jewish

In The Case for Israel, Alan Dershowitz addresses the numerous accusations made against Israel, and responds with facts and context. He shows that many of Israel's opponents who "can see no right on the side of Israel and no wrong on the side of those who would seek to destroy the Jewish state" are either ignorant of the Middle East or malevolent in their intentions.

The theme pervading throughout this book is introduced on page 11: Israel is subject to a unique double standard of judgment and criticism for its actions in defending its very existence. If the Jewish state were judged by the same standard as every other nation, Israel would be at or near the top of the list in terms of civil liberties, human rights, and every other test of morality and justice.

One example of this double-standard is the inordinate scrutiny by the United Nations regarding Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza. The Tibetans, the Kurds, the Basques, and dozens of other stateless peoples have much stronger claims to statehood than do the Palestinians. The Tibetans and Kurds have been treated far more brutally by their occupiers than have the Palestinians. The Tibetans have never resorted to terrorism. The UN has never condemned China or recognized the rights of Tibetans, Kurds, Basques, or the others. Only the Palestinians have resorted to terrorism as a primary method for seeking independence. Only the Palestinians have been offered a state (three times) and only the Palestinians have rejected a state (three times).

Dershowitz provides extensive documentation for the facts, with over 500 footnotes - many of them from pro-Palestinian and other Arab sources, or American and international media sources.

One of the subjects that I wished Dershowitz had addressed is the security barrier being built in the West Bank. Also the United Nations bias against Israel, a bias discussed in various sections, would seem to merit its own chapter. Some of the chapters are quite short, although the short replies may be necessary since the book covers so many issues.

Most readers agree that Israel's supporters will enjoy this book. Far more important, I believe, is that if you are neutral to the Israeli-Arab conflict, if you have little background in the Middle East, then you owe it to yourself to read this book in order to understand the reasons why Jews, Christians, and every American President has and continues to support the only democracy in the Middle East and the only Jewish state in the world.

I am not Jewish so I don't have an emotional investment in the the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After reading this book, I simply can't understand how anyone could deny Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state within at least its pre-1967 borders. Dershowitz shows how time after time (1937, 1948, 1967, 2000) the Arabs consistently refused any sort of compromise with the Jews. His assertions are well-documented, and he does an especially fine job of exposing Noam Chomsky and Edward Said for the frauds that they are. Frankly, after reading this book, I felt a sense of outrage at the double standard that Israel must endure.

Alan Dershowitz has finally put into print what should have been done long ago. I only hope he doesn't wind up preaching to the choir and actually convinces people that you cannot deny cold, hard facts. Israel has been discriminated against unfairly, and as a result, the world has given terrorism the green light. Anti-semites will find many faults with this book, but their history of denial goes back a long way. They'll throw around terms as "one-sided" and "biased" and yet not be able to point out ANY untruths or discrepancies presented in this book. No truly educated person can argue with the facts presented so well by Professor Dershowitz. A must read for EVERYONE.