Battleground: Fact & Fantasy in Palestine

I think it's interesting to read history books by supporters and opponents of Israel. The ones by Israel's foes generally contain a surprising amount of misinformation. And that may be why books such as this one do not. Katz finds it easiest to support Israel by refuting antizionist lies, and he does so by telling the truth. Katz traces the origins of the Arab war against Israel. That means supplying background material on the Jews of the Levant prior to modern Zionism. That helps us all realize that Jews had an important connection to and presence in the Levant during the many centuries between the defeats by the Romans and World War One. And it makes it clear that Jerusalem was not an Arab city in the latter quarter of the nineteenth century but virtually the only Asian city with a Jewish majority. The book exposes many antizionist fabrications about the history of the region. Sometimes, antizionists tell us that Jerusalem is a holy city for the Arabs. But the author shows us that Jerusalem has been important to the Arabs only recently, when the Jews have ruled it. It is important now, because it is the Jewish capital, and because it would give the Arabs more esteem were they to deny the Jews their own capital city. The author also goes into some detail about the role of Great Britain in the history of the region from the end of World War One until Israeli independence. He mentions the revelations of Richard Crossman about the intentions of Britain's foreign minister, Ernest Bevin, to destroy the Jews of the region rather than act as an honest broker between the Jews and Arabs. And Katz shows how Britain acted as an active participant in the confrontation, with the explicit purpose of preventing the establishment of a Jewish state by force. That includes the infamous White Paper of 1939, which drastically limited Jewish immigration to the region just when it was most needed for those attempting to avoid death at the hands of the Germans. I think Katz is at his best in discussing a very prevalent lie we all see today, namely that Arabs have at least as much of a right to steal Israeli land as the Israelis do to keep it. And that the reason is that there is an Arabic-speaking subpeople that can live only on Israeli land. We've seen this argument before. When Germans wanted to occupy Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, they pretended to do so on behalf of the German-speaking "Sudeten" people. These were Germans who happened to live in Czechoslovakia. But there was no symmetry between the desire of Czechs to enjoy human rights, protected by their government, and the desire of many Germans to deny human rights to the Czechs. And once the Germans obtained Czechoslovakia, the pretense of a Sudeten people was abandoned. The author makes us aware of a similar problem today. While antizionists may imply that there is a huge Arab population that can live only on Jewish land, that's simply not the case. Katz explains that when Ar

Samuel Katz provides an excellent service in describing, truthfully, how the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli conflict really began and just as importantly, why it continues.It is so refreshing to be provided with an in-depth analysis of the bitter hostilities and a factual account that will destroy and tread underfoot the propaganda, the myths, distortions, fabrications and outright lies that have served to deceive the public at large of what the situation in the Middle East is really all about.The descriptive and relevant title which includes 'Fact & Fantasy' can never be more appropriate than when dealing with an issue such as this, where the erosion of truth has occurred at a monumental rate in recent years, especially since the onset of the two 'Palestinian intifadas'in 1987.I possess the second edition of this book with a foreword in 1977 by then Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel. He summarises his opinions of this book by stating "...we shall continue to use truth as a main weapon. I hope that this book will play an even larger part in spreading the truth than it has done in the past." The British Sunday Times newspaper is also quoted in the introduction from an issue in 1972, "...On some occasions, deliberate lies have been devised to bury a truth that powerful people wanted hidden...."I cannot but only agree with Menachem Begin's every word 'spoken' by the Sunday Times. When matters such as these come to the surface, people with integrity will want to know why this deceit exists, the agendas of those who would perpetrate these policies and above all the real truth behind the lies. This book serves that purpose !We see through Katz's writings the hypocritical, biased policies of my own British Government in the region, fuelled by self interest and their own agenda in the region.Palestinian terrorism, refugees and a detailed history through the decisive events of 1948, 1967 and 1973 are all covered in this excellent book which has thankfully now been re-released. Samuel Katz does not rest there, but also delves into the history of the region and the Jewish presence in Palestine.I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Suffice to say, please get yourself a copy. (If you are a politician, get two and give one to a colleague!) Kindest regards & thanks for listening.

Many books have been written about the history of israel and the conflict in the Middle East. Everyone of those authors had an agenda, and Samuel Katz has one, too. His, seems to be: "I'll give you the key to research this issue for yourself, to find out the truth and to be amazed at how distorted the common understainding of this (Israel-Arab) conflict, really is."In fact, you will find that Mr. Katz provides aboundant links to documents, interviews, witnesses and other articles. The great majority of the evidence Mr. Katz is using, is of Arab provenience. Most importantly, he gives you the means, through detailed documenting of the sources, to check them out for yourself. This is very important, because this conflict's facts have been grossly and tendentiously manipulated. At first, of course, the reader might experience some strange mixture of disbelief and anxiety. This should not last too long, though, depending on your personal education and experience. For me, it was quite acceptable, knowing how the events that lead to the annexion of the Finnish Karelia by Russia, were fabricated, and accepted by the UN because, well, Finland was small and Russia so big and powerful.History is, perhaps, written by the more powerful but even the mightiest of the powers can't completely erase all traces of truth. This book talks about the conflict in Palestine by giving the reader the opportunity to find those traces and to be the judge. It's also a very easy to read, enjoyable and immersive reading. Of course, checking the sources is a more laboriious but also more rewarding task which I personally urge every reader to undertake, to whatever extent he/she might be comfortable with. A must-have for everybody who wants to be educated on an important aspect of modern history, both scholar and layman.

Book was an excellent historical resource and an accurate compilation of historical facts. Verifiable sources are cited and facts are fully corroborated. One can imagine that most anti-Israel propagandists will be unnerved and thoroughly shaken by this book, as their ability to distort and disinform will be severly limited, or even eliminated. A truly unbiased student of history will appreciated this book. Anti-Zionists and ant-Semites will probably find an additional opportunity to spew their hatred and deceitful rhetoric regarding undeniable realities.

Samuel Katz is one of the few in the media who tells the truth about the Israeli/Arab conflict in Israel. He provides astounding facts about the British invovlement against the Jews in Palestine and the truth behind the Arab propaganda machine and the real beginning of the "refugee" problem. This book is a must if you want to learn what happened in Palestine and the real problems between Israel and not only its neighbors, but also its relations with the world community. This book deserves two thumbs up.