Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land

Rating:
Summary: great to understanding the Middle East conflict
Review: In Arab and Jew, Shipler shows the history of Israel from 1948 on. The book provides information on a lot of the contemporary issues of the country. It shows how terrorism, racism, and prejudice have been practiced by both sides. It looks at how Israel has fought and won its wars and the measures it takes to prevent terrorism. It provided me with a lot better understanding of Israel.

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Summary: ISRAEL A Divided Promised Land
Review: NEW TITLE INFORMATION ISRAEL A Divided Promised Land By Jonathan Jacob A Political Diatribe The birth of Israel in 1948 heralded a new beginning; the Jews at last had a homeland. Centuries of persecution and oppression were seemingly over Showing how European Jews are treating Easterners, the book in essence shows a nation divided and a paradise lost. With Europeans inflicting treatment similar to what they received by the Nazis: flagrant discrimination, giving Easterners the most menial jobs, tragically all at the hands of fellow Jews. In a plain, unsensational style making it all the more poignant, the author, an Indian Jew who has lived in Israel since 1966 reveals telling insight little known beyond Israel. As an Easterner himself the author could be open to questions of bias, but quotes enough examples to negate this. In essence the book really is a plea for equality and a strong warning of civil war if it is not forthcoming. The Author: Born in India in 1946, Jonathan Jacob immigrated to Israel at the age of twenty. He lived on a Kibbutz and studied the Hebrew language before enlisting for compulsory army service in 1967. He served in the forces for a period of 23 years, active in four different wars and wounded thrice during this time before serving four years with police investigations unit.

Rating:
Summary: A Fair Synopsis
Review: Some of the people who reviewed this book were mistaken. Shipler gives a fair and accurate portrayal of life in the most volitile place on Earth. As a historian, it is refreshing to see a book that does not take sides with either Arab or Jew and neutrally describes the horrors of politics and religion in the middle east.

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Summary: Goes beyond the facts and lets us meet the people.
Review: Subtitled "Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land", the author won a Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1987. He's a journalist for The New York Times and was assigned to Jerusalem from 1979-1984. The book has been updated in May of 2002 and now includes references to 9/11 as well as other more recent events in the Middle East. Now, more than ever, this book is relevant for an understanding of what is going on today. Mr. Shipler, who makes a point of saying that he is neither Jewish nor Arab, has an impartial American's point of view. The book is dense with facts and I found his explanations of the history of the region clear and balanced.

The major part of the book, however, is devoted to a great many interviews of both Arabs and Jews. And, through their eyes, the reader is thrust into the human element of the conflict. Often, it is repetitive as over and over again he makes his point of contrasting the viewpoints from the different sides. But that only added to the intensity of the experience of reading this book, which was assigned as required reading for a course I am taking at NYU about the Middle East. I've taken other courses that dealt with the facts, but this book goes well beyond the facts. It goes into the hearts and minds of the people.

In contrasting chapters he brings out the viewpoints of the opposing groups. The Arabs view the Israelis as violent, craven, and alien with a superior attitude. The Israelis view the Arabs as violent, craven, primitive and exotic. Both have fears and fantasies regarding seduction and intermarriage, and even though sometimes there is a mingling of cultures, fear and distrust usually prevails. The first edition of the book seems to end with a bit of hope as there are visits back and forth between Arab and Jewish schools, and some group activities inspired by the human potential movement. Some young people were even sent to camp together in Maine, and friendships were forged. However, by 2002, all this had turned to ashes as the last few years have again divided people and left each group with hatred for the other. Now I understand the reasons why.

Reading this book was uncomfortable at times, but I'm well aware that it is more than merely uncomfortable for the people involved. Mr. Shipler has given me the opportunity to appreciate an experience that has always seemed strange and distant to me. It is not light reading. It's 531 pages of well-written prose that manages to unravel the threads of complexity and make it all seem real. I applaud Mr. Shipler for writing this book.

Rating:
Summary: Goes beyond the facts and lets us meet the people.
Review: Subtitled "Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land", the author won a Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1987. He's a journalist for The New York Times and was assigned to Jerusalem from 1979-1984. The book has been updated in May of 2002 and now includes references to 9/11 as well as other more recent events in the Middle East. Now, more than ever, this book is relevant for an understanding of what is going on today. Mr. Shipler, who makes a point of saying that he is neither Jewish nor Arab, has an impartial American's point of view. The book is dense with facts and I found his explanations of the history of the region clear and balanced.

The major part of the book, however, is devoted to a great many interviews of both Arabs and Jews. And, through their eyes, the reader is thrust into the human element of the conflict. Often, it is repetitive as over and over again he makes his point of contrasting the viewpoints from the different sides. But that only added to the intensity of the experience of reading this book, which was assigned as required reading for a course I am taking at NYU about the Middle East. I've taken other courses that dealt with the facts, but this book goes well beyond the facts. It goes into the hearts and minds of the people.

In contrasting chapters he brings out the viewpoints of the opposing groups. The Arabs view the Israelis as violent, craven, and alien with a superior attitude. The Israelis view the Arabs as violent, craven, primitive and exotic. Both have fears and fantasies regarding seduction and intermarriage, and even though sometimes there is a mingling of cultures, fear and distrust usually prevails. The first edition of the book seems to end with a bit of hope as there are visits back and forth between Arab and Jewish schools, and some group activities inspired by the human potential movement. Some young people were even sent to camp together in Maine, and friendships were forged. However, by 2002, all this had turned to ashes as the last few years have again divided people and left each group with hatred for the other. Now I understand the reasons why.

Reading this book was uncomfortable at times, but I'm well aware that it is more than merely uncomfortable for the people involved. Mr. Shipler has given me the opportunity to appreciate an experience that has always seemed strange and distant to me. It is not light reading. It's 531 pages of well-written prose that manages to unravel the threads of complexity and make it all seem real. I applaud Mr. Shipler for writing this book.

Rating:
Summary: Very factual, hard to read but interesting, very educational
Review: The author has great experiences and he writes them down in a way that is some what hard to understand if you have not been there yourself. I am going to lsrael and I needed to read this book so that I could more fully understand the the relations between the Arab and the Jew. my purpose was to learn from this book and I have. I know that if the reader wants to learn about the problems in Israel this would be a great read. Enjoy and don't get to concerned about all the fact because it will lead you down the wrong path. If your purpose for reading is to learn like mine was just read it for that purpose.

Rating:
Summary: A New Light
Review: The book was probably one of the best non-fiction pieces of literature that I have ever read. It was in-depth yet not boring. I especially enjoyed the way it outlined the stereotypes between the two peoples. The stories of friends who become enemies as time goes on are extremely compiling.
In the book I was able to identify some of my own predigest that I never even know existed. I am also able to identify the things I see and hear for what they are. I have always looked at the trouble in the Middle East from one side. I am now able to realize that there are two peoples in the Promised Land
This book takes stories of the people. I thought this was a most excellent approach. Every time I read an article it always goes into politics and laws issues and referendums. This book delved into the real problem between the people. I now see that even thought it may be the slow pace a diplomatic approach between the people is the only way peace will come.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting book
Review: This book has plenty of fascinating anecdotes about the Jews and Arabs in Israel. And it is illuminating. We see negative stereotypes that each have for the other. More than that, I think this book shows some of the reasons why there isn't peace.

While some of the stereotypes are shown to be overstated, the reader will come away with a very negative picture of the people who live in the area. Some people appeared prepared to live, and some to let live, and a few weren't prepared to do either, but very few of the people Shipler showed us seemed ready to do both.

Shipler's description of Arab complaints about Israel were interesting. Sure, many Arabs said they had a devotion to their land. And that's why they needed it back from the Jews. But instead of reacting sympathetically, I asked myself if they were for real. If I were to act the same way, what would I do? Demand, as a descendant of Tatars who were evicted from what is now Yalta, that the Muslim Tatars get Yalta back? Or demand, as a Pagan, that the Dome of the Rock be removed so that we could restore the Temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva?

I rarely see Arabs demand land "back" that is now lived on by other Arabs. Nor would it make sense to anyone to "return" Warsaw to the Jews. Worse, it seemed to me that many Arabs were saying that they would do Anything to get their land back ... except pay for it. And that they would insist on being true Israeli citizens, except they wouldn't fight for Israel! Since I'd never want to live in a country I couldn't support, I found it hard to sympathize with the attitudes of many Israeli Arabs.

Shipler explained to us a common Arab complaint that the Jews are punishing the Arabs for Jewish misfortunes in Europe. But this complaint grossly underestimates Arab blame for what happened to many Jews. And it also tacitly and incorrectly assumes that it should be a crime for Jews to live near Arabs.

Almost all the Jews Shipler described had given plenty of thought to whether overall Jewish behavior made sense. They came up with different answers. But they left me with the impression that if they ever had a chance to make good policy decisions, most of them would do it. That's not the impression I got about the Arabs he depicted.

I think Shipler failed to show us the big picture in this conflict. And to me, the main point is that the Jews have rather little land. In the long run, if everyone chooses peace, the Jews probably will wind up with at least as much land as they now have. The Jews have options. They can fight. They can make allies. They can flee. They can even convert. Yes, they can get badly hurt. But my point is that they have shown great resiliance and have surprisingly little to lose. Their land has few resources. In my opinion, contrary to popular belief, they might well survive the loss of several wars.

Meanwhile, the Arab side is unlikely to lose a big war. But their Empire would be gone if they ever lost one. They have an enormous amount of land and huge resources, and seem to act as though they can't lose it. Instead, there is a huge focus on fighting a war for an arbitrary cause which, if they win it, will give them virtually nothing.

Finally, this whole struggle is being fought primarily between those who believe Jews ought to have human rights in Israel and those who do not. That's not very symmetrical. I have to ask myself if Shipler was helping anyone by allowing folks to get the impression that these two points of view are equally valid. Perhaps it would have been better if he had taken a stand, and simply said that both sides are hurting. And that the Arabs have a choice to make: do they want it to be better for everyone or worse for everyone? That would have allowed me to give his book a couple more stars.

Rating:
Summary: Balanced treatment of the subject
Review: This book is a well-written and relatively balanced account of the social forces that are hindering peace in Israel and the occupied territories. It is very thorough and you will certainly learn a lot about social life there that you never knew (even Israeli citizens may learn some surprising things about their country).

My only gripe about the book is that the author treats many behaviors and prejudices as being the root of the problem -- while those prejudices may simply be the result of the geopolitical strife in the area. Specifically, Shipler's solutions to the problems of hatred and prejudice don't contain any suggestions for long-term political fixes. Consequently, all of the individual efforts to eradicate hatred and prejudice that he highlights tend to get buried by larger forces. I know that Shipler was striving to maintain neutrality with a very controversial subject, but I would have liked at least an overview of the potential fixes and how they would fit into the social landscape that he sees.

This is a balanced, albeit incomplete, analysis of the relationship between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

Rating:
Summary: the best textbook I actually DID read
Review: This book is amazing. I can hardly praise it enough. It tells the story of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from both sides, usually through stories and personal interviews. Fascinating reading. This book is required reading for the History of the Middle East class at Eastern Mennonite University, and it is also required for the cross-cultural groups that go to the Middle East for a semester of study.

Whenever I feel like reading a book, I actually turn to this book first, certainly before any other homework or even before a novel. That means I actually get some work done ahead of time for once in my college career! It is easy to read, and I've underlined so much on each page I'm afraid I won't be able to read it very well when I read it a second time! And I *will* read it a second time, at least...