David Ben-Gurion declared Israel a state on May 15, 1948. With only 600,000 Jews in the area-and surrounded by hostility on all sides-most of the world believed Israel would not last.
But last it did. And Ben-Gurion became the first prime minister of the tiny Jewish nation, calling Jews from around the world to come home.
Dr. Shlomo Gabbay heeded Ben-Gurion's call. Leaving Morocco at age eleven, he completed his schooling there and eventually served in two wars. Gabbay's participation in the forging of Israel, and his scholarship of both biblical history and Middle Eastern foreign relations, prompted him to investigate Ben-Gurion's accomplishments. The author demonstrates how and why Ben-Gurion was superior to his contemporaries on the world stage, managing to draw parallels between the prime minister and King David-and ultimately proclaiming Ben-Gurion a modern day prophet of Israel.
Gabbay then turns his analysis to current relations, offering a vision for Israel's future that picks up where Ben-Gurion left off. He believes that a shift in American diplomacy in the Middle East can help nudge Israel into an alliance with many of its neighbors...an alliance that will successfully curb Iranian aggression and eventually lead to lasting peace.
About the Author: Dr. Shlomo Gabbay was born in Casablanca, Morocco, during World War II. He left Morocco at age eleven and continued his education in Israel, where he completed high school, service in the army, and medical school. Medial blunders impacting Gabbay's family instilled in him a desire to become a physician so he could improve the health care system.
While in medical school, Gabbay served in the Six Day War, and upon completion of medical school, he served as a medical officer in the Yom Kippur War.
Gabbay trained in heart surgery in New York before practicing for twenty-five years. He later became an entrepreneur, focused on improving outcomes for patients undergoing heart valve surgery.
Gabbay married his wife Lea in 1972, and together they have four children. He is now retired but remains interested in the history of Israel and the state of relations between the United States and Israel.
