Customer Reviews

Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict

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This 461-page book is set up in 25 chapters that break the Arab-Israel conflict into bite-sized easily digestible pieces, loaded with facts.

...It runs right through the current low-grade war against Israel, which Yasser Arafat planned even as he and other top-level negotiators met with Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak at Camp David in July 2000.

The volume throughout makes statements that are almost universally regarded as fact, and then proceeds to rebut them with data and history. (...)

You may hear various complaints that is a one-sided pro-Israel account. It is unquestionably pro-Israel, but not one-sided. Take the 40-page chapter on refugees, one of the highlights of this superb volume. Its 80 footnotes run for almost three pages--and 25 Arab sources include nine original Arab newspaper articles, several Arab authors and studies by Bir Zeit University.

The refugee chapter begins with the myth that one million Palestinians were expelled form Israel in 1947 through 1949, and then counters that myth with evidence including the 1949 Armistice agreement and United Nations reports of the day. In fact, the Arab census of 1945 found 1.2 million Arabs in all of Palestine, but only 809,100 within the boundaries of what became Israel. A 1949 Israeli census found 160,000 Arabs inside Israel, which meant that no more than 650,000 Palestinian Arabs could have become refugees. But the United Nations Mediator on Palestine at that time put the figure at only 472,000. Much similar material fills this rich reference.

The volume's sourcing is impeccable; All those books sited that I own, I can report first hand, are irreproachable pieces of scholarship.

In addition to the chapters on everything from Jewish settlements, Jerusalem and human rights in the territories to the arms balance, U.S. Middle East policy, the peace process and Holocaust denial, you will find complete copies of many of the major documents that govern Israel and its relationship with Arab states and the PLO entity. There is also a superb two-page list for further reading, and a full index.

Altogether, this is one of the better references on the Arab-Israel conflict to emerge in recent years. It is dispassionate, accurate, complete and current. Alyssa A. Lappen

Dont buy this book thinking you're getting a balanced perspective. This book tells the pro-Israel side of the story, but it does so very well. The research is meticulous and accurate, the facts overwhelming. It is not propagandish, and not hateful, rather very factual. You will be hard pressed to find a book this good representing the Arab perspective, namely one that is not hateful or filled with propaganda.

Maybe you strongly support or strongly condemn Israel, or maybe you know nothing about the Middle East, but either way if you want to know why supporters of Israel feel so strongly about what they fight for, read this book. There is so much negative PR surrounding Israel in the media, and this book will put it in perspective, and let you know why the region has fallen into its current state of affairs.

Bottom line: Even though it's not balanced, and doesnt try to be, it's still incredibly enlightening.

Bard has done an excellent job coallating the information out there regarding the Middle East/ Israel conflict. He makes extensive use of quotes from historical documents and persons.
His organization of the text around common uninformed questions and statements that are often heard in contemporary American society is very helpful.

The text of this book can be found online, but the website tends to be slow. That makes this book necessary if you want a quick reference.

I recommend getting this book as a great starter into the whole issue. It will point you onward to many other more exhaustive resources if you take time to meander through the extensive footnotes. I also highly recommend his "Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East" for it's slightly more in depth treatment of the issue and entertaining presentment.

Unlike the days of WWII, we have resources like "Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict." Mitchell Geoffrey Bard brings us a well-organized, concise yet intelligent review and explanation of the complex issues surrounding what is happening in the Mideast.

Journalists, clergy of all points of view, military people, pacifists and human rights people all would do well to know what Bard is teaching. Politicians too.

Summing up the conflict to mere politics, or simple economics would be foolish, as would solely blaming this side or that. The religious aspect in the matter is strong from all sides. Each side, naturally, has a viewpoint, and these viewpoints many individuals are willing to die for. Why? Bard sorts it out.

It is a bit academic, and the faint of mind might want to steer clear, but, at the same time, Bard keeps it as well-said as possible. It is a difficult topic, and in just a few hundred pages he puts into perspective what has taken hundreds of years... thousands, in the case of Israel, to unravel. A lot of malarkey is out there, built on propaganda, misinformation, prejudice and lack of research, but Bard brings it together, and helps the reader know the truth from the hooey.

This is hardly the last word on the Arab-Israeli conflict, but it is a very rich start. I fully recommend, "Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict."

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

"Israel's Roots, The Arab-Israeli Wars, The United Nations, U.S. Middle East Policy and The Peace Process," are just a few of the aspects listed on the back cover of this volume of ingenious presentation that delves into hundreds of articles and facts overshadowed by the myths in Israel's Davidic Stand against the doomed neo-Goliath of modern times.

Delineating the details that destroy hundreds of political, historical and religious fables concocted, some centuries old, applied to this conflict of the past six decades, 'Myths and Facts' serves the reader a refreshing diet of documented journalism that spares none including the famous. This revelatory tour of the groundless lies cast at Israel's door, and that country's forthright continuance down the road of arbitration miles beyond reason satisfies all challenges of integrity that can be mustered.

What frames this work as riveting history is simply a compendium of continually updated material available online through the Jewish Virtual Library. These facts sharpen in their credence as the struggle to capture peace continues elusively beyond the pale.

Helpful documents made available in the Appendices include treaties, memoranda and even declarations by palestinian groups such as Hamas. Unfettered by media shackles, this effort gives rise to hope in the most forlorn. Truth shall indeed out.

And Lord Acton's words inscribed in Mitchell Bard's preface, "Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history," echo yet louder with Bard's inscription date, September 2001.

In truth's interest,

TL Farley,
bibleraptureprophecy.com
author,

When Now Becomes Too Late {If we believe Jesus rose again -- The imminence of the Rapture.} Available in print, ebook, and on Kindle.

This is a clearly written FACT filled book that presents a myth or commen misconception about the arab-israel conflict and then presents the facts about the case, in this way it forms a wonderful reference to look up commen things youll hear in the media and elsewhere.

It's always great to go back to the original sources when reading a book and I have with many of the references included here. That's why, I can't really rate this book highly enough. It provides you with a wealth of Arab, Israeli, European and American source content. The references and research are excellent and the layout of the work makes it easy to read and digest. I found the appendixes including letters from Rabin and Arafat to be interesting as well as the HAMAS charter. Considering the current Palestinian elections, it interesting to read about HAMAS and their goals from their own words and charter. For anyone researching the middle east or interested in getting to know more about the historical roots of the Palestine-Israel conflict, this is a great starting point.

If you are even remotely interested in world affairs, and more particularly the Middle East and Arab/Israeli relations (the fact that you are reading this review places you squarely in this category) you will no doubt one day find yourself involved in a conversation regarding the Arab/Israeli situation. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, you will doubtless be deluged by some well intentioned but misinformed individual who will make it their temporary mission to witness their personal plethora of misguided notions about Israel upon you. This one single volume will arm with the knowledge to debunk their barrage with cold hard truth.

In just over a half century, Israel, as a subject, has been the recipient of more negative misinformation than just about any subject one can conjure up. Mitchell Bard has assembled a sourcebook that will set the record strait, annihilating years of misinformation and downright propaganda against the Jewish people and their national home.

Bard assembles 26 chapters, each covering a specific time frame, area or event, and each chapter addresses numerous myths of the related topic and proceeds to present the reader with the cold hard truth.

The book by itself, is a good read, but afterwards serves the reader as an incomparable sourcebook which you will refer to many times. The layout makes enables the reader to easily navigate to the specific subject one wishes to explore. The book concludes with 100 pages of appendix, which contain the relevant documents and agreements of Israel.

This will be an invaluable addition to your library. Read this book. The next time someone attempts to force feed you their anti-Israel agenda, fight back with the truth.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

I found the book very useful for beginners and novices to the moderately well educated on Israeli and Middle eastern affairs. It has many citations that a researcher can use to cite check and verify that the author's account of history and facts are true and correct. It is also very good for people who want to help defend Israel against the myths, lies and propaganda that many are trying to use, wrongly, to deligitimize the Jewish state.

This valuable reference work deals with the myths and disinformation surrounding Israel, Zionism, the history of the area from about 1860, the various wars, Arab and Jewish refugees, the role of the United Nations and several other subjects relating to the Middle East. The book - of which a constantly updated version is online - presents the myths and then demolishes them backed by references to verifiable sources.

The chapters include Israel's Roots, The Mandatory Period, Partition, The War of 1948, The 1967 War, Between the Wars, The War of Attrition, The Yom Kippur War, Boundaries, The Gulf Wars, The United Nations, The Refugees, Human Rights in Arab Countries and in Israel and the Territories, Jerusalem, US Middle East Policies, The Arms Balance and The Media.

Among the topics discussed are the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the slanderous accusation of Zionism as racism, Jewish immigration to the area, the number of Arab states besides Egypt and Syria who were involved in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the shameful record of the United Nations in condemning Israel, and the vile Anti-Jewish rhetoric of the UN. The role of the notorious Haj Amin Al-Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem, and his dalliance with Nazi Germany is also covered. Each myth and its refutation by the facts are backed by copious notes and references.

One of the most interesting things I learnt is that in the early 20th century, certain influential Arabs welcomed Jewish immigration to the land, like Dawood Barakat, the editor of the Egyptian paper Al-Ahram, in 1913, and Sherif Hussein, guardian of the Islamic Holy Places in Arabia.

This contrasts sharply with the quotes in the chapter Arab/Muslim Attitudes Toward Israel, under the headings Anti-Semitism, Fabrication Of Abuses, Holocaust Denial, Phased Plan & the Destruction of Israel, and Sanctioning Violence.

These quotes, from Arab leaders, sermons of preachers, columnists in the mainstream press, high officials, academics, Palestinian Christian clerics, and Palestinian Authority spokespeople and officials, include direct calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews, to praise for Hitler, despicably racist remarks about Jews, holocaust denial and the threat of nuclear attack.

These words, intended for local consumption, are rarely reported in the Western media. Quite clearly there is a type of psychosis at work here, a hatred irrational beyond comprehension. Anyone who believed that Israel's neighbours really want peace will come to the opposite conclusion after perusing these chilling, heartless and despicable utterances.

There is an Index Of Myths, Key Documents including The Balfour Declaration, The Hebron Protocol, The Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, various United Nations Security Council Resolutions and other info like Israeli statistics on life expectancy, US assistance to and trade with Israel, and economic indicators. This book is absolutely essential for understanding the history and the present situation in the Middle East.

For further information and related matters, I recommend The Case For Israel by Dershowitz, The Mountains Of Israel by Norma Archbold Parrish, Inside The Asylum by Jed Babbin, Eurabia by Bat Ye'or, The Nazi Connection To Islamic Terrorism by Chuck Morse, The Israelis by Donna Rosenthal and The Anti-Chomsky Reader, edited by Horowitz and Collier