ABSTRACT
The European Holocaust of the World War II era occurred nearly three-quarters of a century before the publication of this book and few survivors are still alive, yet discussion of the events and their historical significance remains heated. One of the reasons is that what happened to European Jews during World War II became the justification for the foundation of the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland in Southwest Asia in 1948 and for subsequent actions taken by Israeli governments. These include the seizure of land owned by indigenous Arab communities, pre-emptive invasions of Israel’s neighbors in the name of self-defense, and the occupation of Palestinian territories in the “West Bank” and Gaza for over 40 years. As a result, the European Holocaust is both history and current events.
