great article on early Israel by our own Abby Wisse Schachter

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05042008/postopinion/postopbooks/book_of_genesis_109376.htm

If you want to understand the War for Independence, read this insightful piece from the New York Post.  Abby Wisse Schachter lays it all out in a scholarly, yet readable article.