Israel: What Went Wrong‪?‬

Brought to you by Penguin.

A leading genocide scholar explores the history of Zionism, Israel’s lurch towards extreme oppression and violence, and why it stands accused of crimes against humanity

In Israel: What Went Wrong?, Professor Omer Bartov explores the transformation of Zionism from a movement of Jewish emancipation and liberation into a state ideology of ethno-nationalism, exclusion and violent domination of Palestinians. He traces the process whereby Israel – whose establishment received international support in the aftermath of the Holocaust – stands accused of war crimes and genocide.

Less than eight decades after its founding in 1948 – the year in which the UN Genocide Convention was adopted in response to Nazi crimes – Bartov argues that the Jewish state is engaged in a genocidal undertaking in Gaza. What are the implications of Israel’s near total impunity for the post-1945 regime of international law? And how do we understand the widespread support for these policies by Israel’s Jewish citizens?

Eye-opening and urgent, Israel: What Went Wrong? is a powerful and vital primer for anyone trying to understand this century’s most violent and devastating conflict.

© Omer Bartov 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026