In this ambitious work, Jeremy Bowen details the happenings between Israel and Palestine. This Middle East war sparked much debate throughout the world especially amongst historians. Bowen uses this work as a personal recount of the six days that shaped the world as it is today. Bowen, an experienced BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) journalist and editor, presented the world with the Radio 4 series which allowed listeners to learn of the Six Day war. Through a detailed assessment of Bowens words readers of the book are able to submerse themselves back to 1967 and view how monumental moments such as West Bank settlements, the rise of Yasser Arafat, Black September and the 1973 Yom Kippur war all have roots stemming from the Six-Day War.
The construction of the book meshes well with its organization and lends itself successfully to the study of this important time period in history. Each chapter is broken down into detail illustrating the location and military time that the event took place. This allowed for this work to logically fit into the topic of war. All chapters are composed of several defining parts that maintain a sense of steadiness through Bowen’s recount. Preceding a meticulous introduction, the events leading up to the war are found before Bowen explodes into his personal narrate of the events using historical evidence to support his theories. Unfortunately, this was a wearisome time for the Israeli and Palestinian people but it leaves for an intriguing historical moment for outsiders. The book is well-referenced, making skillful use of first-person sources and an assortment of key players including King Hussien of Jordan, President Nasser, Moshe Dayan and General Munam Abdul Husaini.
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...use it fails to recognize the significance of the circumstances at hand and just focuses on the shrill aspect of the writer. The profusion of tanks, warplanes and immense infantry forces of the Arab states seem to crumble. On the eve of the final day of war Bowen explains how though Israel avoided a ground war with Syria in the beginning; Israel had no choice but to retaliate as result of the continuous gunfire from Syria. Especially with the awareness that if Israel did not act immediately those Israelis occupying the northern area of the communities would be in harm’s way and not be safe if Syria gained control over the Golan Heights. Under the command of the then minister of defense, Hafez al-Assad some Arab troops, that had not yet retreated, was ordered to strike.
The final day of the war, June 10, 1967 “Israel had destroyed its enemies…” (Bowen, pp. 313)
King Solomon wrote wisely, and later was wisely paraphrased by the folk band “The Byrds”, “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven...” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,8). Seasons often represent the periods of a person’s life; birth, youth, age and death. In the short story “Summer” by David Updike, the lake provides an eternal and unchanging witness to Homer’s transition from season to season and from boy to man.
The fourth Chapter of Estella Blackburn’s non fiction novel Broken lives “A Fathers Influence”, exposes readers to Eric Edgar Cooke and John Button’s time of adolescence. The chapter juxtaposes the two main characters too provide the reader with character analyses so later they may make judgment on the verdict. The chapter includes accounts of the crimes and punishments that Cooke contended with from 1948 to 1958. Cooke’s psychiatric assessment that he received during one of his first convictions and his life after conviction, marring Sally Lavin. It also exposes John Button’s crime of truancy, and his move from the UK to Australia.
Thirteen days is a historical account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is told from the perspective of Robert F. Kennedy, senator and brother to President John F. Kennedy. It is an account of the thirteen days in October of 1962. It lasted from the 16th to the 28th. During this time many crucial events in United States.
In “Two Years Are Better than Four”, Liz Addison argues against Rick Perlstein’s article “What’s the Matter With College?”. While Perlstein questions the value of college as it currently is, Addison argues that the “community college system is America’s hidden public service gem”(Addison 257). By way of that, she defends the value of college. Unsurprisingly, as with most situations, the truth is somewhere in between ends of a spectrum created by these two articles. While I agree with Addison’s idea of community college being an accessible starting point for everyone, she fails to appropriately represent the unique culture often found in these types of colleges. Also, I think that she also fails to look at the overall purpose of attending school and then neglects to acknowledge the benefits of a four year university.
In Six Days of War, Michael Oren did an excellent job of drawing connections between the Six-Day War in June of 1967 and present-day conflicts. Doing so kept the reader engaged and interested because more of the information is directly relevant to his or her own life. Also, this cause-and-effect style is fundamental to being able to understand how history remains relevant. The clearly presented and detailed information in Six Days of War makes it an interesting book for high school students as well as informative to
Michael MacDonald’S All Souls is a heart wrenching insider account of growing up in Old Country housing projects located in the south of Boston, also known as Southie to the locals. The memoir takes the reader deep inside the world of Southie through the eyes of MacDonald. MacDonald was one of 11 children to grow up and deal with the many tribulations of Southie, Boston. Southie is characterized by high levels of crime, racism, and violence; all things that fall under the category of social problem. Social problems can be defined as “societal induced conditions that harms any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society” (Long). The social problems that are present in Southie are the very reasons why the living conditions are so bad as well as why Southie is considered one of the poorest towns in Boston. Macdonald’s along with his family have to overcome the presence of crime, racism, and violence in order to survive in the town they consider the best place in the world.
Most people think Israel always belonged to the Jews but it wasn’t always a safe, holy place where Jews could roam freely. Along with Palestine, it was actually forcefully taken from the Arabs who originated there. The main purpose of this novel is to inform an audience about the conflicts that Arabs and Jews faced. Tolan’s sources are mainly from interviews, documentations and observations. He uses all this information to get his point across, and all the quotes he uses is relevant to his points. The author uses both sides to create a non-biased look at the facts at hand. The novel starts in the year 1967 when Bashir Al-Khairi and his cousins venture to their childhood home in Ramallah. After being forced out of their homes by Jewish Zionists and sent to refuge for twenty years. Bashir arrives at his home to find a Jewish woman named Dalia Eshkenazi. She invites them into her home and later the...
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
The Palestine and Israel conflict has been carrying on for the better part of the last century. This is a conflict that seemingly has no end in sight. Multiple wars between Palestine and Israel have only complicated things for the inhabitants of the land they are fighting over. Due to the second war in 1967, Israel is now in control of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. This is particularly important to the conflict and how the dialectical perspective plays a part of it because these are two areas that many Palestinians call home, leaving them under Israel rule.
Tuesdays with Morrie is an inspiring tale in which Mitch, a young man struggling with the concept of a meaningful life is given a second chance, and a new outlook on life when he meets his past teacher, Morrie. They quickly renew the relationship they once possessed in college. Morrie becomes Mitch’s mentor, role model and friend once again. This time around, however, the lessons are on subjects such as life, love, and culture.
Bourke, Dale Hanson. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2013. N. pag. Print.
The book Lives on the Boundary, written by Mike Rose, provides great insight to what the new teaching professional may anticipate in the classroom. This book may be used to inform a teacher’s philosophy and may render the teacher more effective. Lives on the Boundary is a first person account composed of eight chapters each of which treat a different obstacle faced by Mike Rose in his years as a student and as an educator. More specifically in chapters one through five Mike Rose focuses on his own personal struggles and achievements as a student. Ultimately the aim is to highlight the underpreparedness of some of today’s learners.
Hedges’s first entry has him in Beit Agron receiving his press pass and preparing for the dangerous trip ahead. While leaving he notes a man of Israeli Arabic descent that voices his opinion on the Palestinians and how they “are animals,” and that “…Israel is a land of love…Palestinians do not love…We should put fire to them.”
Summing up the whole book, it can be said that is a tale of a journey from a perpetrator to bystander and from victim to up stander. This piece of writing describes and even teaches the readers various lessons regarding what they are not aware of within the historical events and the historical backgrounds. Many a times what you hear or see is quite different from reality and developing of a conclusion merely on the basis of the stance that others portray is not wise at all. The journey undergone by the author helps in the gaining of answers of various unanswered questions which reside in the minds of the readers throughout the world. Eventually the author has become a critic of the Israeli occupation as well as a supporter of the Palestine