Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israel Conflict [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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

In his book Bard draws an easy comprehensible "guide" to what is all about the Arab-Israel conflict. He describes what is the myth and then he presents and verifies the facts. For example like this:
"MYTH: "The governments of Arab states grant basic human rights to their citizens." FACT: While much attention has been focused on alleged Israeli human rights violations in the volatile West Bank and Gaza, the popular press has chosen to virtually ignore violations of fundamental human rights that take place daily in almost every Arab country. According to annual reports compiled by the State Department, most of the Arab states are ruled by oppressive, dictatorial regimes, which deny their citizens basic freedoms of political expression, speech, press and due process. The Arab Human Development Report published by a group of Arab researchers from the UN Development Program concluded that out of the seven regions of the world, Arab countries had the lowest freedom score. They also had the lowest ranking for "voice and accountability," a measure of various aspects of the political process, civil liberties, political rights and independence of the media."
Another example: "MYTH: "Israel's conflict with the Palestinians is blocking reform in the Middle East." FACT: The old saw that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the source of all evil in the Middle East is being trotted out again to justify the failure of the Arab states to embrace President Bush's democracy initiative or to reform their authoritarian societies. If the conflict was resolved tomorrow, or if Israel ceased to exist, however, the Arab world's despots would be no more interested in reform than they are today. The divisions among the Arabs were on display again in March 2004 when Tunisia abruptly cancelled a planned Arab League summit. While some of the Arab officials suggested that Israel was to blame, the Tunisians themselves made clear the problem was the unwillingness of the Arab states to agree on any reforms, or even to endorse the principal of democracy and reject extremism and terrorism. Tunisia's official news agency noted that unspecified countries refused to support calls for "tolerance" and "understanding," and would not allow the word "democracy" to appear in the final draft of a position paper to be approved by heads of state. At least seven Arab leaders had bowed out of the meeting and several countries, led by Syria, made clear their disinterest in committing the Arabs to institutional reform. And no Arab nation would support Libya's suggestion that other governments follow its example and give up programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. Of course the summit host, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, is no democrat. He seized power in a 1987 palace coup and has ruled the country ever since. And he's one of the newer Arab autocrats. Hosni Mubarak has ruled Egypt since Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi has been in power since 1969, and the Saud and Hashemite dynasties have maintained monarchies in Saudi Arabia and Jordan for decades. And even they are newcomers compared to the family that has ruled in Oman for 250 years. Lebanon is a puppet state under Syrian occupation, and Syria has been a dictatorship run by the Assad family since 1970. Yasser Arafat has dominated Palestinian politics for decades and has ruled the Palestinian Authority with an iron hand since its establishment in 1993. None of these tyrants have any interest in implementing reforms that would permit the people to choose their leaders in a democratic way because they know they would be swept from power. They will therefore continue to use Israel's existence as an excuse for avoiding any meaningful changes to their totalitarian societies.

This is a very helpful and necessary work that will not only help to show the difference between myth and reality but also contribute to set right what is concealed for the public and that the reason for this is nothing else than what was the reason for the Holocaust. The destruction of the Jews.