by China, India, and the US in the coming decades unless it sheds it corporatism. Similarly, Third World countries who stress leveling as opposed to excellence (even if they have lots of oil) will remain mired in poverty. Gilder is wrong, however, in ignoring poverty and the plight of the losers in the competitive struggle. In the good society, there will not be poverty. No poverty, period. The point is to implement policies that permit all citizens to develop their personal capacities, not just those who come from comfortable families. The idea this will just happen through market competition is not in the least plausible. The crazy right just doesn't seem to understand this simple point.

Defenders of Israel have traditionally cited anti-semitism as the root of the often inexplicable hysteria directed at the tiny state. On the surface this would seem to have some validity, because one must question "Why Israel? - What makes Israel unique to elicit such special hatred?" Surely it can't be the alleged crimes of that nation, for whatever they may be, the crimes of others (nearly 1 million dead in the Congo, 250,000 in the Sudan, the entire Tibetan nation wiped off the map) elicit hardly a yawn from the rest of the world.

That unique quality, say Israel's defenders, is its status as a *Jewish* nation.

I have never felt that explanation to be fully satisfying however, for one simple reason. The intense vitriol directed at Israel is not completely unique. The same bile is spewed at us as well, the United States of America, which does not have a Jewish identity. Nobody cares if North Korea starves a million of its own people. But if the United States moves to spread its value system across the globe, to bring Liberty to despotic societies - its 24/7 of deranged hatred for years on end. Something more than anti-semitism has to be at work.

Gilder provides a more persuasive argument for the antipathy to Israel that also covers us in the bargain. Specifically, that Israel rests on the front line of the war between the Enlightenment and its discontents. As he says in the first pages of the book:

"The central issue in international politics, dividing the world in to two fractious armies, is the tiny state of Israel.

The prime issue is not a global war of civilizations between the West and Islam or a split between Arabs and Jews. These conflicts are real and salient, but they obscure the deeper moral and ideological war. The real issue is between the rule of law and the rule of leveler egalitarianism, between creative excellence and covetous "fairness," between admiration of achievement versus envy and resentment of it.

Israel defines a line of demarcation. One one side, marshaled at the United Nations and in universities around the globe, are those who see capitalism as a zero-sum game in which success comes at the expense of the poor and the environment: every gain for one party comes at the cost of another. On the other side are those who see genius and the good fortune of some as a source of wealth and opportunity for all."

Although I feel Gilder focuses too much on capitalism in the book, essentially he is arguing for the open society - the Enlightenment - in all its social forms (not just economic.) And as a successful Enlightenment societies, both Israel and the United States are a threat to the enemies of the Enlightenment (traditional societies and Counter-Enlightenment societies) and those antagonists are compelled to strike out in fury.

This is a compelling argument, a theory that better fits the facts on the ground than simple anti-semitism.

I could have done without the second part of the book, which basically outlines a history of Jewish achievement and contributions to the modern world. It is interesting, but not wholly relevant to his thesis, except to demonstrate how open societies are superior to closed ones in terms of material progress. Also his assertion that Israel is not a racialist state is absurd. Israel is not a *racist* state, Christians and Muslims have the full panoply of political and social rights. But Israel *is* and expressly *Jewish* nation - and therefore racialist. Of course, this should be compared to the surrounding Arab states, which are expressly *Muslim* nations - where minorities are excluded from the political and social spheres. Gilder points this out by noting the bizarre claim that settlements are an obstacle to peace. They're only an obstacle to peace because of the character of the surrounding Arab traditional cultures. No one seems to think it odd that 20% of Israel's population could be Arab Muslim. But apparently it is beyond ridiculous to think that 250,000 Jews could live peaceably in a future Palestinian state.

Gilder's short book is an important contribution to the debate. It does much to clarify the issue in the the relevant terms - that being the continuing war between the Enlightenment and its discontents.

Gilder argues that the root cause of the Middle East conflict is not land or religion but essentially psychological, arising from resentment of success. Anti-Zionism is driven by the same phenomena that have always promoted antisemitism: ignorance of economics and envy. This emotion manifests in the hatred of traders, entrepreneurs, bankers and other wealth creators that exists wherever a minority economically distinguishes itself. One of many examples is the Chinese community in Southeast Asia. Helmut Schoeck's Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour provides an in-depth analysis. Ordinary people do not normally harbor this resentment; the intelligentsia does and often manages to spread it to society at large through the notions that poverty results from 'exploitation,' that resources are limited and that therefore the wealth of some is the cause of others' poverty.

That's why Israel divides the world. Its opponents in the West, concentrated at the UN, transnational bodies and the humanities departments of academia, are those who consider capitalism as a zero-sum game in which success is attained at the expense of the poor & the environment. On the other side are those who admire success and recognize that everyone benefits by the accomplishments of achievers. Antisemitism is similarly a zero-sum delusion. Collectivists and their apologists envy Jews since they're unable to emulate them; they therefore attempt to destroy that which accentuates their own failure. The author shows how Jewish entrepreneurs and scientists like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Heinrich Hertz, John von Neumann and Richard Feynman helped to bring about the IT-revolution that provides the matrix of our modern prosperity.

Gilder profiles contemporary Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs, especially those in physics and information technology. They are the minds behind Israel's gifts to the world, some of which are highlighted in the book Israel in the World: Changing Lives Through Innovation by Helen and Douglas Davis. Israel in fact leads the world in per-capita innovation as proved by a 2008 Deloitte & Touche survey indicating that the Jewish State outperformed all but the United States in software, telecoms, microchips, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices and clean energy. The country's growth since the 1990s is primarily due to (a) immigration of freedom-loving people from the former Soviet Union (b) immigration from the USA of people with business acumen and entrepreneurial skills (c) economic reforms that reduced taxes, regulations and state ownership, for which Benjamin Netanyahu deserves much credit. The author holds the current prime minister in high esteem, viewing him as the right leader for our times.

After the 6-day war of 1967 Israelis started settling in the Territories, establishing an infrastructure of education, electricity, water & medical care. During Israeli rule, the economy in these areas surged by about 25% annually; growth surpassed that of Israel itself which was still shackled by statist thought. Palestinian life expectancy increased significantly as did their numbers, while the median income tripled. All of this came to a halt when the West and the United Nations forced the return of Arafat and his terrorists. The Palestinian Authority became the globe's prime per capita consumer of foreign aid as billions of dollars were squandered on maintaining a culture of corruption, blame, victimhood and dependency.

The reader is reminded that peace necessitates the imposition of penalties on aggression. Those who justify terrorism against a democracy that respects the rule of law and then condemn the inevitable retaliatory defense are supporters of barbarism and tyranny. There's a link between European antisemitism and Palestinianism as document by Chuck Morse and others. Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, was an ally of the Nazis and a participant in the Shoah/Holocaust. Unsurprisingly, Arafat was an ardent promoter of Mein Kampf. In addition, antisemitic stereotypes disgrace the Arab media whilst the Iranian proxies Hamas and Hezbollah openly proclaim their genocidal goals.

Gilder has identified the core issue and its consequences, revealing why Israel separates the free-market USA from statist Western Europe, individualists from collectivists and those who oppose high taxes from those in favor of big government. This line of demarcation broadly corresponds with the ideological divide between statism and classical liberalism. In psychological terms the book illuminates two opposing world-views, two incompatible mentalities -- the mind which considers resources as finite & limited, versus the mind that engages reality in an endless creative process. Meticulously researched and well-written, The Israel Test is a work of outstanding discernment and clarity.

Even the thought of summarizing the premise of George Gilder's new book, The Israel Test, causes my mind to reel.

To attempt: The cause of the conflict between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries is not religion (although there are certainly elements) nor racism (although there are certainly elements), but rather it is caused by envy. Israel, in the 60 plus years of its existence, has been extraordinarily successful and the perception is that it has done so by taking from the Palestinians. In short, the conflict is about the zero-sum thinking of demand economics versus positive-sum thinking of supply-side economics. It is about the jealousy felt against people who have attained success and the belief that the only way they could have attained that success is by taking from others.

"The real issue is between the rule of law and the rule of leveler egalitarianism, between creative excellence and covetous `fairness',' between admiration of achievement versus envy and resentment of it," Gilder says.

In Part One, Zerizus, Gilder, in his best and most brilliant prose since Wealth & Poverty, develops this premise and destroys any and all arguments against it. He posits his Golden Rule of Capitalism - The good fortune of others is also one's own. One of the troubles with government, indeed with even democracy, is that government (transfers of wealth) and democracy (elections) are zero-sum, while the economic system, capitalism is positive-sum. This influences the thinking of all leaders in democracies that they need to create an equity of outcomes, not just an equality of opportunity. He terms these people, "handi-capitalists!"

In Part Two, Israel Inside, Gilder introduces us to Jewish and Israel scientists and entrepreneurs who have had a profound influence on the world as we know it and a few, who he believes, are about to have even great influence. Intel's latest microprocessors, they are coming from Israel; Petaflop networking, from Israel; Wireless high-definition interface standards, from Israel; Algorithms which map the human genome, Israel.

In Part Three, The Paradox of Peace, Gilder puts forth his by far most controversial and thought provoking postulate - the Peace Now movement inside and outside Israel, condemn themselves to Peace Never. Gilder quotes Nobel Laureate Robert Aumann, "If you want peace now, you may well never get peace. But if you have time - if you can wait - that changes the whole picture; then you might get peace now." Gilder states, "Peace requires the imposition of penalties on aggression."

Simply said, The Israel Test is not a easy read, but it is absolutely a must-read.

Leave it to George Gilder to take the debate over Israel to a whole new level. Gilder convincingly argues that every freedom loving people and every American should enthusiatically support the State of Israel. He deposits the criticisms of Israel into the trash heap of history. He piles on the evidence that the criticism of Israel is based on envy and anti-semitism. He marshals the facts that prove that Israel is the best thing that has happened to the Palestinians.

Throughout this book, Gilder's arguments, his prose,and his clarity are complimented by important but little known facts. His analysis of Hitler's Mein Kampf (where Hitler admits the Jewish people are superior to Aryans)is worth the price of this book, but there is much much more. Gilder's potrait of Prime Mininster Benjamin Netanyahu presents a picture of Israel's leader that is right on the mark.

Much of this book will be enlightening to people who care about the Israel conflict with the Plestinians and those interested in solving the problems. It will also interest people who want to learn about Jewish history and Jewish personalities that are largely forgotten. Gilder has a keen eye for the facts that tell the story.

This book has already started more than one controversy. It goes against the political correctness of Israeli doves, the Obama Administartion, the leaders of the European Union, and Israel's sworn enemies. You can listen to Gilder talk to bloggers about the book here [..]
I highly recommend The Israel Test for people who agree or disagree with Gilder's thesis. It is one of those rare books that will surprise and educadate the initiatied and the uninitiated. Bravo Mr. Gilder.

I hope The Israel Test will do for Israel what Gilder's Wealth and Poverty did for supply side economics.

George Gilder is the kind of writer and thinker that always keeps his readers awake. He continually makes surprising and interesting connections the reader would not possibly have dreamed of. He is a bit of a metaphysical poet in this linking strange worlds together in surprising ways.
Here Gilder who has been a highly original champion of free- market capitalism turns to Israel and makes an ingenious link, between it and the capitalist mind. As Gilder sees it the zero- sum thinkers, those who are always envying and resenting others focus always on redistributing a fixed economic pie. The socialist egalitarians are in Gilder's mind equated with the vast majority of have- not nations who think that their have- not status comes from someone else having more.
As Gilder understands it this kind of envious thinking is a one-way ticket to nowhere.
Gilder puts Israel in the other camp, the inventors 'out of nothing' those who create wealth through creating new ideas and products. He sees Israel's story in its going in sixty years from an impoverished nation to one in the forefront of scientific and technological development in a number of areas as another proof of the 'rightness' of the capitalist idea.
So when he talks of the 'Israel Test' what he means is the possibility of understanding a nation or individual's attitude towards wealth- creation through its attitude towards Israel. Those who resent and want to take away are the enemies of Israel, those who believe in innovation and creation as foremost motors of human development admire Israel.
This is a wonderfully flattering argument for strong supporters of Israel like myself. However the Israeli economic and social picture has along with the very rosy side depicted by Gilder, dark shadow sides. These include large elements of the population who are not part of the modern economy at all,and a troubled educational system.
Nonetheless all and all I believe this book meets the test in a first- class way of being original, interesting and perhaps above all inspiring. For its message that rather than thinking to take from others we should be creating by ourselves, an action which if done properly will be of true benefit to all.

Israel needs all the defenders it can get, so one hesitates to quibble. Mr. Gilder's account of the technology boom in Israel is fresh, fascinating, well reported, and full of both scientific and personal detail.

But for all its formidable strengths, this account also has some flaws. Mr. Gilder attempts to give the credit for the Israel technology boom to "market-savvy" Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to Mr. Netanyahu's "supply-side program of tax-rate reductions." Yet time and again, Israeli technology leadership, even by Mr. Gilder's own account, seems to originate not with private market initiatives but with government programs -- a military research program, a subsidy for an Intel chip factory, a $100 million government venture capital matching fund -- that pre-date Mr. Netanyahu.

Mr. Gilder claims that "Although the Rothschilds were Europe's paramount banking family and in the late nineteenth century were prime supporters of Zionism, their only legacy in Israel is the founding of the modern Israeli wine industry." Actually, the Rothschild Foundation financed the construction of Israel's government headquarters building, the Knesset, and its Supreme Court. The Rothschilds also funded the establishment of Hebrew University and supported the towns of Zikhron Ya'acov, Rishon le-Zion, and Binyamina, which is named after Baron Edmond Rothschild, whose Hebrew name was Avraham Binyamin.

Mr. Gilder seems to view the Jews as valuable as means to the end of preserving free-market capitalism. There's an element of instrumentalism about it all. It's almost as if, if the Jews weren't so good at starting high-technology companies that go public on NASDAQ, Mr. Gilder wouldn't mind as much if the Iranians nuked the whole country.

If that sounds like an exaggeration, check out Mr. Gilder's take on the Holocaust in the book, which is an unusual one: "Ironically, the rest of the world suffers far more than Jews from this loss of wealth-creating entrepreneurs and inventors."

[...]

The Vitality of Israel

George Gilder was one of the speakers on the recent National Review cruise round the Mediterranean, and he gave me a copy of his new book The Israel Test -- there, I've declared an interest. He can be relied on to say striking and original things. At the moment, Israel is treated as a pariah among the nations, blamed for defending itself against the various Arab and Muslim states or terrorist groups trying to destroy it. To support the Arabs and Muslims in this endeavor has become a moral imperative for the Left everywhere. So figureheads like Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have revived and updated anti-Semitism: That is their contribution to the world we live in.

Nobody but Gilder could have written this book. Israel of course has its defenders, but they use arguments based on nationalism, territory, ethnicity, defence of minorities, rights, historicism, and so on. Gilder sees Jews since their emancipation as the vanguard of human achievement. They may be few in numbers, but their creativity has brought prosperity to themselves and those around them, and that prosperity in turn has brought freedom. Thus Jews spearhead capitalism and the democracy indispensable to its proper functioning. Marxists, Nazis, and now Muslims and their apologists envy Jews because they cannot emulate them, and so set out to destroy the success that shows up their failure. The attitude you take towards Israel and Jews decides whether you love or hate freedom, and beyond that, mankind -- that's the test he is proposing in the book's title. And just in case the reader risks failing this test by jumping to a false conclusion, Gilder has a portrait of his very non-Jewish ancestry, saying, "We were classic WASPS all."

To go to Israel even for a brief visit is to be struck by the vitality of the country. Everyone seems to be in a whirl of fulfilment, grabbing life with both hands. The middle part of this book is an account of some prominent Israeli inventors in computer science and physics, fascinating personalities at least the equal of their great Jewish forebears like Heinrich Hertz, Robert Oppenheimer, or John von Neumann, the latter a particular hero of Gilder's. An essential aspect of the test he thinks we all face when it comes to taking a position about Israel and Jews is to value the exceptional individual because, as he puts it, "the good fortune of others is also one's own" -- simple, brilliant, and true! These rare people, he thinks, will see Israel safely through whatever trials lie ahead, and they are also benefactors of us all. An attack on Israel is a blow against the entire West. And alas for the Arabs and Muslims, stuck in their hate and envy when they are lucky enough to be so close to Israel that they could join in its success. By the time they get the point of this book a bright future may have passed them by.

George Gilder is truly a renaissance man with ground breaking books covering subjects as diverse as economics, marriage, TV, entrepreneurship, microchips and telecommunications. Gilder's books have always been visionary and The Israel Test is no exception. In The Israel Test Gilder's writing and logic brilliantly paints a picture as to both the roots of the Middle East problems and of the struggles between capitalism and socialism and distills them into a simple yes or no test. This book is a must read.

George Guilder's research and writing skills are outstanding. I've read other Guilder tomes sometimes with difficulty. But, Israel Test is easily read. George Guilder's opinion that Israel and its Jews are special and have much to offer the United States and the world is well researched and documented. He set forth a thesis and provides the details to prove his thesis.

Had this been written by a Jew, one might be skeptical of the author's bias and prejudice. Within the book, Mr. Guilder provides us with his upper crust New York protestant background which should have produced anti-Jewish sentiments. He confesses to having those sentiments early in life. He was open-minded enough to study the contributions of Jews of Israel and the United States and to develop the concepts presented in this exceptional book.