Palestine Betrayed

Submitted by Steve Berman (United States), Sep 19, 2010 at 00:40

In confronting the question of why there is so much anti-Israeli opinion in the world, particularly among academics, I believe that the corruption of the basic historical narrative by Morris and other "new historians" has played a great role. There is also much merit in Dr. Pipes more abstract and philosophical theory regarding the views of Kant on the nation-state, but when I drill down as best I can through all the anti-Israeli statements, the core message seems to be that European Jews with no real relationship to Israel came on the scene in 1947 and threw the Palestinians out of their homeland. Of course, that oversmplified narrative is ludicrous and way beyond anything that even Benny Morris said, but it seems to be the take-home message that many so-called intellectuals have gotten from the new historians' writings. In various forms, that is the narrative that many individuals accept these days.

I am not an historian, so I am incapable of sifting through the primary data myself. For a long time I have searched for a solid narrative covering the essential points of the development of modern Israel. Karsh's earlier work on the the Fabrication of Israeli History covered a lot of important ground but it was not an entire narrative. Palestine Betrayed is such a narrative and it is simply magnificent.

I realize that most of the people who frequent this web site are busy folks who may have limited time. Few among us can read every book that is recommended. But I strongly urge everyone with an interest in Israel to read Karsh's latest work in its entirety. I am studying it thoroughly because it provides the reader with a strong intellectual background to help effectively rebut the numerous distortions and outright lies bandied about so frequently. This book should be widely read, studied, and discussed by all those interested in Israel. Please read it. Also, if you have the means to buy multiple copies, please donate copies to local pulbic libraries and school libraries so that it is widely accessible.

Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I think that the widespread dissemination of the facts in this book can make a major improvement in the world's opinion of Israel.

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