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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
On Palestine reads as an educated discussion between Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappé, both Jewish professors & political activists. Ilan's is a particularly interesting perspective to hear from as he was born and raised in Israel, later in life leaving and standing by Palestine. Supporting decolonization and liberation.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Barat, Pappé, and Chomsky provide an excellent explanation for/discussion of how and why the state of Israel has managed to get away with breaking international law and committing a slow but steady genocide of the Palestinian people for the better part of a century. Everyone should read this, but maybe best after familiarizing one’s self on what exactly happened. I rewatched John Green’s Crash Course World History YouTube episode after Abby recommended and it really is a good basic summary that only takes 10 minutes to watch. For a more in depth history Law and the Question of Palestine by Noura Erakat was great but very dense, and The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi is apparently excellent (though I haven’t read that one yet) as well as anything else by Pappé.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Very necessary read. Extremely disconcerting that it feels like you’re reading a live analysis of October/November 2023 when this is written years before.
“How, then, does one become an activist?
The easy answer would be to say that we do not become activists; we simply forget that we are. We are all born with compassion, generosity, and love for others inside us. We are all moved by injustice and discrimination. We are all, inside, concerned human beings. We all want to give more than to receive. We all want to live in a world where solidarity and companionship are more important values than individualism and selfishness. We all want to share beautiful things; experience joy, laughter, love; and experiment, together.” (introduction)
On Palestine is probably not the best place to start for those who are interested in understanding what’s going on in Palestine right now – It definitely requires readers to have a foundational knowledge of historical events, figures, and policies. There are also discussions pertaining to the BDS campaign, the OSLO acords, the one state/two state solution and comparisons made to other historical events such as South African apartheid, Arab spring etc. So, unless you’re familiar with these ideas and events, you might feel a little lost. However, I still do consider this book a valuable read, even when Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky differ in their opinions.
As many other reviewers have said, this book is also a bit dated (granted it was published in 2015) and repetitive (granted it’s a dialogue format), but I found this book to be very informative and accessible nonetheless. I know many readers will prefer reading from Palestinian voices, but I think Pappé and Chomsky make important contributions to the discourse, and I applaud them for their activism and their advocacy.
Rating: 4/5
RESOURCES & FURTHER READING:
▪️ If you want to start learning about what's going on, I highly recommend: [b:The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine|57540|The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine|Ilan Pappé|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519157910l/57540._SX50_.jpg|56058] and [b:The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017|41812831|The Hundred Years' War on Palestine A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017|Rashid Khalidi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556345491l/41812831._SY75_.jpg|65247140].
▪️ If you want to know who to boycott, check out: https://bdsmovement.net/.
▪️ If you’re interested in doing some further reading specifically about antisemitism and Zionism, I highly recommend reading: [b:The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering|48836|The Holocaust Industry Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering|Norman G. Finkelstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924294l/48836._SX50_.jpg|1611039] by Norman G. Finkelstein - he is referred to in this book. Trust me, it will blow your mind.
▪️ I urge everyone to stay informed, follow Palestinian voices on whatever social media accounts you have, and SHARE SHARE SHARE.
