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Anonymous
Posted July 23, 2003
Though expensive, this monumental work is well worth every cent. It is a thoroughly researched account of one of the worst and least known human tragedies since world war II ¿ the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. The book provides a thorough account of the systematic depopulation and destruction of each of 418 Palestinian villages in order to pave the way for the creation of Israel. The work is illustrated by hundreds of photographs and gives a moving and evocative picture of how much have been lost. The book is divided into sections by district. Each village has few pages devoted to it, listing: (a) statistical data about population / location / land ownership; (b) known history before 1948 taken from various accounts; (c) descriptions of how the village was depopulated in 1948, again collected from various references with no attempt to integrate conflicting reports; and (d) a description of the village site today, how many buildings remain standing, what is it used for, whether or not Israeli settlements were built on the ruins etc. I particularly like this format and find it very useful. I also like how in part (c) the author presents all the different accounts and leaves us the choice to think for ourselves and integrate the material from our own perspectives. The depopulation accounts for many of the villages are rather chilling, with descriptions of massacres and threatened massacres. The author is sensitive enough to distinguish between actual occurrences and exaggerated accounts used for psychological warfare. The data contained in this book is based on comparison of at least 20 different sources (including official Zionist sources and contemporary newspaper reports, such as the New York Times), as well as available British Mandate census figures and extrapolations. While many Americans will be shocked by the material in here, this book is vindicated by most modern Israeli historians who ¿ based on research from recently de-classified Israeli documents, prove conclusively that the exodus of 800,000 Arab Palestinians from their homes and lands was deliberate and systematic Zionist policy at the time. This book is a timely study of a relevant and crucial event from the last century, whose effects and repercussions are still felt today. While remembering the injustices of the past can evoke many unpleasant emotions, it is important not to forget the past and to come to terms with it. The story contained in this book is particularly relevant today, since the ethnic cleansing has never stopped, but continues in slow-motion in the form of daily collective punishment and economic strangulation in areas under Israeli occupation.
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Posted January 21, 2009
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