Customer Reviews

The Gun and the Olive Branch

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It's hard to find a good book on this subject in English that's written by someone other than an Israeli, or a supporter of Israel. This book is not anti-semitic, this book is anti-propaganda. Almost every reference which shows the Israelis in a bad light is a direct quotation from an Israeli leader. This book is heavy on facts, Hirst has many reference points, he does not make things up out of thin air. If you are looking for a book that tells you how the Palestinians are such horrible "terrorists", this is not that book. He is light on his criticisms of the Arabs, who have done their share of wrong. That's not what this book is about, though. This book is about the heart of the problem in Palestine, native people being removed from their land. It also focuses on how we in the west have been deceived for decades about the problem. In short, you need this book.

I cover the Middle East and this book continues to be my most valuable source for understanding the dynamics of the region, the real history and the issues. If you only read one book on the History of Israel and Palestine, this is the one. A British Journalist, he doesn't have an axe to grind with either the Arabs or the Israelis which is probably why both don't care for him. He tells the truth about both, unvarnished. Engaging, Hirst understands the dynamics and does his homework. The new section in the revised edition takes you up through 9/11 and the war on terror. It fills in the blanks and makes sense of the insanity. I personally have bought ten copies of this book and I give it out to people who want to know. It is that good.

This is a superb history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from its origins in the Zionist dreams of the 1880s to the present. When this classic was first published in 1977, it was met with abuse and silence because it opposed the Zionist orthodoxy and showed how the Israeli state was set up as a typical colonial enterprise, harsh and unjust in its impact on the inhabitants of the land it colonised. The second edition of 1984 added three new chapters, this third edition has a new foreword of 131 pages bringing the book up to date.

Chapters cover: the seeds of conflict 1882-1920, no peace in Zion 1921-1935, Arab rebellion 1935-1939, Gun Zionism (driving out the British and the Arabs), the special uses of violence, the Arab-fighters, Greater Israel, the Arab Zionists, the gun and the olive branch, peace with Egypt, the rape of the West Bank, the invasion of Lebanon, the ravages of a purblind orthodoxy, Arafat's historic peace offer, Israel and the `friends of Israel' in America, no end of American partisanship.

Hirst analyses the Oslo peace process, the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the effect of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, the intifadas, the power of the Israel lobby - Jewish and Christian fundamentalist - in the USA, and Sharon, who believes that the "idea of making peace with the Palestinians is absurd."

Palestinians, like Iraqis, oppose the hated, illegal occupations of their countries. Israel and the USA claim that there is no connection between their occupation and the national resistance. Israel, and the US support for it, is the main reason why people hate the USA. Israel is a strategic, political and economic liability.

The US's aggressive policies in the Middle East have cost it more than $1500 billion, more than the war against Vietnam. So US workers do not get `cheap oil': they pay two to five times more per barrel than the benchmark price of Saudi crude, because they pay billions in taxes to cover the military, political and technical costs of the US's aggressive policies.

I've only read the first edition, which I found in a used bookstore many years ago--I may eventually read this latest version.

Hirst is obviously on the Palestinian "side", but then I don't know how any honest person could look at the facts and not feel that a great injustice was done to them. I wouldn't read the Gun and the Olive Branch (or anyway, not the first edition) for a complete account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and there are various other books one should read, such as Tom Segev's "One Palestine Complete", which gives an unemotional and balanced account from various perspectives--Arab, Zionist, binationalist, British. But Hirst's book is a useful antidote to the silly romanticized view of Israel's history that many people receive in the US, which is similar to the whitewashed version of early American history that used to be taught, where the settlers were the good guys and the Indians nothing but vicious primitive savages and only one side committed atrocities. People who prefer that kind of mythical history will hate Hirst's book. (And probably Segev's as well.)

hirst pulls no punches. he doesn't sugarcoat any of the violence, nor who started what. people in the US who want to learn about the conflict need to read the gun and the olive branch. media coverage of the conflict is so abysmal in this country. it is not a "religious" issue between jews and muslims, nor something that goes back thousands of years. no, the conflict it is about politics and power and has roots that only go back to the 1880s. the book, though not an all-encompassing account, covers most of the major events, and is quite thoroughly footnoted - he's not just making this stuff up. it is also a pretty quick read. hirst easily dispels many completely untrue myths that have somehow become facts over the years. if you want to continue believing these myths, don't pick up this book. if you want to learn the truth about the israeli-palestinian conflict, cop this text pronto. in a post-911 world, it seems foolish for any american to continue following the company line about the region. our middle east policies go against principles our country is supposedly founded on, works against our national interests, and opposes the majority viewpoint of both israelis and palestinians (land for peace). only pressure from citizens will force US leaders to stop doing the bidding of lobbies, and instead give power to the many brave israelis and palestinians working hard for a legitimate peace. the only way to do that is for the citizenry to start learning the facts, not the propaganda. this book is a great beginning point.

Bar none, this is the best of all the historical accounts because its not just about dates and often repeated myths--by using Israeli, Palestinian, British, UN documents, news reports, speeches, texts, etc., this respected British journalist, was able to connect the reality, apart from the heroic legends and myths that most Americans have been trained to believe as "THE TRUTH". The many untold, unknown, secreted aspects of what happened and WHY is presented, but more importantly, it tells the story without personal elaboration or bias. WARNING: Should be restricted to seekers of historical account with OPEN MINDS ONLY. If you come with no questions in mind you will find this challenging and unsettling..But isn't that the point of expanding one's comprehension of a complex issue? This book was impossible to find in any library or used book store except at GREAT ($300) EXPENSE...and I wondered what contributed to making this paperback a "DISAPPEARED" book? The truth shall set you free...!

Whether you've just started to read about the history behind the violence in the Middle East or you've read hundreds of books on the topic, David Hirst's account is essential.

He begins with a 130-page introduction, a small book in itself, which brings the current conflict up to date. If you don't get any farther than this, you'll still learn a lot. By the end of this introduction --- which covers Palestian agreements to accept the loss of 78% of their homeland, the influence of the Israeli lobby in Washington, the Joan Peters' fraud, and nuclear blackmail --- you'll understand the basic thesis of Hirst's book: The Zionist plan to remove Palestinians from the Occupied Territories is the principle cause of conflict in the Middle East.

At that point, you'll either throw the book in the garbage and write an angry review, or you'll continue. If you continue, you'll read about the origins of the conflict, starting in 1882. Hirst quickly moves forward in time, hitting each major development (such as the Balfour Declaration) briefly but carefully. I liked this approach because I want an overview built on key facts, not an encyclopedic book that gets lost in the details.

Hirst continues, up to the early 1980s, where the previous edition of the book came to an end. The result is a 100-year history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, fully documented from a wide range of sources. Although you might disagree with one or two sources (such as Arab newspapers), he never relies on a single source. It's an impressive exercise in honest scholarship.

UK Guardian journalist David Hirst's long awaited and eminently readable account--This newly updated publication offers one of the most well-documented historical panoramas of issues, people and events beginning in the late 1880s --at the very beginning of world Zionism's efforts to organize Jewish European settlers into Palestine, the political intrigues involved, thru both world wars,UN partition of Palestine,successive Israeli-Arab wars and concluding with coverage up thru the most recent Iraqi war (2003). Its sweeping coverage and extensive use of archival material will keep readers engrossed with the twists and turns of political intrigue from London, Washington, Tel Aviv and elsewhere. This is a MUST read for anyone who recognizes this region as key to concerns about political influence within US Congress and the White House. Fully indexed and referenced--Hirst's tome will become THE handbook to the region's history and a likely predictor of future potentially cataclysmic events.

David Hirst's book presents one of the most unobjective protrayals of the Arab-Israeli conflict available on the US market, which is perhaps, why this book has become a classic in its field. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the true reason why foreign countries hate American foregin policy, as Israel continues to receive more US aid than any other country and yet the Israeli government continues to perpetuate attrocities, such as those included in this book.

Hirch lists circumstances as they occured and as they confim, to human rights law and norms, that are ratified by the international community. The book is an excellent reference source, and it is rare for a book to contain so much information and be such an easy page turner at the same time.

He (nor the Guardian, but that newspaper is not on review here) is neither pro-Arab, nor anti-Jew, but his writing occasionally has an anti-zionist slant (not the same as anti-semitic, since Arabs are Semites too; nor the same as Ani-Jew, though there is even a movement in the US for dictionaries to equate the word anti-Semitic as anti-Zionist). The slant is understandable, considering the vast horrors that have been committed and continue to be commited in the named of Zionism.

The Gun and the Olive Branch is one of the most outstanding and important works of non-fiction ever written. Hirst's book is an invaluable contribution to an area of study too often deliberately muddied and confused by Israeli apologists intent on obfuscation. He presents an honest, scholarly look into the Middle East conflict beginning when Jews essentially started to migrate to Palestine during the late 19th Century. This latest updated edition covers events through the recent Palestinian Intifada and the 2001 September 11th attacks against the United States.

Hirst does a fabulous job in demolishing three often heard myths:
Myth number 1.) Palestine was 'a land without a people, waiting for a people without a land.'
Myth number 2.) Palestinians fled their country on the orders of Arab leaders.
Myth number 3.) Jewish soldiers committed no willful attrocities.
Of course Palestinians fled because of the deliberate terror, violence and massacres perpetrated against them by Jewish militias (Irgun, Stern). In fact Herzl, one of Israel's founding fathers, openly admitted that immigration (Jewish) into an already populated country (Palestine) would soon turn the natives against the newcomers. As Hirst points out: the proponents of a Jewish state were the original aggressors in the Middle East; Arab violence was an inevitable reaction to theirs.

The Gun and the Olive Branch gives a poignant analysis of the 1948 War documenting how the Jewish community was never in danger of annihilation and that Israel was the true aggressor and instigator, both in 1948 and in the 1967 Six Day War, the remnants of which are obviously still being felt.

Hirst fills the book with fascinating pieces of information detailing how Palestinian suicide bombings come in the service of what the world regards as a legitimate purpose - ending Israel's illegal occupation. Also he broaches the topic of Israel's nuclear weapons and how Noam Chomsky, in his excellent work The Fateful Triangle, argues that the real target of Israel's nuclear arsenal is the United States. It puts America in a 'do what we say and give us what we want, or else' quandary.

This latest edition, put out by the publishing house of the fantastic Nation magazine, is updated giving the reader a glimpse into activities the Israeli soldiers are involved in currently. According to Hirst's incredibly well sourced book Israeli occupation authorities have been rampaging through Palestinian agencies of health, education or agriculture - destroying computers and important files, ransacking businesses and banks looting public buildings and defecating and urinating on floors, carpets, children's paintings, in drawers and flowerpots; and also of course they have busied themselves killing scores of innocent Palestinian civilians. This is the United States tax dollar at work given that America subsidizes Israel to the tune of approximately $4 billion annually!

Hirst astutely points out that during this most recent Palestinian uprising - CBS, ABC, and NBC aired 99 reports covering Gaza and the West Bank, but in only four out of the 99 reports were viewers informed that Gaza and the West Bank are Israeli occupied territories. The Gun and the Olive Branch goes on to document how myriad journalists privately admit they fear the retribution of pro-Israeli publishers and editors and generally understand that critical words about Israel can be hazardous to careers.

This is the definitive account of the entire history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and is probably the most crucial non-fiction book of the last sixty years. It should be studied by every American citizen since only the United States can save the Zionists from themselves. Given the potentially cataclysmic consequences a knowledgeable citizenry may be our only hope. Hirst's marvelous book goes as far as possible in advancing this cause.