Dawn

At a mere 81 pages, Elie Wiesel’s second book in the Night trilogy is surprisingly captivating. It tells the story of a young Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who moves to Palestine and joins the Zionist movement to free Palestine of the English and build a Jewish nation. What may be most surprising to readers consumed by today’s fears is the method that the Jews use to send the British home: terrorism.

Wiesel at no time sugarcoats the way in which the Palestinian Jews fight. The word “terrorism” is used frequently. Today, of course, one associates that word with Arabs fighting to destroy Western Civilization. However, terrorism has been used through out history by the weak as a tool to defeat the strong. Black South Africans used terrorism in their fight against apartheid. Irish Republicans used it against the British. American colonists used it against their British oppressors. The Jews used it against their British occupiers. Of course in many of those cases, the term “freedom fighter” replaces the now repugnant expression of “terrorism”.

One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.

Elie Wiesel makes no apologies for the men fighting for a Jewish homeland nor does he seem to embrace them. To him they seem more a backdrop to the young man’s struggle that is the center piece of the story.

I recommend the book to all without hesitation.

Posted by The Webtoad at 05:06 PM | Comments (0)