Who Owns the Land?

Jews and Palestinians each claim it, and more blood has been shed over this small Mediterranean area than any other in the world. "Truth is stranger than fiction," and it is eloquently demonstrated in the history of Israel. The story of the Jews is high drama with a divine component, but much of the plot has been veiled. In retrospect, one can see their powerful influence throughout eastern and western history, swaying world events, building up and bringing down kingdoms and dominions. World War I, for instance, has been called a war without rationale; but factor in the Jews, and a flood of meaning rushes in. The same could be said of the Renaissance, the discovery of America, and most conspicuously, World War II. Fortunately, Jewish historians have preserved a vast literature on their people's tumultuous history, and the bitter details are indispensable if we are to rightly understand the explosive tensions in the Middle East today. This is an update of Stanley Ellisen's 1991 best-sel