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Walking Israel: A Personal Search For The Soul Of A Nation (2010)

by Martin Fletcher(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0312534817 (ISBN13: 9780312534813)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

review 1: I found this book enjoyable. However, the author seemed unable to forego his journalistic biases. Firstly, the book and his investigations read a lot like he was a journalist doing research. The questions he posed let people not really tell their own stories so much as to tell the stories his questions led them to.I also find most media presents and anti-Israel bias and I was hoping to find more sympathy for the Jews and Israel from someone who lives in Israel and married an Israeli. However, sympathy for the Arabs who were "kicked out" of their homes two generations ago was pervasive and a recurring theme throughout the book. There was no corresponding sympathy for all the Jews who were kicked out of THEIR homes. Even his treatment of holocaust survivors failed to draw th... moree parallel that THEY are refugees as well. With the exception of the Aliya movement from places like America and Australia, and the influx of Russian immigration, Israel is chock full of refugees. Why doesn't the author feel corresponding sympathy for them? Perhaps I is because, unlike the Palestinians, the Jews who arrived to Israel as refugees rebuilt their lives and made their new home even better than it was when they arrived. They did not play the victim for all eternity. Unlike the Palestinians of today, who hold onto their hurts, burn down greenhouses in gaza, and in general play the victim. With all the millions of dollars constantly being given in aid to the Palestinians, they should be prospering. But they are not. And why not? Because they play the victim and refuse to move on with their lives and better them. The author somehow fails to note this irony.Because the book is a bit unbalanced and not a true travelogue, I've put it as only three stars. Nevertheless, if you don't mind some anti-Israel bias in a book about Israel, it is a good read and well-written.
review 2: Interesting walk along the Israeli coast from North to South. Reminds me that things are always more complex than you think they are. Prior to the State of Israel being formed in 1948, Jews had been buying up property in Palestine, so there is a complex trail of ownership of the land (including expropriation and other land grabs). And the position of the Arab Israelis is interesting. Most like the stability of the Israeli state as opposed to the chaos of the Arab state, but... Worth reading. less

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