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rachelfayreads's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Islamophobia, Violence, Antisemitism, War, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
bergha1998's review against another edition
4.0
History, Warfare and Colonialism
“The surest way to eradicate a people’s right to their land is to deny their historical connection to it.”
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Police brutality, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Child death, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, Grief, and War
amandakitz's review against another edition
5.0
Through the eyes of Khalidi, whose family, friends, and homeland in the Occupied Territories and in the diaspora were impacted severely by the Israeli occupation, we see an accounting of history from someone who has lived it. In his accounts of his father's and his own work in the UN and the contacts he had with the Fatah and the PLO, we see that he is not merely writing through personal experience as a Palestinian nor through pure scholarship as a leading historian in Palestinian Studies, but also as an advisor and envoy in peace talks with key leaders and politicians throughout the latter decades of the conflict. The personal, professional, and scholarly influences on his perspective form a well-rounded, clear picture of the situation and the factors at play.
Khalidi's writing style is far from dry and makes the complicated history of various Palestinian resistance groups and organizations easy to follow. The book was extremely well-organized, well-researched, and well-written, a masterclass in providing depth of scholarship without compromising accessibility. For those beginning the work of seeking the truth behind the propaganda, this is an excellent book I can easily recommend.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Genocide, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, and Islamophobia
Crucial history of war necessarily contains descriptions of war, and crucial history of violent oppression and colonization necessarily contains descriptions of colonial violence, oppression, intentionally targeting civilians, and genocidal rhetoric, policies, and military campaigns. Engage with the understanding that, depending on your background, additional self-care and pacing may be required.kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
5.0
Not a single one of those bastards deserves the pot they piss in. Dead or alive, every president since 1917 has either actively assisted in or callously funded from afar Israel’s assault on Palestinians and their land. Full stop, there is no way to extricate US presidents and their cabinets from the blood on their hands and their responsibility for the ongoing conflict. Joe Biden is just another bloodsoaked ninny in a long tradition of them. What a spineless freak
The outright acknowledgement in direct quotes and memoirs of how Britain, the US, and Israel worked together to try & erase Palestinians from the face of the earth made me sick to my stomach. Liars, frauds, cheats, and murderers; a veritable fucking buffet of the worst people on earth
The explanation of Palestinian movements and the battle between ego/leadership politics & the needs of the people was really interesting. as with any liberation story, the big name figures are a mixed bag of failures and successes; their best effort wasn’t always enough to help Palestinians, and sometimes directly harmed them. The author is very frank, but largely unbiased in his indictment of the PLO/PA.
Khalidi was present for many of the events in this book, and does his best to give a full account, without being clinical. He feels, he laments, he indicts, but he gives all the facts he has access to while doing so. I prefer that to commentary devoid of emotion in the pursuit of “logic”, because why should a Palestinian man forced to sit through meetings stripping his kin of their peoplehood, having lived through expulsions, sieges, and bombardments just to be met with willful ignorance from the US and taunting from Israeli officials, be limited to cold, clinical retelling? the man is rightfully fucking frustrated & emotion doesn’t negate the sense of his arguments. his bristling frustration, disappointment, and fear of what is to come for his people teems underneath his words, and paints an even more telling picture of the state of Palestinians throughout the history he lays out. His hope shines through the conclusion of this book; as he lays out what he considers the most logical path towards resolution, you can feel him yearn for the day Palestine is free of Israel’s yoke. You cannot read this book without being moved by the emotions alongside the meticulous historical record.
I am angry but also hungry for more information but also at a loss as to how to help from the inside of a country so deeply committed to sucking Israel off for access to the Middle East. more reading to come as I try to process this in a productive way & stop figuring out how to hit Joe with a bigger shoe
Graphic: War, Murder, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence and Xenophobia
sydapel's review against another edition
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Deportation, Genocide, War, and Religious bigotry
crybabybea's review against another edition
5.0
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.
Graphic: Colonisation, Islamophobia, Death, War, and Genocide
Minor: Confinement and Torture
christinesmith205's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Violence
deenmachine's review against another edition
4.75
If you are new to this history the book is accessible but dense, and sometimes makes assumptions about your prior knowledge. I did find myself occasionally using Wikipedia to get the basic understanding of certain events (like the six day war) before reading Khalidi's interpretation.
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Genocide
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
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
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Colonisation, Murder, Child death, Classism, Death, Grief, and Violence