Truths and Lies in the Middle East: Memoirs of a Veteran Journalist, 1952-2012.

• Author: Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, Mushtaq

By Eric Rouleau

The American University in Cairo Press, 326 Pages, [pounds sterling]24,95, ISBN: 9789774169069

Numerous books have been written analyzing the various contours of the Palestinian problem. These include native accounts and documentation by non-Palestinians of the variegated dimensions of the Palestinian conflict. But an account of the conflict by a native of the region, who documents, describes, and deliberates on different aspects of the Palestinian problem and its impact on neighboring countries is quite rare. Eric Rouleau's memoirs, which span over six decades, is an eyewitness account of the politics and important events as they unfolded in the Middle East. The canvass of the memoir encompasses the whole region, but the Palestinian problem and its related issues take center stage.

In the "Foreword," Alain Gresh introduces Rouleau as an Egyptian Jew who was exiled from his homeland after the creation of Israel. Although he is a Jew, the Jewish community considered Rouleau an outsider due to his initiatives to reconcile Israelis/Jews and Palestinians/Muslims. As a journalist, Rouleau documents how the creation of Israel resulted in an escalation of problems between Jews and Muslims in Egypt, where he was threatened and labeled as a Zionist and Communist. Concurrent with the creation of Israel, the Cold War era set in, and the newly independent countries of the Third World sought refuge either in capitalist or communist camps led by the U.S. or the USSR, respectively. As an emerging power in the Arab world, Egypt had kindled hopes, emerging as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. As a witness to this period, Rouleau describes how General Nasser was humiliated by the U.S., which was antagonistic and hostile to his developmental plans but maintained cordial relations with the USSR (p. 40). While commenting on Nasser's personality, Rouleau observes, "It is true, however, that the president's lack of interest in worldly pleasures and riches was outweighed by his exorbitant thirst for personal power" (p. 31). According to the author, Nasser evolved into a dictator who could not do much about the fate of Palestinians or Egyptians.

The social milieu and political environment in Egypt became more hostile to dissidents with each passing day, as the regime spread the allegations that Communists were Zionists wearing a mask. Meanwhile, the regime maintained cordial relations with the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Jewish lobby and...