New Book Traces Israel's Journey From the Hope of Oslo to the Catastrophe of October 7
The oover of Between Hope & Fear
Oslo Signing
October 7th
Historian & journalist Marc Schulman's Between Hope & Fear examines three transformative decades of Israeli politics, war, diplomacy, and economic reinvention
In 1993 Israelis dared to imagine peace. Thirty years later they woke to the deadliest day in their history. This book is the story of what happened in between.”
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, August 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- From the Hope of Oslo to the Catastrophe of October 7: — Marc Schulman, author of Between Hope and Fear
New Book Chronicles Three Decades That Transformed Israel
Historian and journalist Marc Schulman’s Between Hope & Fear examines the political, military, diplomatic, social and economic forces that reshaped Israel
More than thirty years separate the hopeful handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn and the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. A new book by historian and journalist Marc Schulman examines what happened during those intervening decades and how Israel traveled from the optimism surrounding the Oslo Accords to one of the darkest days in its history.
Between Hope & Fear: Israel from Oslo to October 7: Politics, War, and Reinvention, to be published September 1, 2026, tells the story of Israel’s transformation between two defining moments in its modern history.
The book follows Israel through the Oslo peace process and Rabin’s assassination; Benjamin Netanyahu’s first election; the collapse of the peace process and the Second Intifada; Ariel Sharon’s disengagement from Gaza; the rise of Hamas; repeated wars in Gaza and Lebanon; the struggle over Iran; Israel’s growing internal political and social divisions; and the events that ultimately culminated in October 7.
But Between Hope & Fear is not solely a history of conflict.
During those same three decades, Israel underwent a remarkable economic and technological transformation. The country absorbed large-scale immigration, developed one of the world’s most dynamic technology sectors, built globally important companies and dramatically increased its prosperity, even as Israelis repeatedly confronted terrorism, war and political upheaval.
“Israel’s story during these thirty years cannot be understood simply as a succession of wars, elections, and failed peace negotiations,” Schulman said. “It is equally the story of a society transformed economically, technologically, demographically, and culturally, even as it wrestled with fundamental questions about its borders, security, identity, and future.”
Schulman brings both a historian’s perspective and the observations of someone who experienced the period from inside Israel. An American-born Israeli who first moved to Israel in 1975, he served in the Israel Defense Forces and has spent decades writing about Israeli history, politics and current affairs.
He is the founder of HistoryCentral.com, an online history resource established in the 1990s, and the author and publisher of numerous works on history and current affairs. He wrote a weekly column for Newsweek for a decade. Since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, Schulman has written Tel Aviv Diary, a daily newsletter covering Israeli politics, diplomacy, security, economics and life in Israel. He also hosts the Tel Aviv Diary podcast and appears regularly as a commentator on i24NEWS.
Written from Tel Aviv and drawing on contemporary reporting, historical sources and Schulman’s own experiences, Between Hope & Fear begins in an Israel in which a negotiated peace with the Palestinians appeared possible. It follows the decisions, events and social changes that progressively altered that expectation, placing October 7 within the broader history that preceded it rather than treating the attack as an isolated event.
At its heart is a question that extends beyond Israel: How does a society continue to build, adapt and reinvent itself while living with recurring conflict and uncertainty?
Between Hope & Fear: Israel from Oslo to October 7: Politics, War, and Reinvention will be published September 1, 2026, and will be available in hardcover, paperback and digital editions through major booksellers.
Marc Schulman is available for interviews about Between Hope & Fear and for commentary on current events in Israel and the Middle East in the context of the three decades of history examined in the book.
About the Author
Marc Schulman is a historian, journalist, and technology entrepreneur based in Tel Aviv. He holds BA and MA degrees from Columbia University, where he studied history and economics. He is the founder of HistoryCentral.com and writes and publishes Tel Aviv Diary, a daily newsletter covering Israeli politics, diplomacy, security, economics, and technology. He also hosts the Tel Aviv Diary podcast and is a frequent commentator on Israeli and American affairs on i24NEWS.
Book Information
Title: Between Hope & Fear: Israel from Oslo to October 7: Politics, War, and Reinvention Author: Marc Schulman Publication Date: September 1, 2026 Formats: Hardcover, Paperback and eBook
Marc Schulman
Israel Academic Press
+1 914-235-4340
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