Thoughts on 'Oh Jerusalem!' by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
I usually don't read non-fiction books. I made an exception for 'O Jerusalem because everyone in my family has read it and I felt like I should at least give it a try. I immediately realised why my family was desperate for me to give it a try. I was expecting a boring account of the history of Israel told from an unbiased viewpoint stating only the facts. Instead, I was met with a fast-paced, emotional journey through war, religion, and hope, told from several different viewpoints. What makes this book unique, however, is the fact that the story is not only told from the perspectives of world figures like Golda Meir and Glubb Pasha, but it is also told from the perspectives of ordinary people both Jews and Arabs. I have never been to Israel, but with the detailed and highly emotive way, Larry and Dominique describe it will make the heart of any Zionist soar with the patriotism that has called Jews to Israel since its beginning. It manages to sound incredibly faithful and emotional while also telling the Jewish, Arab and British side of the story. This is what makes it so remarkable.
Despite neither Larry or Dominique being Jewish themselves, they somehow manage to understand and represent the Jewish culture in a way very few do. This was a wonderful surprise for me as I expected to spend my time reading the book to be frustrated and annoyed at the misrepresentation of my religious beliefs. I never expected non-Jews to understand the intricacy of how much Israel means to us and how important and long-awaited a Jewish state was. Israel has a very dolorous history and despite having already known a lot about it, I still found myself horrified to the point of tears at the horror the Jews faced. 'Bloody milestones on the road to Hitler's gas chambers, those slaughters succeeding one another through the centuries were a constant of Jewish history, the ghastly heritage of an oppressed race to whom the crematoriums of the Third Reich might seem only the final, most appalling manifestation of their destiny.' This sentence, in particular, touched my heart and I felt so sorry for what they had been through. I am so lucky to live in a time where I am not persecuted for my religion or ethnicity. I did lose some family in the holocaust, Knowing that it was a catalyst for Israel becoming a Jewish state makes their deaths feel a little less like a pointless tragedy and more like part of a journey.
One thing that makes this book different from others that discuss this subject matter is the fact that it has a very honest representation of all perspectives involved. The book includes the viewpoints of several Arab people, both important political figures, and normal everyday people. This was very interesting for me as this was the first time I've seen the other side of the story. I've always had a biased view on what happened in Israel and I never thought about how the Arabs felt. This book was a real wake up call for me as it showed me that the Jews weren't the only ones that suffered in that long and harrowing war. On the other hand, I found it got very difficult at some points in the book to read about the Arabs perspective on Jews. The book really got me to think about the impact religious prejudice can have on a country and on its people. 'O Jerusalem' showed me that religion can drive people to do terrible and wonderful things and that in a war both sides are guilty but not always equally so. This helped me to understand conflict today. Israel is still at war and while I used to think that they were the 'good guys' I now see that in a war, there are no 'good guys' and 'bad guys'.
The third perspective discussed in 'O Jerusalem' is that of the British. I have never really been that fond of the British as they have a history of bloodshed and forcing their beliefs onto others. This book just solidified this belief as the British were the ones who orchestrated the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. For the British, Israel was a business deal, for the Jews and the Arabs Israel, specifically Jerusalem' is the home of their religion, a sign of hope and everything holy. The British dangled it right in front of their noses and then took it away at the last moment. Britain had no respect for the religious importance of Jerusalem. I often see this in today's society, the world is mostly dominated by Christianity and it can be hard for people of other religions to feel accepted. Last year Donald Trump was the first president to have a Rabbi speak at his inauguration and yet very few people even realised this, they don't realise that for many Jews this was a really big deal. The president of America was acknowledging the fact that there are religions other than Christianity that matter. At certain moments during the book, I found myself really mad that while the world is making progress, this kind of thing is still happening.
In conclusion, the book 'O Jerusalem' gave me an entirely new perspective on the conflict between Jews and Arabs. I used to look at the Arabs as the villains in the war, but now I've realised that it's never that easy. It opened my eyes to the grey areas in the war between the Jews and the Arabs, but it also helped me to understand the conflict happening today. The book was very emotional for me and made me feel a range of emotions. It made me angry at what the British did and sorry for what the Arabs and Jews had to go through. I am very glad that I read it because it gave me an entirely new perspective on life and the war between the Jews and the Arabs. 'If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it'.
Despite neither Larry or Dominique being Jewish themselves, they somehow manage to understand and represent the Jewish culture in a way very few do. This was a wonderful surprise for me as I expected to spend my time reading the book to be frustrated and annoyed at the misrepresentation of my religious beliefs. I never expected non-Jews to understand the intricacy of how much Israel means to us and how important and long-awaited a Jewish state was. Israel has a very dolorous history and despite having already known a lot about it, I still found myself horrified to the point of tears at the horror the Jews faced. 'Bloody milestones on the road to Hitler's gas chambers, those slaughters succeeding one another through the centuries were a constant of Jewish history, the ghastly heritage of an oppressed race to whom the crematoriums of the Third Reich might seem only the final, most appalling manifestation of their destiny.' This sentence, in particular, touched my heart and I felt so sorry for what they had been through. I am so lucky to live in a time where I am not persecuted for my religion or ethnicity. I did lose some family in the holocaust, Knowing that it was a catalyst for Israel becoming a Jewish state makes their deaths feel a little less like a pointless tragedy and more like part of a journey.
One thing that makes this book different from others that discuss this subject matter is the fact that it has a very honest representation of all perspectives involved. The book includes the viewpoints of several Arab people, both important political figures, and normal everyday people. This was very interesting for me as this was the first time I've seen the other side of the story. I've always had a biased view on what happened in Israel and I never thought about how the Arabs felt. This book was a real wake up call for me as it showed me that the Jews weren't the only ones that suffered in that long and harrowing war. On the other hand, I found it got very difficult at some points in the book to read about the Arabs perspective on Jews. The book really got me to think about the impact religious prejudice can have on a country and on its people. 'O Jerusalem' showed me that religion can drive people to do terrible and wonderful things and that in a war both sides are guilty but not always equally so. This helped me to understand conflict today. Israel is still at war and while I used to think that they were the 'good guys' I now see that in a war, there are no 'good guys' and 'bad guys'.
The third perspective discussed in 'O Jerusalem' is that of the British. I have never really been that fond of the British as they have a history of bloodshed and forcing their beliefs onto others. This book just solidified this belief as the British were the ones who orchestrated the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. For the British, Israel was a business deal, for the Jews and the Arabs Israel, specifically Jerusalem' is the home of their religion, a sign of hope and everything holy. The British dangled it right in front of their noses and then took it away at the last moment. Britain had no respect for the religious importance of Jerusalem. I often see this in today's society, the world is mostly dominated by Christianity and it can be hard for people of other religions to feel accepted. Last year Donald Trump was the first president to have a Rabbi speak at his inauguration and yet very few people even realised this, they don't realise that for many Jews this was a really big deal. The president of America was acknowledging the fact that there are religions other than Christianity that matter. At certain moments during the book, I found myself really mad that while the world is making progress, this kind of thing is still happening.
In conclusion, the book 'O Jerusalem' gave me an entirely new perspective on the conflict between Jews and Arabs. I used to look at the Arabs as the villains in the war, but now I've realised that it's never that easy. It opened my eyes to the grey areas in the war between the Jews and the Arabs, but it also helped me to understand the conflict happening today. The book was very emotional for me and made me feel a range of emotions. It made me angry at what the British did and sorry for what the Arabs and Jews had to go through. I am very glad that I read it because it gave me an entirely new perspective on life and the war between the Jews and the Arabs. 'If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it'.
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