Understanding the Holy Land: Answering questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

by Mitch Frank

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unlike any other situation in the world today. It's in the news daily, can spark intense emotional arguments, and influences American foreign policy.
Yet, a real understanding of this heated conflict is hard to come by.
In Understanding the Holy Land, Mitch Frank offers straightforward explanations. Answering questions from "What is intifada?" to "Why is peace so hard?" Frank carefully covers the significant developments of this complex disagreement.
Written in a question-and-answer format for sixth-graders and up, and illustrated with black-and-white photos and maps, this book will help young people understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its significance to the world.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2005

Reviews

[Cambri Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really will done overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's geared toward teens and though it's just an overview of all the dynamics, it's still a lot of information. Would recommend to any adult as an intro to the conflict. One thing that felt lacking was a look at the religious culture at play, the perspective was primarily political and psychological.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’ve all heard about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the news, yet how many of us really understand the complex and emotional issues involved, and why does a peaceful solution continue to be such a challenge?

In Understanding the Holy Land, Mitch Frank takes the reader through the history and events which lead up to or have been directly involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each topic is presented in a non-biased manner, giving equal coverage and information from both sides of the conflict. This book covers a great deal of information over a long span of time; each chapter is broken up into sections with each section clearly marked by bold large type-font. Having each chapter sectioned as such provides the reader an easier reading experience since each topic is clearly labeled and separate allowing the reader to not become overwhelmed or lost in the vast amount of information presented. Some readers may be put-off by the fact that the majority of the book is text, it does include a considerably small number of images throughout; however, they are in black and white which may not appeal to many readers. Besides the lack of visuals, readers should find the information written in an easily understandable format making the vast amount of information presented more comprehensible overall. Frank includes a detailed timeline at the end of the book which offers a better understanding of each event’s place within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although published in 2005, students studying and researching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should still find this book extremely useful and relevant for information on this topic.

[Christine Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

While visiting Israel, I wondered why our Jewish guide could not enter certain places, like Bethlehem. Nobody was willing to explain. They just said it was complicated. This book helped clear up the mystery by explaining the history of the Jews and Arab inhabitants of the disputed lands and it IS complicated.
The intended audience is young people, but I found the broad overview of the conflict to be very helpful. The first time this conflict registered on my radar was in 1967 after the six-day war. Churches considered the Israeli win and acquisition of the Temple Mount to be especially significant, even a fulfillment of prophecy. In the fifty-plus years since, it seems that no peace is to be had by either Jews or Palestinians and no one has answers on how to dispel the distrust on both sides. Maranatha!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to understand the conflict in the Holy Land. It’s fairly high-level but I feel like I can take this info and read a book that covers the intricacies of the conflict more in depth. It’s like a book that would be called holy land for dummies but more respectful and informational. Very unbiased to either side of the conflict, also.

[Lisa Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise writing in Q&A format by reputable international reporter. I'm definitely referring back to this book for this complex topic which always seems to leave me struggling to remember important details.

[Dawne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so helpful as I start reading about the Holy Land in preparation for my trip in February 2020. It was easy to read and helps you understand a very complicated situation in a simple way. This is the best place to start as you try understand this complex conflict.

[Linda Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book at Middle school book fair some years ago. The book is suitable for middle school through adults. It gives a balanced look at history and issues of the Israeli- Palestinian conflicts back to Abraham. It is written clearly and fairly.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty relevant. Helps me confirm my position

[Emily Pickell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the format of this book. The question-answer style I think makes it more interesting for students. It also allows people to browse through the book and read about the section they need/want more information on or focus on those section they are more interested in.
I felt Frank put a real effort into being fair and give both sides the benefit of the doubt. It's very apparent he knows more about Judaism than Islam but other than that is hard to find passages where he is siding with one group over another. I also like that the book tries hard to be fact-based and not opinion-based. He lays it all out there for everyone to see. The glossary and index in the back are very helpful. Some maps are great and well labelled and some are blurry. Overall a decent stab at making a compicated situation accessible to young adults.

[Swiftsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book sufficient for expanding a child's general knowledge regarding the Israeli-Palestinian.
Words are simple, easily put, and in my opinion, an undercuts the true complexity of the conflict. It's not as simple as a desire of an own place to call home, though that had been an initial vindication for it. The longer the conflict extends for, the more complex the issues become. I believe it's more of an instilled mixture of pride and fear that prevents either side from giving in.
It's just been too long with too many sacrifices.

Land is land, Land is property, Land if Ownership, Land is heritage, Land is Belief.

Not a very useful book for extensive research essays. I'm saying this only because I read this book for my Extended Essay research, it did not help much. I recommend Ian Pappe.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, so I was too dumb to get all the way through "The Fateful Triangle," and this book for ages 12 and up does lay out the conflict as clearly as a book of this nature probably could be expected to. That being said, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still extremely complex, and it was difficult to follow and sort out the different peace treaties and rebellions. This book did do a good job (mostly) of presenting a non-biased view of the rights and wrongs of both sides in their claims for holy lands and homelands. Recommended for people like me who can't seem to wrap their head around this important issue in any other way.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitch Frank provides an introduction to the conflict in the Holy Land, discussing who Palestinians and Israelis are and what the opposing groups want to gain from their continuing conflict, as well as the history of the two groups and the Holy Land itself.

This is a very straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A timeline, glossary and index make this a very useful resource for students or a nice overview for adults who want to brush up on world events.

[Rider JadeStone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, wen i grow up, i am going to Israel and staighten things out for them!!! no one else will, so i WILL!!!
Isreal is SOOOOOOOO small, why cant the arab countries work together??? havent they thought of that?????

Even though i no every palestinian would like to get rid of the jews once and for all, but we need to be peaceful and share The Holy Land, no matter if we want to or not.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book for middle school students who want to have basic information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The format is easy to understand, the issues are explained in a simplified way. Not intended to be a study of the complexities of the issues; it just answers some simple questions; the who, what, when, where, why. It is a good starting point for further reading.

[Readersaurus · Rating 2 out of 5]

A surprisingly dull and dry read. Full of maps and diagrams that, unfortunately, are either undated and unlabeled or labeled so small that no one could hope to know what point they are there to make. Surely there is a better kids' book out there on this topic.

[goddess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was simply written and very straightforward, and actually kind of interesting. Frank came across as unbiased, too, which is hard to find in a journalist-turned author; esp someone who works for TIME Magazine. He presented both sides.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, I already read this book...but I need to read it again because I still don't understand...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh...

[Allen Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was very good at description of the Palestinian & Israel conflict, where it started, how it started, who were the players, the Plo, Hamas, Zionist, Arabs & Britain's involvement.