Abstract
What is the best, most sensible and fair way to move forward in the Israeli-Palestinian and, in general, Arab-Israeli conflict? How did the current circumstances of these conflicts come to be? To what extent are either or both of the parties to the conflicts responsible for the trajectory of the conflicts? The numerous written and recorded works of the late Dr. Gen. Yehoshafat Harkabi (1926-1994) provide important insight for addressing and answering these questions. A proud Zionist, as well as a prolific military and political theorist, Dr. Harkabi, over the course of his career, observed and critiqued social and political trends in both the Arab states and in his native Israel in the hope of ultimately bringing about peace between these belligerents. An examination of Dr. Harkabi’s works illustrates the evolution of his ideas and political positions over the course of his life, as well as the nuances in these positions. This examination, in turn, sheds light on the hazards posed to Israel and its environs by maximalist ideologies, both Arab and Jewish alike.