City of Oranges

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Not so much balanced as equally unbalanced - Rated
Adam Le Bor's heart is in the right place. The oral history aspects of this are great. As a former Zionist, I was especially struck by the image of the Arab jaffa-ites flight from the city in boats, under fire from Jewish artillery.

It's not an authoritative history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, so it's a bit annoying that he feels the need to put such big slabs of 'what happened next'. Surely by now everyone who is interested knows what happened in the six day war? And if not, is this the way for them to learn about it.

And he has a funny idea about balance too. I'd fully expect an oral history approach to tell the story from the participants' perspective - no problems with that. But sometimes the authorial voice seems to do the same thing, so that he's both Zionist and anti-Zionist at the same time.

Still, this is an enjoyable, interesting, warm and informative book, and well worth reading.

A wonderful book - Rated
In this vividly written book the tale of the lives of 6 families from Jaffa is told through the events in Palestine and Israel from 1920 to 2000. The families include Christian Arab notables, Muslim aristocracy, a large Sephardi clan and Ashkenazi refugees from Europe. This is the tale of Israel in microcosm as told through this community and its sister city of Tel Aviv. The book is strong on understanding the inner workings of the Arab and Jewish communities, the many cleavages and changes coming about in this period. Here we see Muslim and Christian Arab women shedding the veils and housework to become independent, we see Arab notables visiting Jewish prostitutes in Tel Aviv, we see the unending struggle for land and political supremacy and then we see the great folly of 1948, the Arab aggression and subsequent flight. The tale examines the lives of Arabs who became refugees, those who fled and returned and those who refused to flee. We see the inter-Arab infighting and accusation of collaboration. We see the Jewish ambivalence to the flight of their neighbors, but we also see poignant stories of Arabs and Jews helping each other down through generations.

This book captures well many of the aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It also captures the spirit of the times and changes in society. It shows how the rich Arabs of Jaffa were defeated in their nationalist rhetoric by the proletarian Jews of Tel Aviv. It shows how mob violence drove these communities apart. It shows how the post war era in Israel shaped up, how poor immigrant refugee Jews were driven from the Arab countries and housed in the former lands of Arabs who themselves became refugees. The author does a great job of interweaving history with the simple events of everyday life.

The greatest drawback of this book is that it is a tad popular and journalistic in its historical telling. However it means at times the explanations for events are wildly biased or inconsistent. However it appears the author is as unbiased as he could be given the circumstances and does not get bogged down in the Arab-Israel endless debate/rhetoric as is common in many publication on the subject. The book tries its best to understand with minimal judgment. A class A read, very insightful and well written.

Seth J. Frantzman

City of Oranges - Rated
City of Oranges is must reading for anyone with even a glint of interest in the Middle East, and should be required text for those working the policy desks at Whitehall or Foggy Bottom. Lebor's City of Oranges adds a rich layer of oral history and substance to today's headlines. Coming on the heals of Lebor's lauded biography of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, City of Oranges is his most thought provoking work to date.

Excellent - Rated
City of Oranges is a refreshingly balanced account of the modern history of Jaffa and the birth of the Jewish state.
LeBor's eye for detail and the rich family accounts bring the story to life, turning a historical account into a thoroughly enjoyable read. Reading about the lives of the six families and their truly amazing experiences manages to personalize the Isreali-Palestinian conflict.
It's an innovative approach that makes this book worth reading for anyone interested in Israel/Palestine.