Their Promised Land

Just over 40 years ago, the Sorek Valley, winding from the Jerusalem Hills to the Mediterranean coast, was dominated by Palestinian Arab farmers. Under the U.N. partition plan of 1947, the valley, now in Israel, was to become part of a new Arab nation. Birthplace of biblical strongman Samson, site of Jewish guerrilla Bar Kochba's famed revolt against Roman emperor Hadrian, the Sorek Valley, as pictured here, is a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Vivid, observant, achingly poignant, this illuminating chronicle by two American foreign correspondents emphasizes recent history, when the ``edgy friendship'' between Jewish and Arab residents gave way to rioting, mutual boycotts, war and the flight of destitute Palestinians to refugee camps now exploding with anger. (Nov.)