a brutally honest account of the palestinian intifada experience as written by a jewish american. exposes fallacies in the representation of the case as well as in foreign policy. very necessary in understanding the israel-palestine conflict

As a Jewish woman living in the U.S. it was difficult for me to hear but one side of the story in the Israeli-Arab conflict. That side was the Zionist perspective. It wasn't until I spent time in Israel (ironic as this is) that I began to understand the fallacies in the arguments I grew up hearing. I read this book after picking it up at a friend's house, and now I'm feeling brave enough to buy a copy of my own. That courage comes from Finkelstein. I feel like I'm in good company. There ARE other Jews who can see and dare to shed some light on the OTHER SIDE--the Palestinian viewpoint. Finkelstein presents us with the Palestinian perspective in the context of the Israel-Arab conflict with such integrity and simplicity. As descendents of a terribly oppressed group of people, I whole-heartedly support all efforts to stop dehumanizing the "enemy." Finkelstien shows us the humanness of Palestinians.

Finkelstein's book is that rare gem of a monumental work housed within a slim volume. What makes his ideas so astonishing, in addition to their being meticulously researched and footnoted, is that his parents were survivors of the Nazi holocaust. Based on encounters with Elie Wiesel and the like, one would not expect a Jew of this background to have such a profound understanding of the Palestinian people and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This book is a must-read in that it convincingly defies, with powerfully sculpted arguments and towering research, the tired and frequently hypocritical views of the New York Times and other news authorities.

Finkelstein will convince you.

This volume represents the publication of a large scale survey that was conducted in the central hills region of Palestine/Israel, in the area from slightly north of Jerusalem, to slightly to the south of modern day Nablus. The data includes surface finds from periods ranging from the Prehistoric until the Modern periods. For the most part, the data is nicely represented and discussed and one gets a well-based and well-thought out picture of the long-term history and cultural development of this region. Particular emphasis is put on the Bronze and Iron ages (biblical period). One aspect that is clearly lacking in the book is an explicit discussion and description of the actual survey methods that were employed during the field work. Over all, this book provides important basic data for the study of the ancient history and cultures of the Holy Land.

Two reviewers on these pages (Justin S and Shindore) dismiss this book because, they say, the authors continue to claim that King David is only myth notwithstanding clear evidence to the contrary. These readers haven't read very carefully. On page 129, the authors clearly state that the "House of David" inscription found in 1993 (apparently what those two reviewers are referring to) proves the historical reality of a King David. I found this book well written and enjoyable with a balance between "scientific fact" and reverence for "religious truth." Religious truth is not undercut because its "historical accuracy" is disproven by modern scientific research. The Bible authors had little concept of history as we know it. No wonder they didn't do a very good job of writing "history."

The fundamental thesis of this book is that modern archaeology demonstrates that the remains uncovered to date in the holy land suggest a much less developed world in early Iron Age Canaan than the biblical tales would indicate. What follows from this is that the supposition that the biblical tales of David and Solomon's unified Israelite kingdom may no longer be reliable and more, that the actual post Bronze Age flowering of culture in the area didn't take place until the development of the kingdom of Israel in the northern hills, contrary to the report in the Bible which tells us that the northern kingdom was the residual portion of a mighty empire, a breakaway tribal state established after the death of Solomon. What does this mean for our understanding of biblical history? Simply put, that the Bible would have been a product of a very different set of developments than the history it reports and thus its historical veracity is questionable at best. If Israel in the north was really the first kingdom, then whence came Judah, the state ruled by the so-called Davidic kings? According to the authors, Judah came later, as indicated in the archaeological record of the area, and only reached its height after the destruction of Israel, its more sophisticated and powerful northern neighbor, had been utterly destroyed by the Assyrian juggernaut. Refugees from the more cosmopolitan, and somewhat pagan, Israel fled into the wild and more inaccessible, and less resource-rich, hills of Judah and this infusion of more cultured people of a similar ethnic heritage led to an abrupt flowering of the Judahite land. In this context, with Judah suddenly experiencing a surge in its population and seeking to assert itself in the region, the newly combined population group, reflecting the rich skills of the new immigrants and their natural interest in the land they left behind, devised for itself a common history, including a legendary unified kingdom under the Davidic kings of Judah to justify a policy of expansion into the more or less abandoned lands of ancient Israel. This, in a nutshell, is the thesis of this book and from it the authors explore the implications for the entire biblical narrative. They weave a convincing tale although much depends on current and future finds in the archaeological tels of modern Israel and Palestine. If you hold the Bible to be absolute truth, then this book will not please you. But if you have an open mind and are interested in the possibilities, wherever they lead, and you're fascinated by biblical issues and tales, then this book is for you. -- SWM

In "The Bible Unearthed," Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman display a rare talent among scholars--the ability to make specialized research accessible to a general audience. In this book the authors reveal how recent archaeological research forces us to reconsider the historical account woven into the Hebrew Bible. Among the conclusions they draw are:

1) The tales of patriarchs such as Abraham are largely legends composed long after the time in which they supposedly took place. This is seen in anachronisms such as the use of camels, not domesticated in the Near East until nearly 1000 years after Abraham's time, in many of the stories.

2) There is good reason to believe that the Exodus never happened. Had migrants to the number of even a small fraction of the 600,000 claimed in the Bible truly sojourned in the Sinai Peninsula for 40 years, archaeological evidence of their passage would be abundant. In fact, there are no traces of any signifant group living in the Sinai at the supposed time of the Exodus.

3) The Israelite "conquest" of Canaan, such as there was, was far from the military invasion of the books of Joshua and Judges. Many of the cities described as being conquered and destroyed did not even exist at the time, while those that did were small, unfortified villages, with no walls to be brought down, by blowing trumpets or otherwise.

4) While there is evidence that a historical David existed, and founded some sort of ruling dynasty known by his name, there is good reason to believe that he did not rule over the powerful united monarchy described in II Samuel. One reason for doubt: Jerusalem, portrayed as the great capital of a prosperous nation, was during the time of David little more than a village.

5) Neither Israel nor Judah emerged as organized kingdoms until significantly after the supposed period of the united monarchy. Israel does not appear as a recognizable kingdom until the time of the Omrides of the 9th century BCE, while Judah does not appear as such until the late 8th century BCE, at the time of kings Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Along with their revision of the biblical account of history, Finkelstein and Silberman attempt to explain the origins of the Hebrew Bible, suggesting that the composition of much of the Bible can be tied to the religious agenda of King Josiah of Judah during the late 7th century BCE. While the origins of the Bible will never be known with certainty--there simply isn't enough evidence--Finkelstein and Silberman definitely provide a plausible interpretation.

The authors, as I noted above, do a superb job of making their work understandable to non-specialists; since even college history majors often don't study the ancient Near East, they take care to include sufficient background information for the reader to understand the context of their account. Anyone with an interest in the subject will find "The Bible Unearthed" to be fascinating reading. And anyone who thinks the Bible is an accurate history book should definitely read it.

Norman Finkelstein practices the worst type of historiography. He uses each chapter to selectively pick out quotes from single authors and state them out their proper and greater historical context thereby distorting the record. He selectively ignores or severly downplays any evidence against his arguments. For example he never mentions the vitriolic hatred coming out of the greater Arab world during this time period, severly downplays terrorism and its effects on Israel and never mentions directly the cold war context during the years of the conflict. His comparisons and extensive quotations of Hitler and Himmler with Israeli officials and soldiers was obviously written for effect and was a revolting abuse of the written word. He seems to me to be an author with no real first hand experience or feel for this area of history. The incredibly one sided bulk of his narrative discredits any legitmate points he tries to make throughout the work.
The history of the Arab-Israeli conflict is complex and there are legitmate grieviences on both sides with some very good impartial books and sources of information. Mr Finkelstein's is not one of them.

Norman Finkelstein is a brave man who has received a lot of flak for writing this book. One response that authors who criticise Israel always have to contend with is the accusation that they are motivated by anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism. Jewish authors (Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust survivors)are additionally accused of being 'self hating' Jews. It's almost as if, in the eyes of Israel's unquestioning supporters, there can be no legitimate reason to criticise anything that Israel does. Maybe Israel, unlike any other country which has ever existed on Earth, is a perfect society which is completely above criticism - or is it?

The aim of this brilliant book is to ask questions about the view of Israel's history that Zionists would like the rest of us to believe. Many aspects of this history are hotly disputed so it's a perfectly legitimate area of study. Reading the book will probably challenge your preconceptions of the Arab-Israeli conflict and will make some people feel distinctly uncomfortable. But like nasty tasting medicine that ultimately does you good, it's essential reading for anyone who really wants to understand what's going on in that tragic part of the world. And the fact that all Finkelstein's opponents can do to counter his arguments is come out with the same old knee-jerk reactions says it all. Buy it!

Excellent background on Zionism and the Israeli - Palestine conflict. Very thorough and well written. Good insights into the nature and rationale of Zionism placed in the context of other, similar mindsets. Good background on Israel's various wars and the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem.

First a warning: the author is NOT the Norman Finkelstein who wrote The Holocaust Industry and other iconoclastic works. This one, on the contrary, only reproduces the official history of Israel that is now being debunked by the new historians and other intellectuals like Norman G. Finkelstein. As one example, Norman H. Finkelstein tells us in this book that the Israeli attempt to sink the USS Liberty in 1967 was an honest mistake, which is inconsistent with the facts as related by the ship's commander. So he doesn't seem to be well informed.

This book is a fine introduction for young people to the history of Israel and its relationship with the U.S. Unfortunately, much that has been written today consists of revistionist history that ignores the facts: In 1947, six months before the declaration of the Independence by the state of Israel, Arabs were already fighting against her, with help from the British. In the war that ensured, some 6,000 Israelis were killed, fully 1% of her population. That is roughly equal to the half the U.S. losses of the Civil War--still the most devastating both proportionately and absolutely--of all U.S. wars. It is only a third of the proportionate U.S. losses of World War II. Subsquently, Israel fought four other defensive wars against Arab aggressors. The current low-level war, which makes six, was planned by Arafat during the Camp David talks, and started by Arabs on September 24 with bombs at Netzarim junction, and the murder of Israeli David Biri.

Children should learn that Israel, now 53 years old, has lived in a virtual stage of siege since her founding, with 20 of the 22 Arab nations remaining officially "at war" with her. Mr. Finkelstein's work is an important contribution to the understanding of this special friend to the U.S. Mr. Finkelstein's is a great contribution to the body of work on Israeli history. It provides a much-needed antidote to the propaganda war that the Arabs have mounted, with increasing success, for the last 25 years.

This book is a wonderful introduction to the history of Israel for young readers. The fact that it counters much of the new revisionist history that now populates most book stores today is a credit to both the author and the publisher. Histories by Conor C. O'Brien (The Siege), Dominique LaPierre and Larry Collins (O Jerusalem), Sir Martin Gilbert (Israel) and Joan Peters (From Time Immemorial)--among others--attest that Israel at its founding was surrounded by hostile nations determined to irradicate her-- a situation that continues for the most part, even now. Of Arab nations, only two are officially "at peace" with Israel. By any definition, the peace of Jordan and Egypt with Israel is cold at best. Another 20 Arab nations remain officially at war with Israel, refusing to accept her legitimate place among the nations.

Even before statehood, the Arab nations were at war with Israel and the Jewish people. In the 12 days after the 1947 UN vote in favor of partition, for example, Arabs murdered 80 Jewish men, women and children throughout the nation and more than 210 throughout the region. And this says nothing of numerous Arab pogroms against Jewish people throughout the region from the late 19th centurity forward. This book avoids the late-model revisionist history of Tom Segev, Benny Morris and others and sticks to the facts. Children can only benefit from this no-nonsense historical approach.