An Introduction by Uri Avnery
• The Arabs believed that the Jews had been implanted in Palestine by Western imperialism, in order to subjugate the Arab world. The Zionists, on the other hand, were convinced that the Arab resistance to the Zionist enterprise was simply the consequence of the murderous nature of the Arabs and of Islam.
• The Israeli public must recognize that besides all the positive aspects of the Zionist enterprise, a terrible injustice has been inflicted on the Palestinian people.
• This requires a readiness to hear and understand the other side's position in this historical conflict, in order to bridge the two national experiences and unify them in a joint narrative.
1. The violent confrontation that broke out in October 2000 and was called the "al-Aqsa Intifada" is but another stage of the historical conflict that began with the creation of the Zionist Movement at the end of the nineteenth century.
2. A fifth generation of Israelis and Palestinians has already been born into this conflict. The entire mental and material world of this generation has been shaped by this confrontation, which dominates all spheres of their lives.
3. In the course of this long conflict, as in every war, an enormous mass of myths, historical falsifications, propaganda slogans, and prejudices has accumulated on both sides.
4. The behavior of each of the two sides to the conflict is shaped by their historical narrative, the way they view the history of the conflict over the last 120 years. The Zionist historical version and