Hey. As the title suggests I want to know more about the history of Israel. The thing is, having a book that talks about this topic without little to no bias seems to be a challenging task as it seems like almost always the writer is in favor of one side or the other. Look at the news about the war between Palestine and Israel, it’s often clear which side a news network is on \[ by noticing what kind of news they broadcast, the way they articulate the words in the news, etc \]. I can’t trust websites that suggest books in this topic either for the same reason mentioned.
I want straight facts with little to no bias. The things I’m particularly interested in is:
1. The historical situation in which Israel got established
2. The reasoning behind choosing the specific location of today’s Israel as the chosen land\[ which was part of Palestine at the time I think\]
3. How they had the right to occupy a land that people was already living there
4. How the world reacted to Israel establishment at the time
5. The history of conflicts between Israel and Palestine
You get the gist.
Thanks.
by hemogolobin
4 Comments
I’ve suggested this before, and I can’t guarantee that it doesn’t hold any biases, but I’d recommend Jerusalem: the biography. While the overall central theme is Jerusalem, a substantial amount of the book discusses events in the middle east in general. Starting from its foundation up until, I believe, the 6 day war / Yom Kippur war (don’t recall offhand).
I’m about to re-read it again…
I guess the only thing to keep in mind is that it’s written by Simon Montefiore; turns out his (jewish) family had significant impact on the development of Jerusalem later in its history (late 1800s to mid 1900s, iirc). Make of that what you will.
Faq
I’m guessing it would be difficult to find a history of Israel that doesn’t have any bias. Everyone has bias to some degree or other. Heck even your request has bias. It sounds as if you are looking for a book to reinforce your bias that the Jews have stolen Israel from the Palestinians. I have no doubts there are histories out there that will say that. Just as there are certainly histories that support the creation of Israel. And those books may or may not be written by a Jew or an Arab.
How can you truly know anything about Israel if you are not willing to consider reading anything written by a Jew? If would want truth, shouldn’t you consider both sides? Shouldn’t you ask why is Israel so important to the Jews, the Christians, and Arabs?
I’m not defending Israel’s blockade of Gaza, I do understand the historical background and whi currently rule Gaza definitely plays a part in Israel’s decision making process. Few terrorist organization have a track record of honoring agreements. I also know that prior to the 6 day war Gaza was part of Egypt so a case can be made that Israel stole nothing from Palestinians.
This region has been ruled/occupied by pretty much everyone starting with the Canaanites during I believe the Bronze Age. Morphing into two Israelite kingdoms, Israel and Judah in the Iron Age. Heck if you look to the Bible you see Abraham and his two son’s Isaac (Jewish) and Ishmael (Arabic).
The history goes on and on. It’s too complicated for one “unbiased” book.
The Jewish civilization has existed in Israel for thousands of years. It only became known as Palestine when Rome destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and. Conquered the Jewish nation and exiled/subjugated the Jewish population.
Everyone has an opinion, including me, based on their personal religious or political beliefs, or experiences, or what they’ve been taught (which is almost always by people with bias’s of their own.
Heck I have a bias that I know started from listen to my uncle talking about liberating Dachau in 1945.
I’d suggest reading more than one history, in fact the more the better.
You’re probably going to have to read more than one book to get a solid understanding of this history.