Last 4 Chapters

For me, the last 4 chapters were of much more interest to me than the rest of the book because the focus was on the more modern history of Jerusalem rather than ancient history. I never knew or really thought about how the modernization of Jerusalem occurred. I found it very interesting that the ottomans/ the ottoman leader Muhammad 'Ali was responsible for bringing a modern way of life to the people, such as modern medicine, education and technology. 

Also, I never realized that the Jews had some control over modern Jerusalem even before they were given Israel. They held government positions and had some influence in politics. They felt as if they were "not in exile" and that they were not highly discriminated against, with such things as special taxes geared only towards Jews. 

I was very happy to read the last two chapters and I am very happy that these chapters were included. I think they did a nice job of giving the details of the formation of the state of Israel. I am glad that the class will read this because unless studied, a lot of people don't know much about the process of in which Israel was formed or the conflict that occurred throughout the formation. I think this will help others understand more why Israel was formed and how it came to be.