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callareads69's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
mvilleda's review against another edition
5.0
“When Israel is on ‘good behavior,’ more than two Palestinian children are killed every week, a pattern that goes back over fourteen years. The underlying cause is the criminal occupation and the programs to reduce Palestinian life to bare survival in Gaza, while Palestinians are restricted to unviable cantons in the West Bank and Israel takes over what it wants, all in gross violation of international law and explicit Security Council resolutions, not to speak of minimal decency. And it will continue as long as it is supported by Washington and tolerated by Europe- to our everlasting shame.”
This was originally published in 2014, and I am horrified and devastated by how worse the crisis and genocide in Palestine has gotten, especially in the last 10 months.
I have nothing of value to add. Nothing that hasn’t already been said at how terrible this is, at what despicable crimes are being committed by Israel and the IDF- all of them backed and funded by the US.
I will say that if you feel at all uneducated, this is a great starting point and also just a necessary read in general. Don’t remain ignorant. Don’t turn your back on Palestine. Don’t believe the propaganda that Israel and the US are throwing our way. You don’t have to be a political expert to see the humanitarian crime that is happening in real time.
I will never understand how something like this could happen and people not be on the Palestinian side. But I will keep having hope and faith that one day Palestine will be liberated, that this genocide will end, and that Israel and the US face charges for their crimes.
From the river to the sea.
Some other important passages below:
(Keep in mind that this book was published years ago. If things were this atrocious then, I cannot fathom how much worse the Palestinian situation was even before last October)
“This ideology of ethnic cleansing also explains the dehumanization of the Palestinians- a dehumanization that can bring about the kind of atrocities we witnessed in Gaza in January 2009. This dehumanization is the bitter fruit of the moral corruption that the militarization of the Jewish society bore in Israel. The Palestinians are a military target, a security risk, and a demographic bomb. This is one of the main reasons why ethnic cleaning is an ideology that is regarded by the international community…as a hideous crime and moreover one that can lead to genocide-since with both crimes you have to dehumanize your victim in order to implement your vision of ethnic purity. Whether you expel or massacre people, including children, they have to be objectified as military targets - not as human beings.”
“‘At least 57 percent of Gaza households are food insecure and about 80 percent are now aid recipients…Food insecurity and rising poverty also mean that most residents cannot meet the daily caloric requirements, while over 90 percent of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption,’ a situation that is becoming even worse as Israel again attacks water and sewage systems, leaving 1.2 million people with even more severe disruption of the barest necessity of life.”
“The realistic alternative to a two-state settlement is that Israel will continue to carry forward the plans it has been implementing for years, taking over whatever is of value to it in the West Bank, while avoiding Palestinian population concentrations and removing Palestinians from the areas it is integrating into Israel. That should avoid the dreaded ‘demographic problem.’”
This was originally published in 2014, and I am horrified and devastated by how worse the crisis and genocide in Palestine has gotten, especially in the last 10 months.
I have nothing of value to add. Nothing that hasn’t already been said at how terrible this is, at what despicable crimes are being committed by Israel and the IDF- all of them backed and funded by the US.
I will say that if you feel at all uneducated, this is a great starting point and also just a necessary read in general. Don’t remain ignorant. Don’t turn your back on Palestine. Don’t believe the propaganda that Israel and the US are throwing our way. You don’t have to be a political expert to see the humanitarian crime that is happening in real time.
I will never understand how something like this could happen and people not be on the Palestinian side. But I will keep having hope and faith that one day Palestine will be liberated, that this genocide will end, and that Israel and the US face charges for their crimes.
From the river to the sea.
Some other important passages below:
(Keep in mind that this book was published years ago. If things were this atrocious then, I cannot fathom how much worse the Palestinian situation was even before last October)
“This ideology of ethnic cleansing also explains the dehumanization of the Palestinians- a dehumanization that can bring about the kind of atrocities we witnessed in Gaza in January 2009. This dehumanization is the bitter fruit of the moral corruption that the militarization of the Jewish society bore in Israel. The Palestinians are a military target, a security risk, and a demographic bomb. This is one of the main reasons why ethnic cleaning is an ideology that is regarded by the international community…as a hideous crime and moreover one that can lead to genocide-since with both crimes you have to dehumanize your victim in order to implement your vision of ethnic purity. Whether you expel or massacre people, including children, they have to be objectified as military targets - not as human beings.”
“‘At least 57 percent of Gaza households are food insecure and about 80 percent are now aid recipients…Food insecurity and rising poverty also mean that most residents cannot meet the daily caloric requirements, while over 90 percent of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption,’ a situation that is becoming even worse as Israel again attacks water and sewage systems, leaving 1.2 million people with even more severe disruption of the barest necessity of life.”
“The realistic alternative to a two-state settlement is that Israel will continue to carry forward the plans it has been implementing for years, taking over whatever is of value to it in the West Bank, while avoiding Palestinian population concentrations and removing Palestinians from the areas it is integrating into Israel. That should avoid the dreaded ‘demographic problem.’”
_karinaiello_'s review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This is a tough one because I believe the subject matter is something everyone needs to read (especially in the US) but without a ton of prior knowledge, I don't think this is the book to start with. Part of the problem is the structure. I think the essays should have been included before the interviews. There was a LOT discussed in the interviews that went over my head because they were two scholars talking to one another about a subject they are obviously VERY knowledgeable about. A lot of context, history, and geography is missing, of which quite a bit felt more clearly covered by the essays. I do still think other sources may be better for context before diving into this, but if you feel up for the challenge or do have a better historical perspective then I'd say read this but still read the essays first.
0000grade_'s review against another edition
5.0
I found this dialogue to be the most clear source of history + policy that I have read so far. Chomsky, historian from the states + a former zionist in conversation with Peppé, ~truly~ leftist israeli historian and former zionist. Charts the history of the BDS movement, arguments for and against potential solutions, definitions of ethnic cleansing, history of zionism, Palestinian resistance + intense mental grooming that accompanies theocratic ethnonationalism. Compares + contrasts several colonial projects to israel, primarily apartheid South Africa. This was written in 2015 but is applicable for this present moment + I was disturbed by how repetitive these tactics are (i.e. decrying antisemitism on campuses to silence legitimate critiques of imperialism [largely from Jewish organizers], etc). Argues this repetition will continue until the project of ethnic cleansing is complete. Unless! there is intervention from the states + other world powers.