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SIXTY years have passed since Israel came into existence, but its future as a nation is still far from secure, according to Finchley academic and writer Colin Shindler.

Shindler's new book, A History of Modern Israel, examines how far the country has developed since its first optimistic beginnings in 1948 - and how far it still has to go.

Mr Shindler, 61, lives in Finchley, and first became interested in his Israeli heritage as a child.

Growing up in Hackney with "highly traditional" working-class parents, he developed a strong sense of Judaism and social justice, the combination of which, he says, shaped his ideas on his cultural identity.

He said: "My parents gave me a good understanding of history, the rise of Jewish persecution over 2,000 years, the Holocaust and the rise of Israel. They gave me a strong sense of identity, but more a national one than a religious one."

It was a trip to Israel in 1970 that cemented Mr Shindler's interest in the region.

Travelling as the political secretary of the World Union of Jewish Students, an organisation comprising around 50 independent Jewish student unions, he finally had the opportunity to get to grips with the complexities of his Jewish identity.

"The majority of Jews understand Israel is the pillar of their identity. But, when you go out there and see the political reality you understand things much better. It also helped me to understand myself."

After studying chemistry and inorganic macromolecules as an undergraduate at Leicester University, Mr Shindler returned to his true passion with a political doctorate on the Israeli right-wing party Likud.

Between 1985 and 1994 he edited the Jewish Quarterly Review while teaching chemistry at Open University, before taking a position as a reader in Israeli and Modern Jewish Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1998.

Mr Shindler, who has written eight books on Israel and Zionism, says he wrote A History of Modern Israel to help him understand his Jewish background and "one of the world's great unsolved political questions".

He added: "It is a unique situation. It is not like Ireland or South Africa. Here you have a clash of two national movements struggling over the same piece of land. It has been going on for well over 100 years, but the irony is that there is no resolution."

In the book, Mr Shindler traces Israel's history across 60 years from its hopeful beginnings - immigration, settlement, the creation of its towns and institutions - through the wars with its Arab neighbours and the tortuous conflict with the Palestinians.

Shindler provides insights into the country's diverse society, forged from more than a hundred different Jewish communities, united by a common history. But he shows how contemporary Israel is riven with deep ideological disputes and differing interpretations of Judaism.

He said: "I don't believe people just make decisions out of the blue. They are made based on ideological views, on what people believe. So I tried to write a book on different views of Zionist ideology.

"You get Marxist Zionists, religious Zionists and other religious Jews who don't consider themselves Zionists. They are all different, but when you understand their ideology you can understand the policy behind their decisions."

When asked if he thinks the situation in the Middle East has repercussions for Jewish-Muslim relations here in London, Mr Shindler pauses.

"I think there are good relations between Jews and Muslims in Barnet. However, you can't say it doesn't have an effect: there is a natural alignment there.

"Most Jews will naturally support Israel and most Muslims will naturally support Palestine. And this is definitely an obstacle to moving forward.

"There has generally been a rise in tension over the last few years. But there are many religious leaders who are reaching out their hands to overcome this problem."

So, considering the current situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, is there any hope for a peaceful future in the Middle East?

"My last line in the book is: a resolution is yet to be found," the author says. "But you never know what will turn up tomorrow morning in the Middle East. The Oslo Accords came out of the blue and no one knew about it. So I am always hopeful, but realistic."

5:37pm Tuesday 22nd April 2008

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