Periphery: Israel’s Search for Middle East Allies

Yossi Alpher's book Periphery is an extraordinary attempt to provide, a comprehensive analysis of the Israeli strategy aimed at forging alliances with non-Arab states and minorities in the greater Middle East, as well as with remote Arab states, in order to break the isolation inflicted on Israel due to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The plan, although never precisely articulated (p. 4) was implemented during the first three decades of Israel's existence and lost some of its appeal after the Iranian Revolution and the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt, both in 1979.