NathanTHE OTHER SIDE OF ISRAEL: My Journey Across the Jewish/Arab Divide

I too have seen incidents which corroborate Susan Nathan's story; closing the Bethlehem entry point for no reason and young soldiers dragging old Muslim men back a few yards whilst in the middle of prayers, a German woman having her luggage turned inside out just because she stated that she have visited some Bedouin, Joppa being turned into a Jewish town and the Arabs being squeezed out.Palestinians are demonised in Israeli eyes; Israelis thought that I was on a suicide mission visiting Jericho, or hearing from educated Israelis that the Palestinians were bringing in elephants though the tunnels connecting Egypt to Gaza (true, honestly). However, her story sounds as though she was very naive about Israel prior to her emigration and still remaining naive by revealing her details of her intimate personal history to the press - especially after living in England and seeing what the tabloids can do to people.However, Israel is not monolithic society. Arabs can study at the Hebrew University; there is a business incubator in Nazareth for Jewish and Arab start up companies; (some) Jews have Arab friends. However, these positive actions are relatively minor and do not address more fundamental issues.Additionally, Falasha Jews have very high alcoholism and marital breakdown rates as they integrate quite poorly into Israeli society - the impression gained is that Ashkenazi racism operates even against co-religionists. The polical balance of power continually lies with the religious extremists and it is those people that, in general, dictate the government's policy towards the Arabs. Indeed, many Israelis fume at the fact that "religious" Israelis are not subject to military service but require the children of other Israelis to guard their settlements and their takeover of Palestinian land.The book reveals the state policy of represssion of the Arabs and the determination to keep the lid on human rights. The most despicable action (well described by Susan Nathan) by the Israeli authrories is the denying of water to Arabs while Jewish settlers on Arab lands get more than enough.I was struck by a parallel in Israel of Jews being uncomfortable with the situation but not "rocking the boat", and Germans looking the other way in the 1930's when repressive measures against Jews were introduced and ratcheted up. Obviously Israel does not operate an extermination policy (but then that may not have been the original intention of the Nazis either), but other actions are uncomfortably familiar. Susan Nathan has provided a great service describing the situation in Israel. She and all those who struggle against the situation, and try to change it, demand our respect.

I was not sure what to expect when I ordered the book, but I found it inspiring and truly excellent. Having spent the last 7 months in Israel /Palestine it resonated with so much that I had heard and experienced. For anyone wanting to try and understand something about this wonderful, painful and inspiring land this book is helpful and very authentic. i would strongly recommend it.

I noticed certain inaccuracies in it, and possibly omissions, but it is an honest account of the lives of Israel's Arab minority, written not out of hatred for Israel but out of concern for Israel's future.

Really very good, highly informative and interesting read. Brilliant too to have the Arab position from an Isaeli authoress. Some of the details and events are truly shocking. How the world and particularly America sits by and lets this unabashed, proud even, racism flourish is simply staggering - should be essential reading for all students of the Middle east and anyone who wants to understand the roots of the hatred that sadly so biases public opinion against Islam, Arabs and particularly the Palestinian cause. Easy to read too, though sometimes some of the legal wrangling gets a bit in the way...but then, that's part of the point...

5 stars isn't sufficient to merit this book....deeply insightful, courageous and uncomfortable in the telling....would highly recommend that it be read - and understood before judgements be made.....1st class supplier and delivery time

A fascinating and thought provoking look at life as a Jew living amongst the Palestinians and giving a truer picture of the reality of the situation in Israel and Palestine.

Saddening maddening real account seeing all that is good, bad and indifferent with the 'Occupation'. Well worth a read for anyone interested in the Middle East and specifically the Arab-Israeli conflict.

still reading it and am finding it fascinating to read of the experiences of a Jew living in an Arab area

I've had other Jews call me anti-semitic, self-hating so much I got to the point of wondering. But after dealing with other Zionists, listening to their position, looking at Torah, I started questioning the standard reasoning used to justify the creation of Israel. And discovered we were wrong. That I as a human didn't need to cling to any tribe. That I as a human refuse to bow to fear as other Jews would have me do. That I as a human have no desire to hide.And yet Zionists and even other Jews would force those things on me. And yet after reading this book, I find that as much as I like parts of Judaism (at least my interpretation of it). I'm disgusted at the hypocrisy of Jews who claim to follow moral and ethical guidelines taught in Torah or within our culture.It was Einstein I believe who said we'd lose our soul if we took Israel. It seems we have, or most of us. On top of that the lesson we took from the Holocaust except for some, is the wrong one. We said "Never again". Apparently, some took that to mean "Never again for us, but anyone else is fair game". So we choose to ignore the lesson when it was inconvenient.I have to say the book was further confirmation of some things, but I had hoped for better. I guess I should have known better.The experiences she talks about in the end has to do with the Jewish left-wing. Who are fine with the Palestinians, so long as they stay in their proper place. Their proper place, of course, being under the Jewish thumb and grateful for any scraps they get.She discusses why Palestinians aren't allowed to build or buy property, get services, allowed schools or have run down schools(or having to travel extreme distances to get to a school). Have electricity or running water. Forced to bribe Jews not to get bulldozed. The trauma and PTSD some of the troops suffer because of the way they treat other humans.The general unwillingness to walk in the other's shoes. Because if they did so, they'd realize they are us, we have done to them as was done to us, and we're enjoying it, for too many. Power corrupts.

un livre remarkable ecrit par une femme remarkable, qui montre la discrimination systematique pratiquee par les authorites israeliennes contre les citoyens musulmans. le masque democratique du sionisme tombe...

You don't often get someone, and I have to say this -- particularly a woman, who has the guts to do what Susan did. She essentially changed sides, from being a Jew to becoming a Muslim, and this took a lot of courage. I would hope that she has told her story truthfully, for we, outside of either religion, need the truth to make up our minds as to what is happening in Palestine.I've read a lot of history books on Palestine, from authors on both sides of the fence, and Susan's book was inspiring.I ordered 4 additional books to give to friends.

This book is an incredible look at how non Jews live inside Israel. Even though they are full citizens of Israel, the non Jewish population is treated as second class citizens. Without a constitution, there are no guaranteed civil rights for all citizens.The author grew up with the story of how Israel was a land without people for a people without land, but after becoming a citizen of Israel through the Law of Return, she has seen how the Zionist movement created their own facts and stories about the creation of Israel. The author decides to move into an Arab village in Northern Israel. The Arab- Israelis believe that she could be a spy and the Jewish-Israelis believe that she has become the enemy.The most enlightened part of this book is how the author describes the left side of politics within Israel. The lack of freedom of interaction between Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis, even within organizations that were created to foster open interactions, where the Arab-Israelis do not feel that they can truly let their experiences be known because the Jewish-Israelis will not stay and listen and the ever present threat of reprisals. While there are many political movements and human rights groups within Israel, the majority stop just shy of actually doing anything that would make a difference in the treatment and/or status of non-Jewish Israelis.This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the inner workings of Israel. This book is about the forgotten Palestinians, the ones who stayed during the wars in 1948 and in 1967.

This is a VERY interesting book and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this subject.I am better educated than most, when it comes to the history of Israel and Palestine. However, up until now, I have been incredibly ignorant about how Palestinian Arabs (who are citizens of Israel) are treated by the Israeli government. In case you haven't guessed, it's not a pretty picture.So why didn't I give this book 5 stars? Nathan does an excellent job of describing the predicament of the Arab Israeli Palestinians, but she gets carried away with some of her comments, history and explanations. She talks about few people being aware of the fact that over a million Arabs are Israeli citizens. I haven't found that to be true at all. In fact, American Jews are very aware of this. She mentions that Arabs are not allowed to serve in the Israeli military. I don't believe this is correct. I know that Arab citizens aren't required to serve in the IDF (for obvious reasons), but there most certainly are some Arabs who do. Her synopsis of Israeli history is only partially accurate. 750,000 Palestinians were not forced out of Israel in 1948. Probably 100s of thousands were, but some left when they were intimidated by other Palestinians. Some left when surrounding Arab countries told them to get out while they went to war with the Jews. It's not that Nathan has the history completely wrong (she certainly doesn't), but it just isn't completely accurate, either.Several folks on this website have given this book very negative reviews. I read those reviews carefully. The most common complaint is that the author doesn't present a balanced view. My reaction to that is --- How many books on the subject of Israel and Palestine are truly balanced? Also, there is SOME balance here, because the story is told from the vantage point of an Israeli Jew. Imagine how the story might read if it was written by a Palestinian! For those people who were so offended by this book not giving a balanced view, I have a couple of questions --- Were you offended by "The Case For Israel" by Dershowitz? Why not? His book isn't bad, but it's certainly not balanced. Did you give that book a 1-star review?