New Library Acquisitions, October 2003

 Karsh (a professor of Mediterranean Studies at the University of London) presents the first full-length and detailed rebuttal to those Israeli scholars who call themselves the "new historians." This group, whose ranks include Benny Morris, Ilan Pappé, and Avi Shlaim, seeks to expose Zionism as a rapacious movement and Israel as the actor that bears nearly full responsibility for the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian plight. Noting that others have critiqued the new historians' ignoring important source materials, Karsh concentrates on proving that "the very documentation used by these self-styled champions of 'truth and morality' reveals a completely different picture from that which they have painted."

Elaborating on the argument first made in his June 1996 article in the Middle East Quarterly, Karsh focuses on three main issues: David Ben-Gurion's alleged endorsement of "transferring" Arabs out of the territory to become Israel, "collusion" between the Zionist movement and King 'Abdallah of Jordan to snuff out a Palestinian state, and secret British support for this joint effort. To establish his case, Karsh digs deeply into the documentary record, even going so far as to interpret crossed-out sections in Ben-Gurion's handwritten letters. That's all vital to making his case, but Karsh's key strength is the application of unprejudiced common sense to clarify issues clouded by the pseudo-scholarship of propagandists.  --Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, Sept 1997 [Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum, a member of the presidentially-appointed board of the U.S. Institute of Peace, and a prize-winning columnist for the New York Post and The Jerusalem Post.]
 

 A History of Israel: From the Bronze Age Through the Jewish Wars by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
"This complete chronological history of Israel presents and explains

• current approaches to the study of the history of Israel
• common fallacies found in modern secular historical study
• the most convincing proofs for the historical authenticity of the Bible.

The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War by Martin Gilbert
"A compelling book on an ugly subject, The Holocaust  may be the finest book available for those who want a general understanding of how the rise of the Nazis in Germany impacted the Jewish people--as well as those who want to learn exactly what was at stake in the Second World War. When The Holocaust was first published in 1986, Elie Wiesel gave it a glowing review, writing, 'This book must be read and reread.' It occasionally seems like a numbing catalog of unspeakable horrors, but how else does one write a comprehensive history of such a great tragedy?"--Amazon.com

Israel the Land and the People: An Evangelical Affirmation of God's Promises, H. Wayne House, General Editor
"Are the Jewish people defined by their citizenship, by their worship, by their birthright, or by something else? What is ther relationship between Jewishness, Jewish people, and the State of Israel? What does God have in store for this people?... This book sets forth three truths: (1) the church is not Israel; (2) God is not finished with His people, the Jews; (3) the church (made up primarily of Gentiles and a remnant of Jews) is comprised of God's people but has a different goal and a different future than Israel has."

Worship--a Way of Life  by Patrick Kavanaugh
Worship is a lifestyle of praise and thanksgiving. This book offers practical suggestions on how you can increase worship in quiet times alone with God (whether you have five minutes or an hour) and in your daily routine--to consciously live all of life in God's presence.
 

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