Gershom Gorenberg

Gershom Gorenberg approaches modern history through archives, interviews, journalism, and contested public memory. The Accidental Empire reconstructs the first decade of Israeli settlement after the 1967 war. Rather than presenting expansion as one settled plan, Gorenberg traces disputes among officials, activists, military authorities, and successive governments, including the changing relationship with the United States. Times Books issued The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977 in 2006; Holt Paperbacks followed with an edition in 2007. Gorenberg's later books include The Unmaking of Israel and War of Shadows, which likewise revisit national narratives through documentary evidence. His work as a journalist complements that historical method, keeping policy choices connected to the people and institutions that carried them out. The Accidental Empire remains focused on origins, showing how improvised decisions can harden into structures with consequences far beyond their starting moment. Gorenberg identifies himself professionally as an author, historian, and journalist.