Rewriting Israel's Story

Two very important books, both written by Israeli Jews, attempt to shatter Israel's claim of "inheriting" land abandoned by Palestinians and the claim that Israeli Arabs have the same rights and privileges of Israeli Jews.

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The Other Side of Israel tells a shocking story of how Israeli Arabs are treated. Their towns and villages receive much less financial assistance than do Israeli ones; ditto their schools and health care. Their land is regularly expropriated by force and without compensation, and they are constantly harassed by Israeli soldiers if they travel, even if it's to go to work.

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Before, during and after this war -- as the state of Israel came into being, occurred one of the largest forced migrations in modern history. Around a million Palestinians were expelled from their homes at gunpoint, thousands of civilians were massacred and hundreds of Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed. Though the truth about the mass expulsion has been systematically distorted and suppressed, had it taken place in the 21st century it could only have been called 'ethnic cleansing.'

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the Israeli foundational myth about a voluntary Palestinian flight the war started -- in response to a call by Arab leaders to make way for invading armies -- holds no water. It is a sheer fabrication that there were Jewish attempts, as Israeli textbooks still insist today, to persuade Palestinians to stay.