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surrppho's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
billd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
When I saw The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi, I felt that it was a book I should read, especially considering what is currently happening in Israel / Palestine. I admit that there were times when I almost gave up reading it. I'm not sure why, maybe it was just a bit ponderous... Not sure, more likely, just my short attention span these days of 30 second s0und bites.
At any rate, I'm glad, if glad is the correct work, that I finished this book. It opened my eyes and made me think more about what has happened in that area of the world. The book covers the period 1917 - the current time. Unfortunately, it was published in 2020 so I wonder how Rashid Khalidi would have updated his ideas with what is currently happening.
It's not easy to describe the book in a few sentences. Khalidi compares the Zionist desires to colonize Palestine and convert it into an Israeli country and to remove the Palestinians who were already living there to similar acts in the US, South Africa, even Ireland, where the indigenous peoples were turned into 2nd class citizens by the colonists.
He starts by referring to European Zionist congresses which called for a Jewish state with the sovereign right to control immigration. He quotes the diary of Theodor Herzl, an Austrian journalist, and one of the early Zionist leaders.
"We must expropriate gently the private property on the estates assigned to us. We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country. The property owners will come over to our side. Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."
This is the ongoing theme throughout the period of the book. The Zionists move to Palestine, obviously to escape persecution within Europe and Russia. Firstly with the help of various great powers, Great Britain early one, and the US more recently, they have forced the Palestinians out of their homes, properties and taken them over. Of course, blame isn't limited here. The Arab states, which profess to support the Palestinian peoples have their own desire are either not strong enough or too disorganized to assist the Palestinian cause. More recently, these Arab states, prefer to deal with a much stronger Israel and the US than take up the fight for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians, themselves, were not strong enough to challenge the Israelis. They have tried various means; actual fighting, protests, boycotts, terrorism, etc to try to maintain their own possessions, their own country. The Palestinians were not as skilled at obtaining worldwide support for their own cause. Various UN resolutions and negotiated settlements between Israel and countries like Great Britain and the US, recognized the right of Israel to exist as a state. The same hasn't happened for the indigenous Palestinians, who have found themselves forced into exile (refugee camps all over the Middle East, confined to Israeli managed regions of Israel. It's a sad, desperate picture.
Over the course of the book, we see how many times Israel has used its power and military might to cow its Arab neighbours, the 6 Day War, the invasion of Lebanon, etc. The mass destruction is astounding and must have been terrifying. Now I realize that I'm making this sound very one-sided, but I must say that Khalidi does try to show both sides of the story. It's not just the Israelis but the Arab countries who assist, even by just sitting by and letting this destruction happen. The Palestinians also are disorganized and unable to coalesce into a unified front.
It's a sad, discouraging story. Mr. Khalidi explains and presents the story very well. The comparison to colonization is so interesting. This paragraph seems to say it all.
"Within Israel, certain important rights are reserved exclusively for Jewish citizens and denied to 20 percent of citizens who are Palestinian. Of course the five million Palestinians living under an Israel military regime in the Occupied Territories have no rights at all, while the half million plus Israeli colonists there enjoy full rights.... Even as Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence proclaimed complete equity of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex, dozens of crucial laws based on inequality of rights were implemented in the ensuing years." He proceeds to give examples, such as banning Arab access to land and to residency, etc. (I hate to say it but as I watch the news, I see similar things being attempted in current right wing rules countries, or even right wing US States or Canadian provinces)
Khalidi once again has said that the Palestinians are often their worst enemies. After the 1st Intifada, which was mainly peaceful, raised the issue positively in the world's eyes. But the 2nd Intifada, where the Palestinians began to resort to suicide bombings within Israel, had the opposite effect.
I have said I have had difficulty reading this book. I had my own preconceived ideas; you know, like reading and watching Exodus, etc, but I do find myself looking at the whole situation differently. Oh, there is an interesting portion near the end of the impact Donald Trump's presidency had on the region... negatively, that is.
But Mr. Khalidi does try to offer a hopeful ending.
"While the fundamentally colonial nature of the Palestinian - Israel encounter must be acknowledged, there are now two peoples in Palestine, irrespective of how they came into being, and the conflict between them cannot be resolved as long as the national existence of each is denied by the other. Their mutual acceptance can only be based on complete equality of rights, including national rights, notwithstanding the crucial historical differences between the two, There is no other possible sustainable solution, barring the unthinkable notion of one people's extermination or expulsion by the other."
This book was published in 2020 and I wonder what Mr. Khalidi would think of the situation now, where this last fear may actually come into effect unless the world decides to act bravely and step in. A book that should be read. this is not a unique situation around the world. (4.0 stars)
At any rate, I'm glad, if glad is the correct work, that I finished this book. It opened my eyes and made me think more about what has happened in that area of the world. The book covers the period 1917 - the current time. Unfortunately, it was published in 2020 so I wonder how Rashid Khalidi would have updated his ideas with what is currently happening.
It's not easy to describe the book in a few sentences. Khalidi compares the Zionist desires to colonize Palestine and convert it into an Israeli country and to remove the Palestinians who were already living there to similar acts in the US, South Africa, even Ireland, where the indigenous peoples were turned into 2nd class citizens by the colonists.
He starts by referring to European Zionist congresses which called for a Jewish state with the sovereign right to control immigration. He quotes the diary of Theodor Herzl, an Austrian journalist, and one of the early Zionist leaders.
"We must expropriate gently the private property on the estates assigned to us. We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country. The property owners will come over to our side. Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."
This is the ongoing theme throughout the period of the book. The Zionists move to Palestine, obviously to escape persecution within Europe and Russia. Firstly with the help of various great powers, Great Britain early one, and the US more recently, they have forced the Palestinians out of their homes, properties and taken them over. Of course, blame isn't limited here. The Arab states, which profess to support the Palestinian peoples have their own desire are either not strong enough or too disorganized to assist the Palestinian cause. More recently, these Arab states, prefer to deal with a much stronger Israel and the US than take up the fight for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians, themselves, were not strong enough to challenge the Israelis. They have tried various means; actual fighting, protests, boycotts, terrorism, etc to try to maintain their own possessions, their own country. The Palestinians were not as skilled at obtaining worldwide support for their own cause. Various UN resolutions and negotiated settlements between Israel and countries like Great Britain and the US, recognized the right of Israel to exist as a state. The same hasn't happened for the indigenous Palestinians, who have found themselves forced into exile (refugee camps all over the Middle East, confined to Israeli managed regions of Israel. It's a sad, desperate picture.
Over the course of the book, we see how many times Israel has used its power and military might to cow its Arab neighbours, the 6 Day War, the invasion of Lebanon, etc. The mass destruction is astounding and must have been terrifying. Now I realize that I'm making this sound very one-sided, but I must say that Khalidi does try to show both sides of the story. It's not just the Israelis but the Arab countries who assist, even by just sitting by and letting this destruction happen. The Palestinians also are disorganized and unable to coalesce into a unified front.
It's a sad, discouraging story. Mr. Khalidi explains and presents the story very well. The comparison to colonization is so interesting. This paragraph seems to say it all.
"Within Israel, certain important rights are reserved exclusively for Jewish citizens and denied to 20 percent of citizens who are Palestinian. Of course the five million Palestinians living under an Israel military regime in the Occupied Territories have no rights at all, while the half million plus Israeli colonists there enjoy full rights.... Even as Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence proclaimed complete equity of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex, dozens of crucial laws based on inequality of rights were implemented in the ensuing years." He proceeds to give examples, such as banning Arab access to land and to residency, etc. (I hate to say it but as I watch the news, I see similar things being attempted in current right wing rules countries, or even right wing US States or Canadian provinces)
Khalidi once again has said that the Palestinians are often their worst enemies. After the 1st Intifada, which was mainly peaceful, raised the issue positively in the world's eyes. But the 2nd Intifada, where the Palestinians began to resort to suicide bombings within Israel, had the opposite effect.
I have said I have had difficulty reading this book. I had my own preconceived ideas; you know, like reading and watching Exodus, etc, but I do find myself looking at the whole situation differently. Oh, there is an interesting portion near the end of the impact Donald Trump's presidency had on the region... negatively, that is.
But Mr. Khalidi does try to offer a hopeful ending.
"While the fundamentally colonial nature of the Palestinian - Israel encounter must be acknowledged, there are now two peoples in Palestine, irrespective of how they came into being, and the conflict between them cannot be resolved as long as the national existence of each is denied by the other. Their mutual acceptance can only be based on complete equality of rights, including national rights, notwithstanding the crucial historical differences between the two, There is no other possible sustainable solution, barring the unthinkable notion of one people's extermination or expulsion by the other."
This book was published in 2020 and I wonder what Mr. Khalidi would think of the situation now, where this last fear may actually come into effect unless the world decides to act bravely and step in. A book that should be read. this is not a unique situation around the world. (4.0 stars)
bookswithbethx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
kated98's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
guilleh's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I came to this book with little historical knowledge of Palestine and the wider Middle East, hoping to learn more about the present conflict between Palestine and Israel. The book provided a fantastic historical overview of the origins of the conflict and how we have arrived to the present day. Even though the book can be dense and haunting to read, I found it quite gripping. I love the author's personal and familial anecdotes, they made the history more vivid and alive. I also appreciated how balanced and nuanced his assessment of blame and fault is. He is careful to point out the mistakes and issues within Palestinian and wider Arab leadership, against the aggressive Zionists and Israeli state. Highly recommend the book.