Originally published in 1962, the title of this book is taken from Genesis and is an allusion to the establishment of a Jewish National State as the successful termination of long centuries of exile. The Eastern ‘day’ begins at nightfall; and after a prolonged period of darkness, culminating in the horrors of Hitler’s regime, the Jews face a new era. The author describes the rise of antisemitism in Germany, the deportations and final solution and the persecutions in Russia and other eastern European countries. And, after the night, the day: the slow growth of the Zionist idea, the eventual establishment of the State of Israel and the birth pangs of the new State in its wars with the neighbouring Arabs. The book contains many graphic portraits of leading personalities, such as David Ben-Gurion, Gold Meir and Nasser.

Translated by: Reginald Spink