Naturally, one can find instances in this book that suggest either an Arab or an Israeli bias... There are rare instances within the text suggest a hint of bias one way or the other. But on the whole Morris gives a balanced history that is not tainted with extreme and devaluing bias. Unbiased writing on this subject seems to be a rarity, and Morris succeeds in that respect.
My main objection to Righteous Victims is that Morris relies primarily on sources from the Zionist perspective. As a result, Righteous Victims goes into much clearer detail about the Zionist side of the struggle, while leaving some parts of the Arab point of view somewhat vague. While predominantly using sources written by Zionists, about Zionists, from the Zionist perspective runs the risk of creating an unfair and unbalanced work, I don't blame Morris. In the introduction, he explains (rightly so) that there simply is not many sources from the Arab point of view open to researchers. Morris did as well as anyone could with the available resources, and one should not be highly critical of his sources, because it is unavoidable to use mostly Zionist sources.
I will not... make arguments for either the Israelis or the Palestinians. That is not the point of a book review. But I will say that this book gives a very good reference from which you can formulate your own opinions on the matter. Sure, there are probably other "comprehensive" histories out there that are clearly slanted one way or another. But they do a lousy job of allowing the reader to develop their thoughts and ideas. Righteous Victims was a comprehensive, complete, fair, and meticulously detailed account of the conflict which helped me develop my own opinions.
The reading is quite dense and slow-going, but please don't let that deter you. This is a valuable work that I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in the subject.
Unfortunately and inaccurately, Morris is often portrayed pro-Palestinian propagandist. Morris simply refuses to view this long complex conflict as a cartoon of good vs. evil, as Israel's apologists have always insisted it is. For Morris, the struggle over Palestine is a fairly normal historical event. From reading "Righteous Victims" one gets the impression of two entitities muddling their way through history as nations often do, often missing opportunities to ease tensions and create a lasting peace. Morris's world consists not of heroic peace-loving Israelis confronting Palestinian genocidal maniacs (the standard portrayal in the American media) but of relatively normal human beings in a difficult situation.
Morris also offends Israel's apologists by emphasizing the fact that this conflict has always been marked by extreme inequality. From the beginning of the Zionist project, the Jewish emigres have commanded superior political and economic resources. By 1948, they also possessed superior military resources. His work contradicts the image of plucky little Israel bravely overcoming the amassed forces of the Arab world. Morris correctly emphasizes the pitiful political, social and military organization of both the Arab states and the Palestinian nation.
Having stripped away these comorting fantasies, Morris honestly confronts the essence of the current situation and appears to come away a pessimist. The Palestinians are defeated people, impoverished, humiliated and alienated. Some of the wounds are self-inflicted while others are the product of Israeli policy. Without a vast improvement in their daily conditions, political negotiations are doomed to failure.
