Dawn of the Promised Land: The Creation of Israel

by Ben Wicks

Book Overview

Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled to a new homeland in 1917 -- and so began an exodus. Within these pages are their remarkable stories of fortitude and courage.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786863226
• ISBN13: 9780786863228
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The re-birth of Israel.

This book tells of the birth of Israel, and the struggle of millions of Jews, from both Europe and the Middle East to get to Israel and to adapt to life in the re-established Jewish homeland. As well as dozens of interviews with Jews who relate their experiences of getting to the Land of Israel, and how they adapted to life there, the author also gives us an account of the struggles of the Jews for their homeland, mainly covering the period from when the British took control of the Holy Land in 1917, to the the elections to the First Knesset of Israel, in 1949, after the Jews of Israel had beaten a vastly larger and better armed force of 6 Arab armies, bent on anihilation of Israel's Jews. We learn of the vast immigration of Arabs into the Holy Land, from other countries (Between 1922 and 1925, for example, almost thirty thousand Arabs came into Israel from Syria, Transjordan and Iraq). The Jews who had returned to their ancient homeland, faced problems like hunger, disease, unempoyment, and language problems as well as Arab pogroms. Arab pogroms were launched against Jews in 1920, 1921,1929 and 1936-1939. "Old hatreds surfaced and expresed themselves in violence. One atrocity saw forty new immigrants murdered and mutilated. Gangs of Arab youths ran amok in the streets of Jerusalem, and Jews were murdered and raped in the Old City.The setttlements in Upper Galilee fared no better: They became a favourite target and although Ben-Gurion did his best to continue to offer the hand of peace to the Arabs, begging them to carry on living in peace beside their Jewish fellow workers the violence escalated". The Pogroms of 1936-1939 were orchestrated by the Arab Higher Committee, led by Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini, and encouraged, aided and abetted by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. This led to increased British repression of Jews in the Holy Land, and the restriction of the entry of Jews into the "Palestine" Mandate. The White Paper of 1939 barred Jewish entry into "Palestine", and hundreds of thousands of Jews were turned back by the British to perish in Hitler's inferno, leading to great resentment of the Jews for the British colonists. This led to resistance by the Jewish freedom fighters of the Irgun and Lehi. The Jews of Israel did however raise a Jewish Brigade to help the Allies defeat the Nazis in Europe. After the war, hundreds of thousands of holocaust survivors were further interred by the British in concentration camps, while the British government of Attlee and Bevin, did all they could to make sure the Jewish State was stillborn, helping the Arabs in their plans to drive the Jews out of the Land of Israel. After the British pulled out, and the UN awarded a tiny state to the Jews, 6 Arab armies descended on the reborn nation, with Secretary-General of the Arab League, Azzam Pasha declaring to the world's assembled media that "this would be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which would be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres a

A marvellous little book

This is a terrific story of courage and hope. Of endurance and determination. It's the story of the Jews who arrived in what is now Israel during the period of the British Mandate. The book continues through the end of the Israeli War of Independence at the start of 1949. There are numerous substantial quotes from many of those who reached the Promised Land, as well as several pages of photographs. For anyone interested in the history of Israel, this is simply a superb work, and Ben Wicks is to be congratulated for writing it.