"We Arabs are the worst. . . ." That is the theme of this crude
propaganda-novel by the author of Exodus, which traces the
Palestinian-refugee problem up through 1956 - blaming 100 percent
of it on the British and the Arabs (Arab greed, decadence,
laziness, backwardness, bestiality, etc.), putting the case into
the mouths of a few relatively "good" Arabs. The title character is
Ibrahim, who becomes the young chieftain of the Palestinian village
Tabah in 1922. He feels affection for Gideon Asch, the noble
Haganah leader who watches over the nearby kibbutz. ("He respected
a fairness in Gideon that he was not able to practice himself.")
But, culture-bound and constantly threatened by rival Arab leaders,
Ibrahim must reject Gideon's offers of aid and friendship.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim's youngest son Ishmael - the off-and-on narrator
- is growing up during WW II, only half-brainwashed into
Koran-based hatred. ("Why can't Islam share the world with other
people?") Then, in 1947, comes the Israeli/Arab warfare: Ben-Gurion
vows that "under no circumstances will we force out a single Arab";
for tactical, power-ploy reasons, however, the Arabs force the
Palestinian villagers to evacuate - while the wealthy "Palestinian
Arab leadership simply abandoned its country in a self-serving
manner uncaring of the balance of the population." The Arabs spread
false rumors of Jewish atrocities to cause mass flight; the women
of Ibrahim's family are raped by rival Arab henchmen. And though
the family survives, thanks to Gideon and a "very sympathetic"
Irgun officer, their arrival in Arab territory on the West Bank is
greeted by Arab disdain, neglect, cruelty. ("The Jews have never
done to me and my people what has happened. . . at the hands of our
own brothers.") They live in a cave, in refugee camps; "we rotted
and complained. . . we became overpowered with self-pity." Israel
secretly invites the repatriation of 100,000 Arabs - but the
Palestinians become the passive, lazy pawns of ambitious
Jordanians, Iraqis, and Egyptians: Ibrahim and other moderates are
smeared or assassinated; Ibrahim's older son is murdered by Jordan,
then turned into a supposed victim of the Zionists, "the first
Palestinian martyr." All UN attempts at bettering the refugee
situation are ruined by "tribal avarice." And finally, "no longer
able to combat or cope with the evils of our society," Ibrahim
slips back into primitivism - hating Israel, killing his daughter
for abandoning traditional ways - while young Ishmael ends up in
despair, knowing that his "culture" is the villain. . . and that
"the Arabs alone have the resources to dissolve their refugee
problem, if they wanted to." Are there elements of truth in Uris'
anti-Arab version of Palestinian history? Unquestionably. Here,
however, presented in a blurred fact/fiction format, his arguments
come across as grossly biased, untrustworthy, drenched in bigotry.
Gratuitous scenes of Arab sex-and-violence are inserted to remind
us that this is a "savage people"; generalizations about the Arab
"nature" abound. (Similar remarks about blacks or Jews would
probably be considered unpublishable.) Furthermore, simply as
storytelling, this is a sad comedown for veteran Uris: the
narration is rudimentary, often clumsy; the dialogue is amateurish,
riddled with anachronisms; flat little history-lessons are thrown
in haphazardly; and there's no real characterization - just
illustrations of the defects in Arab culture. In sum: a dreary,
ugly lecture/ novel - sure to attract an audience, but likely to
embarrass all but the most unthinking Jewish readers. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Leon Uris retums to the land of his acclaimed best-seller Exodus for an epic story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness and forgiveness. The Middle East is the powerful setting for this sweeping tale of a land where revenge is sacred and hatred noble. Where an Arab ruler tries to save his people from destruction but cannot save them from themselves. When violence spreads like a plague across the lands of Palestine--this is the time of The Haj.
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