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Title: Zionism and the State of Israel: A Moral Inquiry by Michael Prior ISBN: 0-415-20462-3 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: August, 1999 Format: Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $104.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3 (4 reviews)

Rating: 1
Summary: Grinds a heavy axe
Comment: Always be concerned when a scholar ventures out of area. That should be the rule placed on Michael Prior in his rather insipid and occasional shrill work of propaganda. The very title betrays the arc for the entire storyline of his work; what other nation or national liberation movement needs to face a "Moral inquiry?" Prior's work, so blatantly one sided that it is difficult to think people take this seriously, reads like nothing so much as a medieval passion play. As in those terrible pieces of anti-Semitic history, Prior offers up the Jews as perfect villain and the Arabs and Palestinians as innocent, near angelic, victims. His patronizing attitudes towards both is palpable throughout his work.

Prior does more than try his damndest to undermine the Jews historic attachment to Israel, a fact that prior to 1948 was recognized near universally by Christians and Muslims alike, but seeks to whitewash all of modern Arab history. The endless terror visited on Jews in Israel, from programs and massacres in the 1920's through to the endless wave of terrorism that Jews in Israel now confront goes largely ignored. His effort to paint Israel as a colonial movement ignores the Jews 2000 year attachment to the land of Israel, as well as the vibrant cultural, artistic, and scientific life that is present in the Jewish state. Even the rebirth of the Jews own language, Hebrew, the sure sign of a distinct nation is given no attention.

Creating a separate standard for Jews and Israel from other people and nations is the hallmark of modern anti-Semitism. That is in fact exactly what you see here. What other people must defend not only their right to their nation, but their very right to exist? Given Israel's position as the only democracy in the Middle East, indeed the only place in the region where Arabs can speak their minds and participate in an open political process without fear of the threat of violence, one does not need to make a leap to guess the particular axe Prior intends to grind.

Prior's relentless assault on truth and history is geared not to those who want to learn, but as propaganda at the ignorant and ammunition for those who hate Israel and the Jews. As such, it deserves scant attention as anything other than a symbol of the rising wave of anti-Semitism now engulfing the Jewish people.

Rating: 1
Summary: Very Selective In Interpretation of Scripture & History.
Comment: As a Christian I find that unfortunately, like numerous others in the Catholic Church, the author casts aside the Biblical heritage and inheritance of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Sadly this has been a fact of history which still prevails today, despite the clear Biblical statements and historical evidence available.

The author and other reviewers cast disrepute upon the findings of the learned Joan Peters and her book 'From Time Immemorial;The Origins of the Arab/Jewish Conflict Over Palestine.'

Ignored is the fact that Joan Peters was employed by the Arab world itself to investigate and promote the Arab viewpoint and that during her SEVEN YEARS of studying origianal documents,she found so much distortion and deceit that the evidence that she produced was alarming. So much so that the Arab world and it's supporters here immediately sought to discredit it. Granted, a few on the Zionist side refuse to accept some of the evidence, but most agree with it. Sadly the author sidesteps these.

Where is the author's attention to the indoctrination of racial hatred towards the Jewish people so widespread in the Palestinian world and it's culture of terrorism and intent to eradicate the Jewish state? As a Catholic priest, do such matters not bother him? Why like so many others, is he so intent on bringing down the Jewish people and their claims?

His bias against the Jewish state and it's people clearly shows here that 'A Moral Enquiry' is very selective in it's agenda, content and goals. One should ask where the 'moral enquiry' should realy be directed. It is sad that the Catholic Church is so selective in it's interpretation of history and scripture.

Might I respectfully recommend "Fabricating Israeli History : The `New Historians' (Cass Series--Israeli History, Politics, and Society)" by Efraim Karsh and "Claim of Dispossession : Jewish Land Settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948" by Aryeh Avneri.

If readers are interested in the facts surrounding this issue, there are better books available from more informed and learned scholars. Kindest regards.

Rating: 5
Summary: Not just for theologians
Comment: Michael Prior is a Catholic priest and a serious biblical scholar but the value of this book transcends creed and academic interests. His history of the Zionist movement is well written and authoritative and little known today, even in academic circles. He goes on to expose the dubious nature of Bible-based "religious" justification for the actions of the State of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians which it pursues. The "Shoah" excuse for Israeli Zionist abuse of the Palestinans, a people who after all had nothing to do with "the Holocaust", is documented and criticized. Zealous supporters of Israel will not like this book but they will find it hard to refute. It is a shame that the relatively high price of the book will diminish its availability. I'd like to put in the hands of every American Catholic Bishop, many of whom are ignorant of the matters discussed here.

One of the most cutting of Prior's insights about Catholic ignorance (among others - this is not a "Catholic" book) regarding Israel and Zionism is his exposure of the fatuous Catholic participation in a famous 1986 Catholic-Jewish dialogue in which a supposedly "expert" Catholic clerical particpant adopted entirely the ridiculous and fraudulent theories of Joan Peters, author of a book on the subject which has been recognized as an embarrassment even by Israeli Zionists. This is unfortunately not a rare occurence. Peters' claims, among other things, that Palestinian presence in the Holy Land is largely of recent provenance, draw by the jobs created by the Zionists and denies any Israeli expulsion of Palestinian Arabs as well as other such propaganda.

Prior's personal history is of interest. He admits to being a naive believer in the "spunky little Israel" idea and the usual "making-the-desert-bloom" beliefs promoted by the post-war Zionists until his experiences as a scholar and resident in Israel awakened him to the realities. This epiphany is not unusual in people who spend time in the area. Many United Nations peacekeepers, aid workers, religious folk (inluding even some Chritstian fundamentalists) and others have followed the same path. Their experiences have not had much impact on western political leaders however.