7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very informative study of Palestine, January 27, 2009
This review is from: Palestine: A Personal History (Paperback)
Karl Sabbagh, a writer and television producer, has produced a convincing refutation of the Zionists' biggest lie - that they took over `a land without a people'. As he recounts in detail, the Sabbagh family, like the vast majority of the Arab population, have lived in Palestine for more than 300 years. This fascinating book traces Palestine's history from 1900 to 1948 and examines the original injustice of the Zionists' theft of the land.
Over the last 400 years, documented evidence proves the continuing presence of Palestinian Arabs as a large majority in the territory of Palestine. 16th-century Ottoman censuses showed that Palestine had about 300,000 inhabitants, 90% of whom were Muslim Arabs.
But in the early 20th century, the British state gave crucial support to a tiny foreign political movement, Zionism, which wanted to colonise Palestine, claiming a right derived from a work of fiction. The Zionists always intended to uproot and expel the country's original inhabitants.
Yet during the First World War, the British state had also promised Palestine its independence. As the Foreign Office admitted, in a secret document, "With regard to Palestine, His Majesty's Government are committed by Sir H. McMahon's letter to the Sherif on the 24th October 1915, to its inclusion in the boundaries of Arab independence."
In spite of this promise, the British state, with the Balfour Declaration, gave away the Palestinian people's country to the Zionist movement. There is a long pro-Zionist tradition in the British ruling class, from Balfour to Brown, based presumably on the odd belief that the Zionists would serve the British ruling class's interests.
When the British state ran Palestine under the Mandate, it allowed ever-increasing Jewish immigration. After the Second World War, the Zionist movement attacked the Palestinian majority and dispossessed them.
The Zionists have maintained and extended their illegal occupation ever since, aggravating their original theft with constant aggressive wars. But of course they could never have gotten away with all this without the backing of the US and British states.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Revisionist history of Israel, December 22, 2011
This review is from: Palestine: A Personal History (Paperback)
This book was a very disappointing read. The author an englishman, and obvious jew-hater, using code-words like zionist , palestine, and a multitude of others just fill in the blanks. He shows his disdain for jews and israel , by continuosly referring to people and places in Israel, that were a part of his families traditional past. The purpose of which is to present the jews as modern day usurpers / interlopers, who have no business being in (palestine). Everything was wonderful until the "evil jews" of europe came to settle in (palestine) and steal the land from underneath the hard working christian/muslim arabs. As well he blames american and european anti- semitism, for the creation of modern israel, and ergo a one- sided biased assertion of the major powers against th arab world . He cleverly tries to portray his fellow arabs as victims of western imperialism, and jewish greed. Joseph goebbels could not have done a better piece.The author also fails to mention the connection between the Mufti of jerusalem and his ties to the nazis. The germans actively recruited aided and abbetted muslim militias during ww2 to harass/kill the jews in palestine, and hopefully get access to the precious oil pipeline running from Iraq to Haifa. This oil was crucial for the european allies who were fighting against the nazis. He also tries to depict Truman and churchill as friends of israel in their war against the Israeli arabs. When in fact it was czechoslovakian arms that saved the jewish people from the onslaught of 5 arab armies , not the usa or britain.Mr sabbagh also reiterates the standard arab lie that jews kicked out most of the israeli arabs. When in fact ,{ not fiction} most left freely ,egged on by the neighbouring arab states , because the arabs stated that they would kill all the jews in israel and then the Israeli arabs would be able to return to there homes. Instead these wandering palestinian arabs living in squalid refugee camps, became a convenient political weapon for the arab countries to beat on israel for the next 65years. Just ask any israeli arab, if they would prefer to live in Israel or one of the so-called 7th century arab republics??
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
An avoidable tragedy, August 2, 2011
This review is from: Palestine: A Personal History (Paperback)
If palestine arabs (jews were also called 'palestinians' 1917-1948) had not tried to ethnically cleanse jews from Palestine in 1947-8 then they would all still be living there.
Five arab armies invaded and were supported by palestinians living within the country, falling upon the jewish communities living there.
As a result of the war many left the country yet many thousands of arabs who did not take up arms against the new jewish state stayed and became Israeli citizens. They now are over a million strong, are around 20% of the population of Israel and have full rights there.
Palestinians need to look to the future rather than the past now, to finally decide to live in peace with their jewish neighbours, to establish their state of Palestine and give up on terror and other attempts to undermine the jewish state.
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