Sledgehammer - by David Friedman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"For over a century, the Middle East has been locked in a series of bloody struggles. In 2020, the United States brokered an historic series of peace deals between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors, the first in a generation. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Kosovo and Morocco. The accords were the result of painstaking, behind-the-scenes work by a small team with no prior diplomatic experience, including Ambassador David Friedman. Sledgehammer is the full story of the accord-its origin and how it was successfully achieved. In the past, the accepted wisdom on Middle Eastern diplomacy was that extensive prior experience and detailed knowledge of the region's history and culture were necessary to negotiate the details that are the foundational framework of treaties. But in truth, Friedman explains, both sides played on that accepted wisdom to stall-each hoping to achieve a deal better for their side further down the road. As the prospects for the President's Vision for Peace between Israel and the Palestinians was growing dimmer due to the intransigence of the Palestinians, the chaos of Israeli politics, and the unforeseen worldwide pandemic, David Friedman and his team found themselves in a position to negotiate five historic peace agreements-not between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but between Israel and four of its Arab neighbors along with Kosovo. Friedman realized that a new future was possible now, not at some nebulous future point, and that the United States needed to find a way to facilitate it or lose out forever. Friedman takes us across the globe and back, from the Oval Office to the highest echelons of power in the Middle East and puts us at the table during the intense negotiations that led to this historic breakthrough. The inside story of arguably the greatest achievement of the Trump Administration, Sledgehammer is an important, inspiring story of the hard but hopeful work necessary to bring long overdue-and lasting-peace to one of the most turbulent and tragic regions of the globe"--

Book Synopsis

The Trump administration's peace agreements in the Middle East were the greatest foreign policy accomplishment in decades. Now, for the first time, his ambassador to Israel explains how they pulled it off.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity. For decades, the U.S. State Department called it diplomacy.

David Friedman was an outside candidate when President Trump appointed him U.S. ambassador to Israel. He took office to find U.S.-Israel policy stuck in stalemate. For years, accepted wisdom was that extensive experience and detailed knowledge of Middle Eastern history and culture were necessary to negotiate treaties. In truth, Friedman realized, all parties played on that accepted wisdom to stall--expecting to get a better deal further down the road.

Tossing the State Department playbook aside and incorporating insights from his many years as a negotiator in the American private sector, Friedman and a small team with no prior diplomatic experience revamped American diplomacy to project "peace through strength." He emphasized the importance of leverage, the key to any good negotiation. After painstaking, behind-the-scenes work, the Abraham Accords were signed: a historic series of peace deals between Israel and the five Muslim nations.

In Sledgehammer, Friedman tells the true story of how the Abraham Accords came about. He takes us from the Oval Office to the highest echelons of power in the Middle East, putting us at the table during the intense negotiations that led to this historic breakthrough. The inside story of arguably the greatest achievement of the Trump Administration, Sledgehammer is an important, inspiring account of the hard, hopeful work necessary to bring long overdue--and lasting--peace to one of the most turbulent and tragic regions of the globe.

Review Quotes

"When David Friedman took office, the Middle East was seen as a place of intractable conflict. When he left, the Middle East was blossoming into peace between Jews and Arabs. David Friedman was the right historic figure in a tumultuous, chaotic, and ultimately transformative time. In Sledgehammer, David tells the inside story of how the Trump administration changed the Middle East for the better." -- Ben Shapiro

"Ambassador Friedman was essential to the historic progress the United States made in the Middle East during the Trump administration. His book, Sledgehammer, offers important lessons in leadership. He clearly understood that American interests were served by standing firmly with our ally Israel, even when it meant going against long-standing policies. America and Israel are better off because of him." -- Nikki Haley

"The last peace treaty between Israel and an Arab neighbor had been signed in 1994 with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Since then, all the efforts made by multiple US administrations to advance Middle East peace went nowhere. Thus, the Abraham Accords, that brought about normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab states, represented a sharp break from the failures of the recent past. David Friedman provides an insider account of that gripping story in Sledgehammer." -- Dore Gold

"In his book, Sledgehammer, David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel, provides his intriguing firsthand, behind-the-scenes account of the extraordinary peace initiatives President Trump and his team, in close coordination with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, launched, leading to the historic Abraham Accords. Friedman was at the center of the most diplomatically successful, pro-Israel administration since that nation's founding. I encourage you to get a copy. Sledgehammer is a must-read." -- Mark Levin