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History Corner
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Barbara
W. Tuchman On The Re-Establishment Of Israel
Barbara W. Tuchman, Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the
Bronze Age to Balfour (New York University Press;
1956; repr. 1984), Preface (ix)
‘The re-establishment of the state of Israel in the same land with the
same people and same language after 1900 years of exile seemed to me a unique
historical event.
I could not think of anything comparable.
The history of the Jews is in any case intensely peculiar in the fact of
having given the Western world its concept of origins and monotheism, its
ethical traditions, and the founder of its prevailing religion, yet suffering
dispersion, statelessness, and ceaseless persecution, and finally in our times
nearly successful genocide, dramatically followed by fulfillment of the
never-relinquished dream of return to the homeland.
Viewing this strange and singular history one cannot
escape the impression that it must contain some special significance for the
history of mankind, that in some way, whether one believes in divine purpose or
inscrutable circumstance, the Jews have been singled out to carry the tale of
human fate.’
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