The Following review was contributed by: John Walsh

The modern world is a complex place and modern technology enables migration and processes of globalization that add to the complexity. The claims that people have to the truth and to ownership can be difficult to separate and adjudicate. In many cases, modern society is capable of coping with complexity and ambiguity and these are indications of civilisation. In other cases, it is necessary to cope with absolutism or fundamentalism, especially with respect to some people’s religious beliefs.

One of the most contentious areas of the modern world is the Middle East and, in particular, the nature of the state of Israel and the Palestinians.

The modern state of Israel was created by western powers who saw the justice in a Jewish state but did not have an answer to the issue of what to do with the Palestinians living in that land.

In examining the background to this issue, an exploration of what she refers to as the Holy Land, Dorothy Drummond provides a straightforward historical analysis suitable for people who have very little knowledge of the region. Her analysis is primarily political and pays a great deal of attention to religious issues. There is little consideration of the economic or social issues which create religions and the role of an interventionist God is accepted without overt questioning. Biblical accounts are taken at face value. For example, Moses is portrayed as coming down from the mountain with replicas of the same tablets of laws after having broken the first set in anger owing to his people’s desire for to worship a golden calf. There is no consideration of the possibility that the first attempt to introduce commandments was unsuccessful and Moses was instructed to go away and come back with something more acceptable.

The role of women and their treatment in society is also largely ignored, which makes for very little difference between the three religions considered (Islam, Judaism and Christianity) and treats them as essentially equal.

As the author herself observes, the book makes no effort to answer the question posed in the title (which rather suggests the title should have been changed) and instead seeks to provide background to understanding. This she has done in a clear and mostly readable manner, although the curious decision to place all actions in the present tense is strange and ultimately rather irritating. It is even-handed to the point of being non-judgmental about some of the horrible outrages of that blood-soaked land. Perhaps the most useful sections will be those dealing with Arab history, since this is an area of which her audience is most likely to be ignorant.