Rape of Palestine [Hardcover]

William Bernard Ziff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1975 | ISBN-10: 0837126398 | ISBN-13: 978-0837126395

2009 Reprint of original 1938 edition. Hardcover, 612 pp.The Rape of Palestine is a scathing indictment of the British administration in Palestine. It is well documented and makes full use of quotations from the writings of non-Jewish persons who served under that administration and themselves complained of the anti-Semitism shown by government officials. Among them was Douglas V. Duff, who complained that "it did not pay for one's seniors to think that one had any undue sympathy for the returning Jews". Even if only one-half of the evidence amassed by the author were true, he would have proved that nearly all the persons sent out to administer Palestine were anti-Semitic and determined to evade the Mandate and destroy the Jewish national home.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 626 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group (June 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837126398
• ISBN-13: 978-0837126395
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,406,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars information not easily available else, but not well-written, April 22, 2005

By 

B. Nitzberg "tired of racism" (united states) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rape of Palestine (Hardcover)

This reprint of the 1937 classic gives insight into the Israeli leaders before they became icons/war criminals (depending on your persepctive). But I found the information and discussion of the agricultural life of the nation and the British (mis) management of the country of greatest interest.

The book, originally written in 1937, gives strong support to the point that the Arab population of Palestine tripled during the British stewardship and that nost of the 1948 refugees were recent immigrants themselves.

Ziff's thesis is that the British sought to strangle the 'Jewish national Home' under the weight of British regulations and Arab terrorism. Ziff supports the thesis well.

The chapter on the administration of criminal law was chilling. Arab murderers' of Jews given 6 months because the death was unintentional, the goal was merely rape. Jewish security guards given 20 years hard labor for killing an Arab terrorist attacker. Awful stuff.

For an alternative interpretation, the Guardian's Segov has a book on the same subject, written, however, in the 1990's. I prefer Ziff because his data is closer to the actual events and he is writing to a different political and intellectual climate. his work is less affected by the politics and controversies of today.

It is my opinion that Ziff writes (writes poorly, but accurately) history and Segov writes fiction/propaganda.

My name is Andrew Nitzberg. I am Jewish and I have a masters degree in history (Medieval) and am a practicing attorney.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now Available Free On-Line, February 22, 2009

By 

Herbert H. Highstone (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rape of Palestine (Hardcover)

This book presents an unvarnished account of the origins of present-day Israel as viewed in the 1930's. The endless political intrigues, stained with anti-semitism both open and covert, make fascinating reading. No one book can present all the facts about this endlessly fraught situation, but this account presents many aspects of the situation which present-day commentators are careful to avoid. The copyright on this book has recently lapsed, and thus we can Google the complete text without paying several hundred dollars for a copy.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rape of Palestine, November 18, 2007

By 

Sheree Roth - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rape of Palestine (Hardcover)

The Rape of Palestine by William B. Ziff (1938) is a very important book and highly recommended to all who are interested in the Israel-Arab conflict. These reviews are from the digest by Harry Louis Selden of the "Rape of Palestine" Copyright 1940:

"The Rape of Palestine" as one of his Three Books of the Year for the New York Herald Tribune. From his review in the Baltimore Sun: "I defy anyone to read him without granting the soundness of his main thesis.... It is a tale full of racy ironies, and it makes excellent reading, for Mr. Ziff writes almost as competently as he argufies..."
H. L. Mencken Selects

Of "Information Please" in the New Yorker: "An important discussion of the fate of the Jews as bound up with the fate of Christianity itself."
Clifton Fadiman

In the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: "Every statement of fact is documented by government publications, impartial authorities, and irrefutable sources."
Professor Francis J. Brown

Community Church of New York: "This is a historical document of first class importance, and the most important book to date in its field."
Rev. John Haynes Holmes

"You may like `The Rape of Palestine' or you may come near to bursting with anger at it, but one thing is certain, you will have to reckon with it... this is an important book. It demands a reading by all and a reply by some."
American Hebrew

Cathedral College, New York City: "This vigorous book edited in scholarly fashion challenges the justice and humanity of the entire Family of Nations as no other book known to this reviewer."
Father Joseph N. Moody

"Dealing with the vital problem of Palestine and coming at a time when that problem has been so adroitly and commonly distorted and falsified, it is beyond all ordinary praise."
Charles Edward Russell

".... a lengthy, powerfully-documented and utterly unafraid pronouncement by and informed and unimpeachable investigator... it is an amazing and heart-rending narrative presented by this extraordinary volume."
Jewish Outlook

"This book is decidedly worthwhile; it is really an arsenal of information upon a burning question of the day."
America

"Mr. Ziff's book is extraordinarily valuable."
Palestine Review

"Mr. Ziff's brilliant book tells the impassioned story of the betrayal of the Jews in Palestine.... Not only are the current day activities discussed but the author has wrought a magnificent account of Jewish life and struggle from Biblical times to the present."
Chicago Daily News

"The frightful persecution of Jews is spreading like a fire driven by strong winds. Is there no solution to this problem which strikes at the heart of the belief in a rational world? Does the Jews' salvation lie in the creation of a Jewish State within boundaries large enough to permit it to survive as an economic unity?
"To those interested in answering these questions a `must' book is `The Rape of Palestine,' by William B. Ziff...."
Washington (D.C.) News