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The Arab-Israel Conflict: Facts of War


'The Arab-Israeli Conflict', written by Stewart Ross and part of the book series 'Witness to History', is a slew of events and facts from the spark of the conflict, 1914, to 2003, the time the book was finished. It avoids choosing sides and instead provides viewpoints from both sides as well as events and statistics, such as death rates. It is a very serious book and is not afraid to shy away from the gruesome truth. It is a great, easy read for any interested in the Arab-Israel Conflict.
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As Shakespear once wrote, "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose," (spoken by Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice"), meaning, in layman's terms, evil people can seem good. The people fighting the war's may seem to be heroes to those on their side, but evil in actuality. For example, a suicide bomber who targets a dense, civilian zone may say to their people, "I am doing this for you. We must be set free," may seem to be a great person to those on their side, but are actually evil by targeting those who have done them no harm. 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict' tells many instances where people evil at heart mask it with a purpose that may seem just. This extends to both sides of the conflict though. Another example is Israel taking land from Palestinians and destroying their homes so Israelis can move in. They say it is holy land to Israelis and that justifies their actions but it is also holy land for Palestinians and their homes. No one can justify that, yet 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict' repeats these stories more than once. In this conflict there are, and have been, evil people mascarading as kind leaders who fit Shakespear's quote perfectly.

Audience and Tone

'The Arab-Israeli Conflict' is a very serious book with very serious content matter. It is intended for younge adults who want to learn about the Arab-Israeli Conflict in a short amount of time and easily. It is only 52 pages long, including a timeline and  includes a quotes, statistics, and a variety of pictures, from soliders to politicians/leaders. It contains no humor and is done in third person, with none of the authors beliefs anywhere to be found. This provides a truthful, non-bias explanation of the conflict that anyone interested in the subject matter should read. To give a example of the tone and proof of audience, here are a quote prooving each. Tone: "A force of Israeli-backed Lebanese Christians, the Phalange, pursued their enemies into the Sabra and Shatillla Palestinian refugee camps and slaughtered between 800 and 2000 civilians," (p.39) is just one example of how serious this book is. It's not afraid to shy away from death. An example of how the audience is meant for younge adults is "However, high employment in the 1930's, brought about by the worldwide economic downturn known as the Great Depression, led the U.S. to stop the immigration of Jews," (p.14). The book explains all major past events simply so they can be understood by almost anyone over the age of 13. A majority of sentences are short with most under 15 words. It is a simple read meant for younge adults.