Elias Chocours Blood Brothers Essay - 712 Words

Elias Chocours Blood Brothers Elias Chocour’s novel, Blood Brothers, represents his point of view on the contemporary Palestinian position regarding the holy land of Israel. The book traces the transformation of Chocour’s life, from a Melkite Christian Palestinian boy into a powerful spiritual leader and innovative agent in facilitating better race relations in the region. He shows how Palestinian’ needs were left out during the formation of the State of Israel, and how their plight is highly misunderstood, and often grossly distorted because of ignorance. Chocour’s depiction of the problem facing non-Jews is highly illuminating, and Blood Brothers will dispel many illusions and fallacies that cloud the facts surrounding the†¦show more content†¦But very few jobs were created to compensate for the huge population surplus. A cheap labor force was essential to the Kibbutzim, which forced huge numbers of Palestinians into underemployment and unemployment. During this time, non je ws were thrust to the side to make room for Jews, their rights forgotten. â€Å"The compromise was terribly unfair,† because it gave the Zionists, who comprised seven percent of the population fifty four percent of the land (46). They were also given the best land , which forced Palestinians into more undesirable areas, and the economic plight of the Palestinians worsened. The west had been essential to the nation’s creation, and exerted its power in Israel. Israel’s leaders developed allegiances with western countries which had been essential in the formation of their country. Tension in the area grew, both inside and outside of the state, and violence was used against both sides. However, measures were not taken to undue the problems that had arisen from the unfair nature of the agreement. â€Å"Palestinians had been branded as ignorant, hostile, and violent† and non-Jewish groups found it difficult to practice their religion as they had before. Despite the obvious inequities that were growing, the west did little to alleviate the pain that it played a large part in creating. It seemed as if â€Å"People in the west seem so taken with material things, It’s as if they have nothing in their spirit, so they need to surround themselves