A Changing Image: American Perceptions of the Arab-Israeli Dispute, 2nd edition.

By Richard H. Curtiss. Washington, DC: American Educational Trust, 1986. 380 pages. $14.95.

Reviewed By Andrew I. Killgore

Imagine a contest to find an author for the comprehensive book on the Arab-Israeli dispute for American readers and for others anxious to understand the often baffling U.S. relationship towards the two contesting sides. An American citizen, perhaps native-born, would seem best qualified to understand the main currents and nuances in his own country. A first-class liberal education with concentration on professional journalism and editing appear to be logical requirements.

What about first-hand knowledge of Europe and East Asia, and fluency in German and Arabic? Obviously useful to broaden the mind and lend extra perspective. What about 25 years of experience trying to explain the U.S. and its policies to Middle East audiences and Middle East viewpoints to Washington, DC-oriented bureaucrats? Finally, should the winner have seen his friends and professional colleagues kidnapped and assassinated, and should he himself have faced grave danger of death on numerous occasions due to the policies towards the Arab-Israeli dispute of his own government?

These are in fact the qualifications of Richard H. Curtiss, author of A Changing Image. They are exactly what was needed to write the most comprehensive and valuable book—certainly for Americans—yet written on the Arab-Israeli dispute. Other books may delve deeper into this or that aspect of this conflict, but the broad sweep of A Changing Image is as broad and multifaceted as the subject itself. Most importantly, Curtiss consistently asks how American interests were affected by particular events in the long, tangled Middle East conflict.

Nearly 400 tightly-written pages are divided into 33 short chapters, each with its own illuminating photographs from Palestine and the surrounding areas, or maps, charts and cartoons. The more than 100 photographs range from a startling image of slim, black-haired David Ben-Gurion addressing newly arrived Jewish immigrants in Jerusalem more than 60 years ago to pictures of carnage in Lebanon in 1982, including the massacre of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, which accompanied Israel's aggression against that country. The illustrations lend immediacy and added authority to the written text.

Following an opening chapter on the significance of perceptions, Curtiss examines in historical sequence American involvement in the Arab-Israeli issue, beginning with President Wilson's Fourteen Points of January 1918 and continuing through President Reagan's Peace Proposal of September 1, 1982. The now little-remembered War of Attrition of 1969-70 between Egypt and Israel, sometimes considered the fourth of six Arab-Israeli wars, and the U.S. Marine landings in Lebanon in 1958—often referred to as the 'Coca-Cola Invasion'—are examples of episodes scrutinized dispassionately by an official who was actively involved in these historical dramas. Following the historical review, Curtiss analyzes various American institutions bearing on the Arab-Israeli dispute, including the Israel lobby, the Arab lobby (so-called by some), the Christian churches, the media, the universities, Congress, and American business.

Each chapter begins with pertinent quotations from the writings or speeches of the leading actors in the drama of the period being covered. This means essentially that leading books, speeches, or articles of consequence on the Arab-Israeli dispute written over the past 60 to 70 years have been perused, and the critical essence extracted for quotation in A Changing Image. Curtiss then provides his narrative comments and observations from the background of a highranking and intimately involved player, not just an actor who read lines written by others or carried out orders from some distant authority. Instead, Curtiss constantly tried to influence U.S. policies and the ways they were presented in an effort to preserve our national interest and America's earlier excellent reputation.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Curtiss is also a U.S. Army veteran. A powerful intellect helped propel him to the very top echelons of the U.S. Information Agency, where he won the Agency's highest professional recognition, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy.

Curtiss' clear, straightforward style makes A Changing Image a joy for both specialist and novice, no mean feat considering the enormous complexity and tragedy of the Arab-Israeli dispute. The author's balance, basic fairness, and indeed his compassion in analyzing this long and painful conflict have been commended by many reviewers, including, without precedent, all three living former U.S. Presidents.

The same basic commitment to fairness that led Curtiss to become Executive Director of the American Educational Trust has fortunately moved him to write the first, and now the second, edition of A Changing Image. As indicated, I believe this is the single most valuable book written to date on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it deserves to be read and discussed widely.