The Haj by Leon Uris - great read

The Haj by Leon Uris

GREAT READ
This is a very engaging tale but its most intriguing aspect is how it gives you - in an engaging way - the background to the creation of the state of Israel and the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Gives an Israeli point of view but is not unfair. Very good historic research. Published in 1984 but should be reread today, especially if Israel goes ahead with a plan to attack Iran in 2010.

JEWISH-ARAB FRIENDS

The book is built around the complex relationship between the Arab Muslim chief (Muktar),Ibrahim, of a strategic village between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast (Tel Aviv, Jaffa) and a Jewish defense organizer, Gideon, who speaks perfect Arabic and has lived with desert Bedouin. Gideon is part of the leadership that conceives and delivers a modern Jewish state against huge odds. Ibrahim suffers the consequences of the Palestinians' failure to organize a viable state.

The descriptions of the action and politics of the 1948 war makes the treacherous situation understandable, and tragic for the Palestinians.

GEOGRAPHY, THE BIBLE, TODAY

The descriptions of the geography of Judea and Galilee really helps us to understand the Bible as well as 1948 and today's conflict. For instance, I gained a new appreciation of the story of the Good Samaritan. The story takes place along the treacherous road running up to Jerusalem through the Judean hills. The wild hills surrounding this road make it possible for thieves and rebels to hide out even from the well-organized and well-armed Roman and later British forces. Thus the people traveling this road would be in a constant state of fear and in a hurry to keep moving so as not to be beaten and robbed. A traveler seeing a person bleeding on the side of the road might sympathize but could be much too scared to stop. A traveler might even think the injured person was part of a trap by thieves. This makes the courage of the Good Samaritan all the more remarkable. And Jesus's challenge to love your neighbor even stronger.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR - HOW?

The "whole law and the prophets" of Jews and Christians is summarized in two commandments: Love God with your whole heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. Exploring how love of neighbor works, and does not work, is a deep theme of The Haj.

Having the person who shows courageous love of neighbor be a Samaritan reinforces the idea that the idea of neighbor is limited by tribe, nation, race, difficult circumstances, or hard times. Of course Jesus probably never told this story. It was most likely added by the early church community as they worked out what their message to the world would be. If you are religious you would see this story as inspired by the Holy Spirit to gain a deeper understanding of the message of Jesus. If you are not religious you would see it as a further development of the theme of what it means to be human (at least one of the main themes of the Bible as a whole).

A Samaritan was a kind of Jewish "heretic," despised by the Jews and considered automatically sinful and evil by birth. In actually the Samaritans in ancient times were simply Jews who did not surrender their independent worship privileges to the Temple in Jerusalem. David and Solomon wanted to do away with all Jewish worship sites except for the Temple. They succeeded, except for the Samaritans. You can sympathize with both David/Solomon and the Samaritans. Solomon/David saw centralized worship as vital to the creation of a centralized kingdom, the only form of government that could defend the Jews against hostile outsiders. Centralized worship was also necessary to break the hold of fractious tribalism on the Jews. On the other hand you can value the Samaritan insistence on autonomy.

Reading this book, I thought a lot about the separate political directions taken by the Samaritan Jews and the Jews of Judea and Galilee. The Arab Muslims stayed with a tribal organization and hence failed to organize as a nation and found an effective state, as this book so accurately portrays. Looking back from 1948 makes you read the Bible from a different perspective.

If tribalism is the basis of truth, loyalty, virtue, can you love your neighbor.

Does the US, committed now to perpetual warfare, run the risk of developing a tribal mentality that will hasten its economic and moral decline?

Please read this book!