“Genius of Israel”: the eighth book of the “Jewish Library” project was published in Ukraine

In the Ukrainian publishing house “Nash Format,” a book in Ukrainian was released, around which there is already a quiet but steady conversation — “The Genius of Israel: The Resilience of a Small Nation in a Turbulent World”. Its authors, American journalist Dan Senor and Jerusalem Post columnist Saul Singer, are well known to readers from the bestseller “Start-up Nation.”

But while that book explained Israel’s economic miracle, the new one is about something else. About people. About the ability of society to survive and develop when the threat becomes not an episode but the backdrop of life.

The publication became the eighth Ukrainian book in the series “Jewish Library” and was released with the support of the family of Yevgeny Zinovievich Chernyak and the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine. Like the previous books in the series, it was published for the first time in the Ukrainian language.

Not heroism, but everyday resilience

Senor and Singer do not romanticize Israel. In “The Genius of Israel,” there is no pathos and slogans — instead, dozens of specific stories, people, and decisions.

The authors pose a simple but uncomfortable question: how does a country that has lived in a state of constant threat for almost 80 years manage not only to withstand but also to surpass more peaceful democracies in key development indicators?

The answer they come to sounds unexpectedly simple. It’s not about unique technologies or special resources. It’s about social connections — how Israelis interact with each other in moments of crisis.

When real danger arises, internal disputes take a back seat. Society quickly gathers, makes decisions, and acts. Not perfectly. But in time.

School, medicine, and the culture of responsibility

A separate part of the book is dedicated to the Jewish education system. Not as a set of educational programs, but as a cultural code. Arguing, asking uncomfortable questions, taking responsibility for one’s own choices — these skills are formed from childhood and later become the basis for the entire social model.

Israeli medicine in the book is also considered beyond the usual frameworks. It’s not just a healthcare system, but one of the elements of national resilience. The ability to quickly adapt, work under overload and crisis conditions — part of the same logic as in the army, business, or civil society.

All together, the authors emphasize, forms a paradoxical picture: a society living under constant pressure turns out to be one of the most satisfied with life in the world.

What is the “Jewish Library”

“The Genius of Israel” is part of a large-scale project “Jewish Library”, which unites modern books on the history, politics, intelligence, army, and leadership of Israel.

here – https://nashformat.ua/catalog/viiskova-sprava-spetssluzhby/seriya-evrejska-biblioteka

The series already includes works by Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal, Ronen Bergman, and other authors. These are popular science studies and journalistic books, many of which have long been unavailable to a wide audience.

Among the most famous are “The Amazons of Mossad,” “Rise and Kill First…” and other publications revealing closed pages of Israeli history and decision-making mechanisms.

Why this book is being read now

Interest in “The Genius of Israel” is growing not out of nowhere. The world is entering a period of prolonged instability, wars and crises are becoming the norm, and trust in institutions is a deficit.

Against this background, the Israeli experience is increasingly being considered not as an exception, but as a practical model of societal survival under constant pressure. Without illusions. Without universal recipes. With an understanding of the price that has to be paid.

That is why the book by Senor and Singer is of interest far beyond Israel and the USA — including in Ukraine and among Russian-speaking readers.

The release of “The Genius of Israel” is not just another book novelty. It’s an occasion to think about how societies preserve themselves when stability ceases to be a guarantee. NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency will continue to talk about key books and ideas shaping the understanding of modern Israel and its experience in a world that is becoming increasingly unpredictable.