No comments about Buchenwald: A Survivor's Memories.

No comments about Outwitting Hitler, Surviving Stalin: The Story of Arthur Spindler.

No comments about Charlotte and Lionel: A Rothschild Love Story.

No comments about In The Shadow of Destruction: Recollections Of Transnistria And Illegal Immigration to Eretz Israel, 1941-1947 (Library of Holocaust Testimonies).

No comments about From Lwow to Parma: A Young Woman's Escape from Nazi-occupied Poland (Library of Holocaust Testimonies).

No comments about Making Sense: The Meaning of a Life.

2 comments about A Double Thread: Growing Up English and Jewish in London.

1. In at least one sense, the title is misleading: What Gross has accomplished in this volume is to weave an enormous, vividly colorful, and immensely intricate tapestry with almost infinite "threads" or themes. They include "the story of [his] two separate entwined legacies of being English and being Jewish" during 1935-52 as well as the Battle of Britain when he and his mother were relocated from London to Sussex to avoid the Blitz, the gradual awareness of the Holocaust, and eventually the establishment of the State of Israel.

   For me, one of Gross's most powerful qualities is his modesty (almost self-deprecation) as his memoir proceeds through such volatile times. For example, on the matter of anti-Semitism, he observes that "to have had a religious upbringing at least assures that in your own mind you are a Jew first, and the object of other people's dislike second." Young Gross seems to have been spared the ordeal of what other Jews his age experienced during the Third Reich. With regard to his own faith, "for many Jews, whatever the larger historical balance sheet, anti-Semitism is the heart of the matter, the only significant reason why they still feel Jewish." I was also deeply moved by his portrayal of his father, Avraham ben Oser, who became a doctor. The adult Gross very closely resembles that wise and generous man. It is not so much that father and son tolerate anti-Semitism; rather, that they absorb it and thereby deprive it of any legitimacy.

   Frequently as I read this book, I wondered what their conversations would have discussed had young Andras Grof emigrated to London rather than to New York and become friends with young Gross. (Grof changed his name to Grove and later served as CEO of Intel Corporation. I highly recommend his own memoir, Swimming Across.) The balance of Gross's engaging and eloquent autobiography reveals his thoughts and feelings about the Cold War years during which Stalin executed so many Jewish artists and writers. He also comments insightfully on T.S. Eliot ("who may be a great poet but he isn't greater than the Jewish people") and W.H. Auden whose social values are more compatible with Gross's own. There is great sensitivity in this book but almost no sentimentalism. Were a higher rating available, I would gratefully give it to this unique and compelling personal narrative.




2. I really enjoyed this book, especially the last chapter, in which Gross tells about his reading. Like Gross, I love books about books. Like Gross, I read a lot of comic books in my youth (mainly Wonder Woman) and, later, mysteries (all of Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie and many more). Like Gross, I thought there would always be time later to read the classics, and also like him, I tend to pick up whatever catches my eye at the library. Now I'm 63, and although I've read much of the great stuff, there's still much to be read. My tastes don't run to T. S. Eliot and Gross's moderns but backward to the nineteenth-century English novelists and beyond.

   Gross has a pleasant, low-key style and, it seemed to me, a realistic take on childhood and its memories.

No comments about Life in a Jewish Orphanage.

5 comments about Enemy in the Promised Land.

1. The writer thought she has written about Israel. But actually she has written just about the things that her narrow perception has caught. The fact that she is very bright misleading to conclude she is reflecting the reality.



2. i was very impressed with her ability to analises but very dissapointed to see that she have turn every thing sweet and nice to bitter and bad.



3. While the book contains many biographical and historical information, the book i s centered around three years the author, daughter of an Egyptian career diplomat, spent in Israel, long before Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations. Israel, Hebrew and things Jewish have always held a fascination for the author, and she decided to visit Israel and see for herself what the country and its people are like. Ms. Hasan's visit to Israel met with family disaproval, a hostile Arab press and thr eats of imprisonment by her own government. Having withstood all these, the author's courage and strong will are even more note worthy.

   Right from the start, Ms. Hassan, the daughter of an Egyptian diplomat, impresse d me with her sincerity, humanity and powers of observation. Ms. Hassan encounters a very different reality from what she's read about Israel in the Arab media. "Ver y different" doesn't always mean better as it doesn't always mean worse. With envi able sensitivity, humour and humanity, Ms. Hassan is shares and disects her experienc es in the "promissed land".

   Ms. Hassan didn't enter Israel tabula rasa; She has many preconceived notions ab out the Arab-Israeli conflict, and those may or may not be different from those of h er readers. But she's very open and forthcoming in stating her views up front, and she's sincerely interested in opposing views. Her style of writing is neither preachy nor dogmatic, and so I think the book can be enjoyed by people with views different from her's.

   Her insights about life in Israel, the Israeli-Zionist ethos, and the various so cial strata she encounters are breath-taking. It's difficult to see how someone could acquir e such a profound understanding of Israel after such a short stay (3 years) in the country.

   During the three years the author spent in Israel, she underwent many experience s, some positive, some negative, some sad, and some just plainly bizzare. During th ose three years, the author has occassion to discover what Israel is really like -- to a celebrity, to an annonymous tourist, to a newly immigrated Jew, etc. She meets w ith people, is exposed to their views and feelings and fears. She finds friendship i n Israel, and love. She's also exposed to the uglier sides of life in Israel -- to the rac ism and the poverty, to the facist-militarist mind-set so many people here seem to hold, she meets, lives and works with the underprivilages -- people working in factories, a hotel kitchen, kids in a reform school. The author, Ms. Hassan, has been exposed both to the touristy side of the promissed land as well as to the less flashy, more mund ane sides.

   Throughout the book, Ms. Hassan retains her curiousity and optimism and most importantly -- her sense of humour. She's very self-critical throughout the book , demonstrating again and again how her own premises about Israel are undergoing constant revision and change.

   Her basic attitude is intellectual, positively generous and humane. This doesn't mean that she changes all her views by the end of the book, nor does it mean that she converts everyone to her side. It does mean, however, that while she's an intens ly political and intensly intellectual person, she's also able to relate to people, to see their side (even if she disagrees with it), to show ampathy and compassion for o thers, and to see their needs and fears and motives.

   As an Israeli, I found that Ms. Hassan's book certainly held a mirror up to my f ace, to let me see Israeli existance from a different angle. Unlike the other reviewer, I don't think that this mirror is the least bit distorted. I found the book inspiring, a nd I think that it's important reading material for Israelis at home and abroad, Jews every where interested in Israel or contemplating aliyah, and all others that would like to see Israel-as-it-is -- de-mystified, cleared of any romanticism, but still -- comple x, tricky, sometimes ugly and sometimes very beautiful.

   All in all, the book was a delight to read, and I'm sure I'll re-read it again.




4. I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading this book it was difficult to put it down until the very last word.

   This is the story of a young Egyptian Moslem woman, from a very wealthy family who became obsessed with Israel. She left her postgraduate studies at Harvard and went to Israel for a six-week visit that lasted three years. This all happened in the mid 70's before Sadat's visit to Jerusalem and Egypt's peace with Israel.

   Sana Hassan delved into numerous aspects of Israeli society. She lived on traditional Kibbutz and on "progressive" Kibbutz; she lived amongst new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere learning Hebrew, Judaism and life in Israel, she went through the process of how Israel receive new arrivals. She lived in ordinary apartments in Tel Aviv and amongst the cultural elites in Jerusalem. She also managed to pass herself as a Jew and worked in Israeli factories and restaurants and allowed herself to be recruited into religious orthodox ways. Sana Hassan managed to get herself everywhere imaginable in Israel and the occupied territories.

   Sana succeeded in interacting with every possible segment of Israeli Society, politically, culturally, religiously and ethnically. From tea with Golda Meir at her house, lunch with Begin at the Knesset, and dinner with The Sharons all the way to meetings with pimps and prostitute as part of her volunteer work as a social worker. She managed to see more of Israel, perhaps than the vast majority of Israelis ever will.

   The portrayal of the Israeli society is that of a country full of contradictions and racist attitudes. We see the lowly state of Eastern Jews and an almost pervasive hierarchy based solely on racial origin and beliefs. She portrays the "subhuman" untouchable type status of the vast majority of the Israeli Arabs and the West Bank Palestinians. She portrays an Israel full of push and shove, of vulgar, inconsiderate people with unabashed racism.

   Sana Hassan also portrays an idealism, work ethic, warmth of ordinary people, capacity to love and learn and so much generosity. And yet, we see this hug mental barrier against admission or acceptance of the injustice befallen the Palestinians.

   We are also treated to two love affairs of Sana Hassan, one with a married Israeli army officer and a very passionate affair with another young woman who was her roommate at the progressive Kibbutz. I puzzled for days over Sana Hassan's inclusion of these two stories, which undoubtedly would have been very controversial in her conservative home country. An affair with a married officer and a Lesbian episode would undoubtedly dilute Sana Hassan's message of peace. After years of condemnation in Egypt, Sana Hassan was finally rehabilitated, why did she choose to shock again and upset sensibilities?

   Sana Hassan quest for peace was always personal, coming out of her inquisitive nature about Israel and things Jewish. From the days of her childhood when she was told off playing with an Israeli boy while on an Austrian holiday, from the unquestioning one sided media of Egypt, it was always a personal endeavor, she never pretended it to be on behalf of anyone else. I suspect for Sana Hassan, her on honesty and integrity were more important than acceptance and continued rehabilitation in conservative Egypt. She must have felt that she could not write about her experience in Israel without her affairs. Her recount of these stories certainly enriches the book and helps us understand her degree of assimilation and acceptance of the unthinkable.

   Sana Hassan developed an in-depth understanding of Zionism, history, thought and present day attitudes. She presented the process with which she seemed apparently unable to reconcile her acceptance of Israel's right to exist, with Israel's "right" to be Zionist. She presented herself throughout the book as an unwavering supporter of Palestinian rights. Yet, she admitted to being more troubled by her army officer connections to racist South Africa than his career as an IDF officer. She also seemed throughout the book willing to accept the possibility that her lover was planted by the intelligence service.

   With so much going on in her three years of Israel, you would expect a book written in simple straight forward story telling or even text style. That is not the case at all, Enemy In The Promised Land is so beautifully written. Sana Hassan is capable of great prose and lyrical descriptions of scenery, experiences and emotions, and most of all, of people. Her style comes across similar to the early work of Virginia Wolf, at times it seemed like she is even using similar words and phrases.

   This is not a straight forward book. It is the sort of book that will truly makes no one happy. It is a confusing book. If you allow yourself the benefit of "learning" while reading it, it may shake many established beliefs and strongly held opinions.

   Having read this book, I am absolutely certain of one thing. I will never never eat at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the standards of hygiene at the restaurant were appallingly low. On most other issues, I am a lot less certain.




5. First of all, I am a high school student who is extremely pro-Israel. I spend most of my free time writing to people about Israel.
   Ok, I picked up this book in my school library while looking for books on Israeli politics. I expected her to come into it hating Jews/Israel and coming out of it loving Israel. Boy was I wrong.
   What amazed me was that, despite her hating Zionists and Israelis, she went to Israel and managed to live there for an extremely long period of time.
   For any pro-Israel person, read this book. It really allows you to walk a mile in the other persons shoes. I had always seen Israel as a place where everything was happy and good. But, this showed me how Israel is just like any other country. Danny also amazes me, as some people say that Israel is worse then South Africa was during apartheid. Here is a South African in Israel. I LOVED THE BOOK!!! Read it if you have not already.

2 comments about A Gift from the Enemy: Childhood Memories of Wartime Italy (Religion, Theology, and the Holocaust).

1. This is a refreshing World War II memoir set in Italy throughout the war. It is not a bloated specific history of the time nor an overly mellodramatic personal experience. A Gift From the Enemy is a touching beautiful day in the life piece of a boy caught in a world beyond his control. Escaping Austria in 1938, Eric, a boy of just 8, fled with his mother, finally ending up in an internment camp in Ospedaletto, Italy due to his religion. Seen through his eyes there is a general naivity capturing the boy's wonder amidst terror. Vivid memories, relationships, and characters tell the story of his family, friends, and fellow internees. As a result you sometimes forget what you are reading is a memoir, but without being too preachy, the reason for why these people were brought together never dissapears. Underneath it all however, is the tale of a boy becoming a man under circumstances some of us could have never dreamed. Recommended for all including young adults, great primary source for a people's history.



2. I loved the book for the amazing story, the author's memory and a mother's love and devotion for her son.
   It is a book of survival in very difficult times. Though written about the Holocaust period this is not about the Holocaust. The details are amazing and the writing allows me to step into the picture.
   A work covering an unknown chapter of WW II history.