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Secrets I Won't Take with Me
Home, War, and the Struggle for Peace in Israel
Yossi Beilin (Author)
9780817362027
Paperback / softback, published 15 April 2025
358 pages, 16 images
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.513 kg
"Yossi Beilin has always been ahead of his time and invariably right. . . . Defying the critics and the extremists, he has refused to concede ground in the search for peace. This book is a welcome self-portrait of a hero of our time." —Dan Kurtzer, U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005
"In this excellent autography, Yossi takes the reader inside two of his great life initiatives—the Oslo Peace Process and the Birthright Israel Project. This book is both historically important and a hopeful lesson . . . of how much one person can make a big difference for his country and the world." —Senator Joseph Lieberman
"[Beilin's] creative mind always tried to better Israel and the Jewish people—whether it was to bring peace closer to Israel and the Mideast or to strengthen Jewish identity and pride. He is a blessing to Israel and the Jewish people. For those who care for Israel and for Jewish continuity, reading Yossi's life story is a pleasant obligation."—Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 1987–2015
An Israeli political leader’s riveting first-hand account of pivotal moments from recent Israeli history, including the Oslo Peace Accords, the founding of the Birthright Initiative, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the rise of the Israeli far right, and more In Secrets I Won't Take with Me, Yossi Beilin, a key Israeli political and ministerial leader, offers an intimate and candid memoir that chronicles pivotal events in the nation’s recent history. From the crucible of its founding to the complexities of the modern era, Beilin reveals an insider’s perspective and previously undocumented insights about the events that have and continue to shape Israel. Beginning his career as an academic and a journalist, Beilin became the spokesperson of the Labor Party in 1977. Among his many career highlights include the chairmanship of the Meretz-Yachad Party, Minister of Justice, Minister of Religious Affairs, and Deputy Finance Minister, and perhaps most significantly, as Deputy Foreign Minister during the Israel-PLO Oslo Peace Accords. As a key architect of the Oslo Peace Accords, he shares unprecedented details of the negotiations that defined an era. Beyond diplomacy, Beilin illuminates his role in shaping Israel’s identity, from steering Israel away from its alliance with apartheid South Africa to the foundation of the influential Birthright program. With unflinching honesty, Beilin navigates the triumphs and tragedies of a nation, from the euphoria of the Six-Day War to the heartbreak of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. A deeply personal memoir of one man’s life interwoven with a nation’s, Beilin’s stunning account of his career serves as a masterful tour d’horizon of Israel’s recent past and evolving future.
Preface 1. Angry at Herzl 2. “I Just Don’t Want Him to Grow Up to Be a Show-Off” 3. “Father, I’m Not Going with You!” 4. Love Doesn’t Diminish When You Divide It 5. Cupping Glasses for the Living 6. Playing a Silent Cardboard Piano 7. The Little Star from Lodz 8. I’m Sure You Already Know—There’s Going to Be a War 9. Like a Cup of Coffee with King David 10. A Child of the Establishment 11. Just Don’t Get Involved in Politics 12. It’s Not the Time to Hesitate 13. All-Out War 14. A New Political Forum—Mashov 15. Suddenly in the Holy of Holies 16. Do You Know Where Shimon Is? 17. The Brief Golden Age of Peace 18. Schlemiels and Schlimazels 19. “It’s Unthinkable That a Lowly Bureaucrat Is Shaping Israel’s Policies” 20. The Sextet vs. the Old Guard 21. A Meeting at a Monastery 22. The Dismantlers, Inc. 23. When Avrasha Returned Home 24. The “Secret” Sextet in Cairo 25. Oslo at Tandoori 26. Better If Arafat Is Here, and Not in Tunisia 27. “What If We Propose a Permanent Accord Straightaway?” 28. An Engagement, Not a Marriage 29. A TÊte-À-TÊte with Arafat 30. Erekat’s Astonishing Request 31. Don’t Leave Us with Half a Party! 32. Opening the Locked Door in the Palace 33. Yossi, We Have a Trump Card Here! 34. Turn on the TV, Rabin’s Been Shot! 35. No Positions, Only Principles 36. How Do We Get Out of Lebanon? 37. Hoo Ha—Look Who’s Coming 38. Pursuing Justice 39. The Horses Have Already Left the Stables 40. Like a Fellini Film at Taba 41. There’s Someone to Talk with 42. Two Farewells Afterword Acknowledgments Index Photographs follow page 000.