Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Is Israel a Colonial, Imperialist State? 2. Did European Jews Displace Palestinians? 3. Was the Zionist Movement a Plot to Colonize All of Palestine? 4. Was the Balfour Declaration Binding International Law? 5. Were the Jews Unwilling to Share Palestine? 6. Have the Jews Always Rejected the Two--State Solution? 7. Have the Jews Exploited the Holocaust? 8. Was the U.N. Partition Plan Unfair to Palestinians? 9. Were Jews a Minority in What Became Israel? 10. Has Israela s Victimization of the Palestinians Been the Primary Cause of the Arab--Israeli Conflict? 11. Was the Israeli War of Independence Expansionists Aggression? 12. Did Israel Create the Arab Refugee Problem? 13. Did Israel Start the Six--Day War? 14. Was the Israeli Occupation Without Justification. 15. Was the Yom Kippur War Israela s Fault? 16. Has Israel Made Serious Efforts at Peace? 17. Was Arafat Right in Turning Down the Barak--Clinton Peace Proposal? 18. Why Have More Palestinians Than Israelis Been Killed? 19. Does Israel Torture Palestinians? 20. Has Israel Engaged in Genocide against Palestinian Civilians? 21. Is Israel a Racist State? 22. Is the Israeli Occupation the Cause of All the Problems? 23. Has Israel Denied the Palestinians Statehood? 24. Is Israela s Policy of House Destruction Collective Punishment? 25. Is Targeted Assassination of Terrorist Leaders Unlawful? 26. Is Settlement in the West Bank and Gaza a Major Barrier to Peace? 27. Is Terrorism Merely Part of a Cycle of Violence? 28. Is Israel the Prime Human Rights Violator in the World? 29. Is there Moral Equivalence between Palestinian Terrorist and Israeli Responses? 30. Should Universities Divest from Israel and Boycott Israeli Scholars? 31. Are Critics of Israel Anti--Semitic? 32. Why Do So Many Jews and Even Israelis Side With The Palestinians? Conclusion: Israel--the Jew among Nations. Notes. Index.

About the Author

Alan Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is one of the country's foremost appellate lawyers and a distinguished defender of individual liberties. He appears frequently on television and has contributed articles to the New York Times and other newspapers and magazines. His many books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Chutzpah and The Vanishing American Jew.

Reviews

In this era of escalating religious dogmatism and conflict in the Middle East, law professor and author Dershowitz uses scholarly research and analysis to try to establish some of the "facts" behind the rhetoric. Far from pretending that he is an unbiased observer of the situation, Dershowitz states his goal as demonstrating that Israel (and the Jews) are regularly attacked for not meeting ethical standards far more stringent than those required of any other group, including Palestinian Arabs, and that much of the oft-repeated anti-Israeli propaganda can be documented as lies. Each chapter begins with quotes taken from a variety of pro-Palestinian sources, followed by a discussion of relevant historical or political data, usually directly showing the inaccuracy of the quotes. This clear, legalistic approach should be compelling for any individual interested in facts. Unfortunately, the individuals most radically involved in perpetuating these myths are likely to be uninterested in rational analysis. In the current political and social climate, pro-Israel library patrons are far more likely to listen to this book than her opponents. Dershowitz has a lot of enthusiasm for his subject and obviously enjoys reading his own work. An interesting, highly informative book, and this (biased) reviewer recommends it for all but the smallest public and academic library collections.-I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Noting that he has been working on versions of these arguments since 1967, famed Harvard law professor Dershowitz offers "a proactive defense of Israel," a kind of amicus brief to "the court of public opinion." Not least among the exhibits are a WWII-era Muslim Palestinian leader who was "a full fledged Nazi war criminal, and he was so declared at Nuremberg"; a "vastly underpopulated" late 19th-century Palestine, to which European Jews began emigrating; and a 75-year-long Arab-Israeli war that features "Arab nations dedicated to genocidal aggression against civilians." Each of the 32 chapters begins with a commonly heard accusation against Israel, with long quotes from reputable "Accusers" (including newspapers and intellectuals), followed by "The Reality" as Dershowitz sees it, and "The Proof," often drawing on the historical record. With a 150,000 first printing, a $150,000 marketing budget, a Today Show appearance on September 4 and an author tour, expect lots of discussion. (Sept. 2) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.