Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

6 reviews

smilagros's review

dark informative sad tense fast-paced

I listened to this on audio and I highly recommend reading it that way. I am very angry and very frustrated about how little I knew about what Israel and the United States did and is still doing to the Palestinian people. The United States has let Israel do whatever the fuck they want, no wonder they will never call for a ceasefire now. I wish that the Western media would stop trying to change the narrative about Israel and actually tell us the fucking truth instead of sugar coating everything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, War, Murder, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Genocide

crybabybea's review

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

Well researched and detailed. Rashid Khalidi offers a unique perspective as somebody whose family has been involved in Palestinian political activism for decades, and whose uncle was an active member of the United Nations and the Reform Party's representative on the Arab Higher Committee. Khalidi presents archives of his uncle's work and research, his own experience in negotiations and activism, and other anecdotal evidence from his peers and colleagues. The combination of sources used makes for a very thorough and persuasive analysis of Palestinian history.

In The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, Khalidi makes the argument that Palestine has been under siege from different opposing forces (but all connected to Zionism) since the Balfour Declaration in 1917. He explains how Zionism, with help from not only the Western powers, but further powered from the failure of the USSR and other Arab nations, resulted in an ongoing, hundred-year-long war against Palestine and its people. 

I appreciated Khalidi's expansive analysis, and the fact that he attempted to check his own biases by explaining how Palestinian leaders and leaders of other Arab nations failed to take the necessary moves to help Palestine and its people. He also thoroughly explored just how severely the Palestinian people were set up to fail by powers around the world, and were never given a fighting chance or any authority over their future. I also thought it was interesting how Khalidi touched on how class differences affected the future of Palestine, as those of a higher class in Palestine and other Arab nations somewhat abandoned the Palestinian cause in favor of their own safety and privilege.

The actual text is quite dry and academic, made worse by my severely lacking knowledge of West Asia, its history, and its leading figures (I was googling something every 2 sentences), which made for very slow reading, but I believe the knowledge I gained thanks to the incredible research done by Rashid Khalidi makes up for the struggle I had.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Islamophobia, Death, War, and Genocide

Minor: Confinement and Torture

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

A bit dry, but very important information. I like how the author included his own experiences and family history in the narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Confinement, Classism, Xenophobia, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Violence, Genocide, Police brutality, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Child death, Deportation, Grief, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

katharina90's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

An essential overview of a century's worth of Palestinian history. This book is educational and detailed, but not overly academic or dense. 

At times, the author includes his own first hand accounts and those from family members. This adds an illuminating personal touch.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, and War

Minor: Confinement and Torture

booksbeyondthebinary's review

medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Confinement, Torture, and Child death

babayagaofficial's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Outstanding. If you're short on time, even just the book's conclusion is a worthwhile and helpful primer on the Palestinian/Israeli situation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death, Genocide, and Violence

Minor: Confinement