The Guilt

As fanatic Palestinian Muslims and raging Israeli Jews are at each other's throat, could the core of European Christianity initiate the solution in this age-old power struggle? Power over the 'holy' homeland, now re-claimed by Judaism, as ever again by the two daughter-religions; Christianity and Islam. The book is a plea for Europeans to drop their historical sense of guilt. Guilt to the holocaust and the seeking out of guilt, or guilty facts about Jews. In an eternal need to compensate for that guilt-burden. 'Bad Jews', warring, and bombing Israeli's deeply satisfy those, who most feel that burden.

The narrative holds up a mirror to the history of pro- and anti-Semitism, both in Christo-European civilisation and in Muslim civilisation. The author describes how this history formed the popular opposition to, but also the need for, modern Israel. His telling experiences illustrate his analysis and refreshing view on the present crisis.

Despite the heavy subject, the author adds humour where he supports arguments with bizarre and curious historical facts. The more confronting is the solution, which he suggests, to this phenomenon.

Paul Sieger de Klerk is a Dutch social scientist specialised in group behaviour and criminology. He has worked as a socio-psychological researcher and advisor to the Amsterdam Police and related institutions. His main focus of interest is aggression, group dynamics, discrimination and racism. He has conducted interviews with survivors of the Serb massacre of Bosnian Muslims, during the 1990s. He took a special interest in the motives of perpetrators. He also interviewed many holocaust survivors, rescuers and resistance fighters, for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation.