Dr Tal Becker was legal counsel to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations from 2001-2005 and has served as Vice-Chairman of the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly. Dr Becker received his doctorate from Columbia University, and holds a masters degree from the Hebrew University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Naomi, and their three children.
Not only has Becker succeeded in producing a tightly argued yet elegantly written piece of legal scholarship, but he has also convincingly shown how principles of causation can be employed to hold states accountable for private acts of terrorism. His book makes an important contribution to the law of state responsibility…one may expect that before long Becker's arguments for broadening the scope of state responsibility for private acts of terrorism will be taken up on the international stage. -- Aurel Sari * International Affairs * The author addresses the subject very succinctly…This book will serve as a useful source of reference for scholars, academicians and government officials working in this field. -- Manoj Kumar Sinha * Indian Journal of International Law, vol.46, n.3 * …a tour de force in the literature on state responsibility. His scholarship is impeccable. -- Craig Forcese * The Canadian Bar Review * …comprehensive and clear, original and substantiated, conceptual and practical…A great international law book, Terrorism and the State is open to competing readings and, simultaneously, conveys a clear argument…Terrorism and the State is clearly the most significant contribution to the field of state responsibility since the ILC Draft Articles of 2001 -- Alan Nissel * Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol 5, no 1 * Becker is a learned and careful commentator, and international lawyers will benefit from reading his book. -- Eric A. Posner * Political Science Quarterly * …the bibliography is most impressive…his call for clarity and certainty in an attempt to base actions on 'sound legal foundations' is admirable… -- Dewi Williams * Legal Studies, Vol. 27 No. 2 * 'Terrorism and the State' is of great interest as it deals with present day questions. References to the late 19th century practice of State responsibility for private acts together with considerations on how the matter generally influences the relationship between public and private domains in international law prove to be particularly interesting. -- Raffaella Nigro * Italian Yearbook of International Law, volume 16 * Aside from its important thesis, Terrorism and the State is a thorough resource on state responsibility and terrorism in international law and broaches topics whose importance grows daily. -- Joshua Rosenthal * International Law and Politics, Vol 39 No.1 *