Publisher: Sutton Publishing Limited
Length: 294 pages (30 chapters)
Penned by a veteran Australian journalist and author of several books, Jill Hamilton, God Guns and Israel presents a comprehensive overview of one of the pivotal places in history, the birthplace of two monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity, and a holy place for Islam ‘Palestine’. The parched soil of which is sacred to three faiths, three worlds and three dissimilar ways of life.
To compile this book, the author did extensive research, visited the Middle East and interacted with people close to the characters who steered events towards what would become the future state of Israel. The book in itself is a testament to all her endeavours. As it epitomizes the merging of religious, political and military elements which resulted in the Jewish dream of a homeland in Palestine. Something that is seldom searched together.
The book is structured into four main sections. The first part, the shortest, outlines the formation of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s war cabinet during World War I and introduces the Balfour Declaration, a crucial moment in Zionist history.
The second section delves deeper into Britain’s religious and political landscape, highlighting how Christian Zionism and biblical prophecy played a role in shaping British attitudes toward Jews and the Holy Land.
With special reference to the land of the bible, the subsequent portion of the book sheds light on the developments between the First World War and the Palestine mandate (1922).
The final section, the most crucial, explores the British mandate era and the events leading up to the creation of Israel in 1948.
The book debunks some major preoccupied myths prevalent in our society about the Palestine-Israel conflict. Take, for instance, the common belief that foreign secretary Arthur Balfour was the architect of the Jewish homeland while it was David Lloyd George who acted as a midwife to the birth of Israel. Similarly, it is often assumed that Balfour himself was Jewish, while in reality, most of the key figures -including Balfour- in the British government who supported Zionism were devout evangelical Christians. Another widely held misconception is that Britain favoured the Jews during the mandate period when, in fact, both Jews and Arabs felt betrayed by British actions at different times. It also highlights how Jewish land acquisition in Palestine began legally through diplomacy rather than through immediate military occupation in the 1840s and the subsequent decades.
To comment on the book, I would say it might be an ordinary book for others, but for Pakistani readers who are often caged in a state-held narrative and are barred from thinking out of the box, this is an eye-opening work of art. The good thing for the readers is that Jill Hamilton has presented facts without sensationalism and didn’t hesitate to highlight the mistakes and misdeeds of all parties involved—be it the British, Jews, or Arabs.
At the boiling point of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the importance of this book increases. Personally, it broadened my knowledge about this centuries-old matter, and I encourage all the readers -who have a keen interest in the unfolding of the recent developments in the land of apostles- to go for it.
However, be mindful that the second section, which explores the divisions within Christianity and their influence on British policy, may feel tedious for some readers, as it shifts away from direct events in the Middle East.
In any case, If you have opted to give it a read, Good luck I am sharing a soft copy of the second edition in the comments section.
