Haj

For real history on Palestine from the perspective of natives read THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR ON PALESTINE by Rashid Khalidi or Image and Reality of the Israel–Palestine Conflict by Norman Finkelstein an American scholar whose family was wiped out during the WWll holocaust. JUST TO NAME A FEW AMONG MANY.

It seems that a lot of people find this book racist, odious, and offensive because the title character, Haj Ibrahim, and his youngest son Ishmael (who does much of the narration) feel that their plight as ignored refugees living in squalor and violence was caused and is being exacerbated by their very own people, the Arabs, instead of blaming the Israelis for chasing them out of their homes and not letting them come back. Ibrahim wants to negotiate for peace, and has long been friends with his Jewish neighbour Gideon Asch (though their friendship hasn't exactly always been very brotherly). I suppose anything that is pro-Israel, even from an Arab viewpoint, is considered racist propaganda by people on the extreme Left. Even well-documented historical facts, like the ones set out in this novel, are shrilly shouted down as historical revisionism, racism, and "Zionist propaganda." I found some of the things in this book unsettling too, like how crude and vulgar some of the characters were, or what they were teaching children about the Koran, saying that all non-Muslims go to Hell and that the Jewish and Christian Bibles are wrong and therefore slandering the important prophets in their pages, but that's how many people in that part of the world live and believe. It may be disturbing and unsettling, but it's accurate. Ishmael and Ibrahim are proud of being part of this culture, a culture which brought the world 'One Thousand and One Nights,' which kept knowledge alive when Europe was in the Dark Ages, which used to be so proud, rich, and vibrant. Sadly, by the time they came on the scene, a corrupt leadership had been exploiting their own people for centuries, twisting their religion around, keeping their subjects in abject poverty while they lived like kings in lavish surroundings. Ibrahim may be crude, vulgar, sexist, and violent, but he's the most enlightened and progressive leader by their standards, their best hope for peace. And the predictions that Ibrahim and Ishmael make have come true; their culture has become even more violent, stagnated, and desperate. While Gideon and his people are living well in Kibbutz Shemesh, across the way in Tabah, the village of which Ibrahim is the muktar, the people are living in quite a different world. There are no trees, flowers, grass, toys, electricity, running water, women in leadership positions, playgrounds, or proper schools. Many of the people don't even know how to read or write. But Ishmael wants to be educated so he can amount to something, and his father wants to work for peace even after they're driven out of Tabah in 1948. The first Arabs to flee were the wealthy intelligentsia, who could afford to live abroad in Cairo, Beirut, or Damascus and never come back. The dregs of society were left over, and even a powerful man like Ibrahim wasn't able to save his people. Because his family had to hide from the Iraqi Kawukji's thugs, they were unable to get on the boat with their people and escape to

"The Haj" by Leon Uris is an important book (in print or audio form) for understanding the negative aspects of Arab culture and little known aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict that the great majority of the media won't share with us. Specifically, "The Haj" is historical fiction about a Palestinian-Arab family before and after the 1948 War for Israeli independence (From about 1922 to sometime around the 1960's or 1970's).Leon Uris wrote this about the book (in the beginning of "The Haj"):"Many of the events in The Haj are a matter of history and public record. Many of the scenes were created around historical incidents and used as a backdrop for the purpose of fiction. There may be persons alive who took part in events similar to those described in the book. It is possible therefore, that some may be mistaken for characters in the novel. Let me emphasize that all of the characters in the Haj are the complete creation of the author, and entirely fictional. The exceptions, of course, are the recognizable public figures who were associated historically with this period, such as David Ben-Gurion, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Abdullah, Yigal Allon, and others."There is no question that this book is fiction regarding the details its' story tells, but the story itself is a real one. Arab refugees did stream out of Israel during the 1948 war and Arab leaders telling them to do so (there are taped broadcasts of these calls) was definitely one of the major causes of the plight of the Palestinian-Arab refugees. There was also very definitely a very active terrorist movement among the Arabs in the Middle East, which survives to the present day (witness groups like Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hizbollah, the PLO / Palestinian authority, and others). The Palestinian-Arabs continue to suffer under poor leadership that represses their rights (witness many human rights organizations' reports of extrajudicial killings by the Palestinian Authority, the same autocratic leader, Yassir Arafat, who refuses to transfer the reins of power, and other facts). It is also a well-documented fact that the Mufti of Jerusalem was an ally and guest of Hitler during WWII. These things are facts and are indisputable. "The Haj" tells a story using the device of historical fiction to relay the often-ugly facts of life for the regular "fellah" (sometimes translated as peasant) in the land the British called Palestine and is now known again as Israel. The book is well written (good grammar, punctuation, style, etc.) and the story flows. I enjoyed reading about the characters of the story, but often wanted to cry for them. Some of the most poignant moments of "The Haj" occur during the flight of the Haj's (the main character is Haj Ibrahim and the book is the story of him and his family) family during the 1948 war and in refugee camps in Jordan. It was very sad to see how members of the same culture (the Arab culture) and most of the time the same religion (Islam) can be so cruel to each other. This

Whether Uris depiction of life in the Palestinian Arab world is totally correct, it is among the few we have. I thought it very courageous for a Jew to try to write about an Arab family and I think he would have to bend over backward to be fair. I don't see how anyone could have been more objective since most of what he writes is public and historic record. And since he wrote it in 1984 and very little has changed,how far off the mark can he be? What I found most valuable about the book was that I came away with a far greater sense of compassion for Arabs. Such is Uris' power that at times I felt myself rooting for the Haj. Cruel and vengeful as he was, he was still the best of the Arab leaders around him. It seems to me that the theme of the book was that Haj and the Jews might have worked out a peaceable agreement had they been left alone to do so. It demonstates that where the voices of reason are allowed to prevail, the madness of war can be avoided. The book may not hold up a flattering portrait of Arab life, and it has been accused of oversimplification, but in a world as complex as this any simplification at all should be welcome. It certainly helped me to form a compassionate view of a world that was beyond my comprehension before. As far as I can see, things have not gotten a lot better for women in most Arab countries, peace is nowhere nearer, Arab nations are no more friendly with each other than they were in 1960, and the frustrated militant youth of 1984 are the Tabliban and terrorists of today. If Uris was wrong in his portrayal, where can I find a better one? I read the book in 1984 and again in 2001. The second reading reminded me again that confusing as the Arab world is, it is nevertheless not a faceless multitude, but made up of families still living in fear and poverty and still at war. My personal belief is that what is wrong with the Arab rulership is that it is a political world where the voiced of women are almost totally silenced. Who knows that might happen if Moslem women were given an education and a voice. Why they are not is shown all too vividly in THE HAJ. Louise

It is strange to me to read the other reviews posted on this page and compare their views of the middle east to my own. As one who as been a part of the Middle East conflict for a long time, from an impartial perspective (or at least as impartial as one can be), I am willing to say that Uris' charaterizations of both ethnic groups are strikingly accurate. It is easy for those of you sitting in America to assume that if the book bad-mouths Arabs, it must be slander and racism. But why not take a look at the empirical evidence? How do you explain that Israel's economy is five times as large as Syria's, although Syria has a far greater population and is 20 times the size? There are two ATM machines in all of Syria. More Israeli companies IPOed on the Nasdaq last week.Or perhaps you would care to visit southern Israel, where most of the Middle East's agriculture is grown in the barren desert. I defy you to find a rich plain in the Arab world which is half as fruitful.Uris accurately depicts the Palestinian situation. There are good people, and they are overcome by a decaying and backward culture. The truth can hurt, but decrying it as inaccurate, with no evidence to the contrary, does a disservice to Uris as a writer and to anyone interested in learning about the remarkable confluence of strange cultures that has led to the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis.