Student, busy lay person, concerned but misinformed news junkie — anyone who would benefit from learning about the Arab conflict with Israel, and not only with the Jewish state but also other minorities in what is often referred to indiscriminately as “the Arab world” — could benefit from reading The Quest for Justice in the Middle East: The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Greater Perspective.

By Gerald A. Honigman (disclosure: a long-time friend of CAMERA’s and of this writer), The Quest for Justice in the Middle East brings the conflict’s fundamentals to life in several dozen short, breezily written but nevertheless appropriately sourced chapters. Whether read straight-through or in brief installments, chapter-by-chapter, the book gives those who didn’t know, or mistakenly thought they did, historical, legal, diplomatic and military basics with which to decipher today’s often misleading news coverage.

Honigman did doctoral studies in Middle Eastern affairs at New York University’s Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies and worked full-time as a consultant on the Middle East and antisemitism before a long career as an educator in Florida. He’s lectured on numerous university campuses and published on Middle Eastern subjects in dozens of newspapers, magazines, academic journals and Web sites. In The Quest for Justice (Creation House, Lake Mary, Fla., 2009, 279 pages) he distilled this information to make it accessible for a broad readership.

Want to know a little more about the murderous Sheik Izzedine al-Qassam, Syrian-born “patron saint” of Hamas’ “military wing” than one normally gets in media reports? Curious how Arab imperialism has underlain attitudes and actions toward not only Jews but also Kurds, Assyrian, Copts, Imazighen (Berbers) and other indigenous Middle Eastern peoples? Need a refresher on the connection between the ancient Roman effort to expunge Jewish ties to eretz Yisrael and Vladimir Jabotinsky’s 20th Century formulation of stateless Jewish “starvation” versus landed Arab “appetite”? If so, The Quest for Justice in the Middle East provides it.

Honigman’s work is not “political correct.” It will singe anti-Zionists, intentionally. As the late comedian Jack E. Leonard used to challenge audiences, a minute or two into his acerbic routine, “Is there anyone here I haven’t offended yet?” But for those who insist on the facts and take their defense of Israel’s legitimacy straight up, with a dash of pepper, The Quest for Justice hits the mark. – Eric Rozenman

It’s stunningly rare to read a reliable article about the creation of the modern State of Israel, and how Arab aggression and propaganda against the Jews backfired and caused thousands of Palestinian Arabs to become refugees. Click here to read Efraim Karsh’s fascinating and in-depth article, “1948, Israel and the Palestinians,” from the May Commentary issue.

With the Annapolis summit approaching, it is likely that the Palestinians and their supporters will demand compensation from Israel for the plight of the 600,000 Arabs and their descendants displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab invasion of nascent Israel. Little coverage will likely be given to the role that the Arab states played in encouraging them to leave in order to facilitate the invasion and anticipated annihilation of Israel, nor to the fact that the Palestinian Arabs subsequently found themselves in political limbo as a result of most Arab states’ conscious decision to turn them into political pawns by refusing to grant them citizenship and by banning them from leaving the often squalid refugee camps to which they have been largely confined in many Arab states.

It is equally likely that little, if anything, will be said at Annapolis about the plight of the approximately 850,000 Jews who fled or were expelled from Arab countries during the same period, and that little or no effort will be made to seek redress and compensation for these Jewish refugees and their descendants from Arab countries. However, a Jerusalem Post article notes that the Jews who were expelled from Arab countries after 1948 left behind assets valued today at more $300 billion and continue to own property deeds on a total area of about 100,000 sq. km. — which, the article notes, is five times the size of the State of Israel.

The article is below.

– Stephen Silver
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Much of the news coming out of Israel is about conflict. But what about the day-to-day lives of regular Israelis? The Consulate General of Israel in New York decided to expose the ordinary (and often quite extraordinary) activities of Israelis, both living in Israel and also in New York, using its blog: www.isrealli.org.

isrealli.org welcomes contributions from the public. If you have a video clip, a story to write, or just a thought that conveys a sense of what Israel “isrealli” like, send them by way of the blog – and enjoy!

Originally launched in February 2006 as a videoblog (the first ever established on behalf of a state), the blog was recently revamped and re-launched with a broader platform to post stories, pictures and video links.
The blog covers a wide range of topics including music, food, science, sports and popular culture. Blog posts have included videos of amusing Israeli advertisements and footage of a wacky pillow fight that takes place in Tel Aviv each year.

ACTION ITEMS

* Inform the media of this resource for stories about life in Israel. Be sure to send them the link: www.isrealli.org

* Inform your friends and family, particularly younger members, of this interesting Web site: www.isrealli.org

* If you live in Israel, submit a story or video clip to:
[email protected]