The Reckoning: Death and Intrigue in the Promised Land - A True Detective Story

Summary (from the publisher): One of Britain’s most renowned military historians revisits a controversial murder: that of Zionist leader Avraham Stern, head of Israel’s notorious Stern Gang, in Tel Aviv during WWII

Militant Zionist Avraham Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. As the ringleader of the infamous Stern Gang, also known as Lehi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in pursuit of his dream. On the run from British authorities who’d put a bounty on his head, Stern was hiding in an attic in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.

Morton claimed Stern was trying to escape. But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. His controversial death inspired a cult of martyrdom that gave new life to Lehi, helping to destroy hopes of a detente between the British, the Arabs, and the Jews.

The Reckoning is the story of Patrick Bishop’s quest to discover the truth. Based on extensive research—including access to Morton’s private archive and eyewitness interviews—it recounts this seismic event in full, without bias, placing it within the context of its turbulent time. Bishop’s gripping, groundbreaking narrative brings to life two men similar in ambition and dedication, chronicles the events that led to their fatal meeting, and explores how the impact of Stern’s death reverberated through the final years of British rule and the birth of Israel.

 

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.

 

In 1917, the Balfour Declaration laid the groundwork for Great Britain's presence in Palestine, an area previously under Ottoman rule. In effect, the British declared that "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object" (9). Not only would this create a home for the Jews, but it would also help Britain create a land bridge "to the oil-producing areas of Iraq, which now held great potential strategic importance" (9).

 

However, the existing Arabic communities in Palestine were violently opposed to the influx of thousands of Jews into their homeland, leading to outbreaks of violence throughout the country. This difficulty was compounded by the impending second world war, when Jews began to pour out of Germany. In the midst of these struggle for control over Palestine, Avraham Stern grew to power as the leader of the infamous Stern Gang, intent on liberating British Palestine. Stern was intent on "liquidating" or killing anyone he saw as standing in the way of Palestine becoming a home for the Jews. That is, until he was shot by Geoffrey Morton, a British policeman.

 

There are conflicting accounts of Stern's death. Some witnesses claim that Morton shot him down in cold blood. Morton insisted until his death that Stern was dangerous and was attempting to escape, thus requiring him to shoot him.

 

This book purports to be an exhaustive inside look at the truth behind Stern's killing. However, in reality, the majority of this book instead deals with the minutiae of the politics in Palestine, the activity of the Stern gang, and the personal lives of Stern and Morton. For a book that was described as a work of detective non-fiction, there's little new truths uncovered. Stern's killer was never a secret; rather the necessity to shoot him on the scene has been called into question. Although I appreciated learning about the history of Palestine during World War II, I was expecting a different story going into this book. Furthermore, at times I found the organization and flow of this book confusing; it was difficult for me to keep characters separate and to understand the exact sequence of events. However, in the author's defense, this could also be because I'm not terribly knowledgeable about this time and place in history.

 

There's little doubt that Stern was the mastermind behind multiple violent acts, including various bombings and the killing of both political figures and innocent bystanders. He clearly deserved his status as a wanted man and was rightly apprehended by the police. Yet in both scenarios of his death, Morton clearly shot down an unarmed man that was already in custody. Given that this book was touted as an investigative look at Stern's death, I was disappointed that Bishop's final conclusion that "the truth will, in all likelihood, remain enigmatic and elusive" (256).

 

Stars: 2