The Haj

I decided to write a review on this book because of some of the negative feedback it has received, accusing the author of being biased, racist, and his writing to be historically innacurate. I dont think that calling Mr Uris racist is accurate - the whole point of this book is to show that much of the Palestinians tragic situation that rose as a result of the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 was because there was no one around to negotiate on their behalf or protect there interests: the jews were about to get a state of their own, which was planned first and foremost as a jewish state and certainly didnt include a palestinian government, Abdullah wanted to expand Jordan and build a "Greater Syria" empire amd therefore had little interest in granting the palestinians any kind of state of there own, Egypt having aspirations of her own and knowing that the British and the Americans were by her side decided to get involved in the war and get what she can also,territory - wise: this would not have included granting the palestinians a state for themselves, only achieving the expanding of the Egyptian territory. The list goes on and on. Ultimaltely, the Palestinians had no one to turn to and no one to look out for them, never having any experience in self government or in democratic liberal politics. I think that this is the main focus of the book, and the real "eye opener" that it holds, because this offers an outlook rarely seen in todays press.Mr. Uris's pro-jewish views are obvious - he himself is a jew and he obviously feels for them and sympathizes there case as seen in his other books like Exodus and Mila 18. However, he shows much sympathy for the palestinian cause when he writes about how they themselves were victimized by other nation leaders who had aspirations and interests of there own, leaders who took advantage of the lack of government and leadership within the palestinians to achieve there own political ambitions and desires. His description of the arab life that some of the readers have found insulting is inacurate. These readers are judging the book through western eyes, and not understanding the basic element of the story. The fact of the matter is, that the palestinian arabs, the fellah and the bedouin alike, were not western cultured - far from it - and for that reason western moral standards like a 2 person marriage as opposed to pologamy, linguistic skills as opposed to analphabetism, feminism as opposed to hierarchy between man and woman have no place in the arab palestinian world of the 1940's. Palestine in the 1940's wasnt western cultured, and people living there at that time acted accordingly. That their actions are judged by us "Westeners" to be of ill moral - thats not Mr. Uris's doing. The reason that the jews in the story are portrayed as skilled, hardworking, ect, is because they had a European (western) background and culture - these ideals are western ideals and therefore would not have characterized a palestinian fellah of the 1940's or a bedoin. Throughout the book there is always a contrast between the jews and the palestinians based on this theme, and its not meant to show any prejudism or racism, its meant to show us the contrast between the west and the palestinian culture, that survived for thousands of years before the west conquered the middle east and forced changes on the people. This is just another example of how the Palestinians lacked the skills to survive the "western" conquest because of there lack of government and liberal-parliamentary politics which did exist at this point in the surrounding Arab nations and thus ensured their survival after the British left.All in all this is a great story, really interesting and thoughtful. Its an intelligent book for intelligent people, who realize that the world in the 40's 30's was very different than the world today, and that the Middle East region at that time was very poor, very anti-western and the adaptation of western culture was held only by a few (the rich and the powerful of the Arab world) while the rest of the population was a mix of a variety of ethnic groups who clung zealously to their own heritage and ways because the world around them was changing so fast and suddenly that this became their ownly source of comfort.

Open up your newspaper. Suicide bomber kills ten! Where? Israel. Iraq. Turkey. Day after day, it seems the violence in this area of the world never ends. We read of seemingly endless peace proposals whose terms towards the Palestinians look generous that are rejected out of hand. And we wonder: why? How can this situation be changed? Can Arab and Jew ever find a solution they both can live with?In The Haj, Uris has attempted to show some of the reasons behind today's problems. Told from the Arab viewpoint, within its fictional confines it details some of the historical events of this area from just before World War I to the 1956 Arab-Israeli conflict. As Uris is well known for portraying Jews in a very favorable light, the immediate question springs to mind of just how unbiased he could be with this portrayal, an item that should probably be kept in the back of your mind while reading this, and further reading from other sources should be used to confirm the historical facts presented here.But the picture Uris paints of the Arab culture and history rings with veracity. The story follows the family of Haj Ibrahim, mainly concentrating on the father himself and his son Ishmael. Haj Ibrahim is the leader of the small village of Tabah, a position he obtained by force over his older brother. The depiction of Haj as patriarch, whose word within the family is absolute law, who as leader must never show cowardice or lose face, is striking. The position of women within the Arab society, the importance of the teachings of the Q'uran to their daily lives, the relative value of a `book' education, are all shown within the dynamics of this family. It is this portrait of the culture, steeped in a history going back 3,000 years, that is the fundamental lynch-pin of this story, as Uris shows just how the culture and its expectations for individual behavior shape the events of history. His portrait of the British exercise of the Palestinian Mandate is damning, but is placed side-by-side with the internal squabbling of the various Arab tribes, and even the Jewish Haganah comes in for some harsh words.But most relevant to today's situation are the events that followed immediately after the 1948 declaration of independence of the Israeli state, when Haj and his entire village evacuate in anticipation of the invasion of Arab armies. Here is the genesis of the Palestinian problem, as the thousands of Arab refugees are forcibly contained in various camps, with no resources, no facilities, and aid packages from foreign countries are systematically confiscated by the Arab `governments' (often shown as merely the latest strong man who has managed to briefly seize power). But worse is the fact that, contrary to their heritage, within these camps Arab would not help Arab, no single leader would be accepted, no efforts were made by their inhabitants to improve conditions, as the camps were temporary, surely soon the Arab world would drive the Jews into the sea and they could return to their homes. It is from these conditions, along with constant hate-filled rhetoric from various Arab leaders, that the terrorist groups of today were formed.The story Uris tells is powerful, its illumination of the reasons for today's conditions brilliant. It does not have quite the emotional power of his Exodus or Mila-18, nor yet the sweeping portrayal of the thousands of years of history of the area so well portrayed by Michener's The Source, but it will leave you with a better understanding of a culture and people who are shaking many of the events of today.--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

This book is unashamedly racist. The Arabs are stupid, self-serving, ignorant, backward. The Jews are all saints. It's completely ridiculous.I am a fan of Mila 18 and Trinity. And the story itself is interesting, but every page jars the reader with reminders that the Palestinians are incapable of governing themselves and the entire Arab world is out for what it can get; only the Jews are equable. Only the Jews are capable of love.Very disappointing.

I really wish that I'd read this decades ago. It brings the history alive. Racist? well, no. Haj Ibrahim is a thoughtful but confused person. Ishmael, his son is a dispassionate observer. Excellent and, er, brings the history alive. For those who claim that it's racist - it clearly isn't. The "Haj" of the title clearly needs to re-evaluate his views, whatever his attitudes to his wives and children.

I expect nothing less from Uris!It is a superb tale which has been extremely well researched.It gives us an insight into the Arab psyche

I would say 75% is really good and very enjoyable and liked the history etc very much. However I found the latter part not as interesting and a bit far fetched in parts. Unsure if I fully understand the ending!

This novel really puts you in the picture and well worth reading.