The Unholy Land

The focus of The Unholy Land is on the plight of the Palestinian refugees, both those who fled during and after the dramatic six-day war of June 1967, and those who have been refugees since 1948. 

Dr. Forrest has read widely about his subject, and travelled extensively in the Middle East: to Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, among other countries. Following the June 1967 six-day war, he was asked by a syndicate of North American church papers to assist in studying the new refugee situation - over 300,000 Arabs had fled from the fighting zones.

During 1968,1969 and 1970 he revisited seven Arab countries and went five times to Israel. He talked personally with Israeli government officials and their Israeli opponents, with Arab industrialists and Arab paupers, with moderates and extremists on both sides. He describes the many refugee camps he visited, where he felt living conditions were inhuman, degradation and violent death commonplace.