BOOK REVIEW: A Call at 4 AM: Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions that Shaped Israeli Politics, 2025,
By Amit Segal / Post Hill Press
Reviewed by: Jean-Thomas Nicole
The Reviewer: Jean-Thomas Nicole is a Policy Advisor with Public Safety Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or positions of Public Safety Canada or the Canadian government.
REVIEW: Amit Segal is known as one of Israel’s most prominent political journalists, serving as the chief political correspondent for Channel 12 News and a columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth (meaning Latest News in Hebrew), an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv.
Founded in 1939, Yedioth Ahronoth is Israel's politically centrist and largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation.
Segal began his career in journalism at the age of seventeen and has since become a household name in Israeli media. He holds a law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master’s degree in public policy from University College London.
His previous book, The Story of Israeli Politics, was the top-selling book in Israel in 2021 and was updated after the October 7th attacks. The book has also been translated into Arabic and Russian. A Call at 4 AM is the revised and expanded English edition of that bestseller.
The book ends with the tragic massacre leading to the beginning of the October 7 war. The book was completed long before the strikes on Iran in 2025, however.
Segal is known for his sharp analysis, insider access, and ability to translate complex political developments into compelling narratives.
In A Call at 4 AM: Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions that Shaped Israeli Politics, Segal delivers a riveting chronicle of Israeli leadership through the lens of thirteen prime ministers.
Specifically, his focus is on Israel, but one that outsiders either fail to see or have given up trying to understand: the Israel of domestic politics and its bizarre alliances.
By way of comparison, Segal highlights this Israeli institutional paradox well: when an American president is elected, it is for a full four years. An Israeli prime minister can be ousted at any moment by a no-confidence vote on a Monday afternoon at four o’clock.
Consequently, anyone who wants to survive from one Monday to the next must constantly consider the delicate threads that hold their government together.
In other words, according to Segal, internal contradictions do not always impede the creation of victorious political alliances; sometimes they are even a hallmark of them.
Ultimately, if we follow Segal’s reasoning, despite what he calls a “half-baked” Israeli electoral system, “like matzah”, the combination of their will to survive and the power of the most important office in the land generates an incredible energy, which has unleashed dramatic changes in Israel. Israel’s prime ministers planned to form governments or break up parties, but quite unintentionally, they also changed history.
For example, the book’s title refers to a haunting nightmare of Golda Meir that kept coming back on the eve of the Yom Kippur War, setting the tone for a narrative that explores the psychological burden of leadership.
Segal therefore reconstructs pivotal moments in Israeli history with vivid detail, drawing on his deep access to political figures and his experience as a journalist. Each chapter thus reflects on the Prime Minister of the day, from David Ben-Gurion to Benjamin Netanyahu, and examines the decisions that defined their tenures.
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Segal’s prose is sharp, fast-paced, and often laced with dry humor, making complex political episodes accessible and compelling. The book reads like a political thriller, yet it offers profound insights into the machinery of power and the human cost of leadership.
Segal writes it well: “The only way that Israel’s leaders have managed to bridge the unfathomable gap between the highs of global diplomacy and the bottomless pits into which they stumbled was simply to play politics—and to do so better than any of their rivals.”
Segal’s storytelling is both cinematic and analytical. He captures the tension and complexity of leadership, revealing how personal ambition, ideological conviction, and national survival intersect in moments of crisis.
His portrayal of figures like Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu is nuanced and humanizing. For example, Segal writes of Begin: “Begin was not a man who changed his mind easily. But peace with Egypt was not a matter of ideology—it was a matter of survival.”
On Begin’s legacy, Segal summarizes further: “The house that he built is still standing, despite the cracks that formed in the walls around an issue that was supposed to be its centerpiece: opposition to territorial withdrawals and concessions”.
On Netanyahu, he observes: “He is both the most cautious and the most daring of Israel’s leaders—willing to wait years for the right moment and then act with stunning speed.”
These insights illustrate Segal’s ability to probe the motivations and fears behind fateful political decisions born out of necessity but with impact felt far beyond the Knesset’s walls. Overall, the eleven decisions in this book represent, therefore, an alternative biography of the State of Israel.
The book also explores the unique volatility of Israeli politics, where coalition fragility and public scrutiny create a high-stakes environment.
In that regard, Segal notes with both glee and sarcasm: “Here is Israeli politics in a nutshell: skullduggery, friendship, corruption, tragedy—and the gulf between the exit polls and the actual results. How can anyone not love it?”
Segal notes, “In Israel, every political crisis is also a national emergency.” This duality—between personal and national stakes—runs through every chapter.
While the book is rich in detail and drama, it occasionally assumes a level of familiarity with Israeli political figures that may challenge international readers. It lost a trench coat for that very reason with this reviewer. Fortunately, a useful timeline of Israeli political events helps contextualize the rapid shifts in leadership and party dynamics.
Nonetheless, Segal’s work stands out for its depth, clarity, and narrative power. It is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the inner workings of Israeli politics and the burdens of leadership in times of crisis.
A Call at 4 AM is particularly relevant to readers interested in national security and intelligence due to its focus on crisis decision-making, military strategy, and the inner workings of Israeli governance. Moshe Arens, the Likud’s esteemed defense minister, summarized it well: “Security is the beating heart of Israeli politics….”
Segal provides detailed accounts of moments when Israeli prime ministers faced existential threats, such as the Yom Kippur War, the withdrawal from Lebanon, and deliberations over Iran’s nuclear program.
These episodes offer valuable case studies in leadership under pressure, intelligence assessment, and the balance between military action and diplomatic negotiation. The book also sheds light on the role of intelligence agencies in shaping policy and the challenges of acting on incomplete or ambiguous information.
For professionals in the intelligence and national security communities, Segal’s work offers both historical context and enduring lessons on the complexities of statecraft in a volatile region.
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A Call at 4 AM earns a solid three out of four trench coats.
