Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy mastered the writing of fiction by portraying life events in a way that challenged the common perception of them. He would descend to great detail to explain situations that at first blush did not seem to require elaboration. Events that seemed simple became complex. Tolstoy's technique has acquired a description in literary analysis. Tolstoy is said to have “made strange.” He took what appeared simple and mined the surface to show a more complex reality.

Tolstoy's technique can be applied in nonfiction as well. Events that have become part of history, events explained typically in a sentence or two, may hide a reality that sheds a different light. The Zionist movement has made a history for itself, a history remarkable in many respects. From ideas generated by a handful of individuals, it inserted itself onto the world stage. It functioned in the realm of international diplomacy. It arrived in that realm as Europe and the Middle East were tearing themselves apart in a world war. And a few years later it navigated through another conflagration that consumed even greater swaths of the planet in another world war.

Zionism achieved great feats in the realm of diplomacy, feats that have been depicted in heroic terms by its proponents and acknowledged with chagrin by its detractors. What has received less attention is the means by which Zionist diplomacy gained its successes. This book approaches Zionist diplomacy using Tolstoy's technique. A close reading will be given to key diplomatic forays that put Zionism in a position to succeed in its effort to gain territory for a Jewish state.

I must mention several technical matters. When an English language rendition is given from a source in another language, the translation is mine. Transliteration into the Latin alphabet from Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian is not uniform. As a result, a reader may find variances in the spelling of place names or other terms, particularly in quotations.

The text at many points contains statements of persons who spoke at United Nations meetings. The UN records typically paraphrase, as recorded by a rapporteur. So even if quotation marks appear at the beginning and end of a statement, the words may not be exactly those of the speaker.

Names can be confusing for two diplomats who are referenced frequently in the text. Each made a name change mid-career.