Culture

Here are 10 more books to read on Israel/Palestine while social distancing

At the beginning of this month, we recommended 10 books on Palestine/Israel to read while social distancing. Since we remain indefinitely stuck indoors, here’s another 10. Once again, this list is not intended to encompass all the best books or be definitive in any way. This is a collection of compelling titles that touch on various aspects of the conflict across a number of years. Maybe there’s a couple you missed along the way.

We also recently published a list of streaming films on Palestine and a list of recent webinars/interviews if you’re looking for things to watch.

Ten Myths About Israel, by Ilan Pappe

Ten Myths About Israel, Ilan Pappe (Verso Books, 2017)

Acclaimed Israeli historian Ilan Pappe published this compelling, little book on the fiftieth anniversary of the Occupation. Pappe shows how much of the conventional wisdom on Israel is false and offers a wonderful introduction for anyone approaching the conflict for the first time. Buy it here.

Shell Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel’s Gaza Assault by Mohammed Omer (OR Books, 2015)

Shell Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel’s Gaza Assault, Mohammed Omer (OR Books, 2015)

Gaza-based journalist Mohammed Omer provides a first-hand account of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in this gripping book. Much of what Omer documents is terrifying, but its necessary reading for those unfamiliar with the human toll of Israel’s military assaults. Buy it here.

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky (Haymarket Books, 2015)

South End Press doesn’t exist anymore, but Haymarket Books republished this 1983 classic back in 2015. The book focuses on the 1982 Lebanon War, but Chomsky’s analysis of the media’s pro-Israel bias is just relevant today. Chomsky updated the book in 1999 and a foreword by the late, great Edward Said was added. Buy it here.

Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy

Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy, Edited by Sean Jacobs & Jon Soske (Haymarket Books, 2015)

This book collects reflections from eighteen South African scholars on the parallels and differences between South Africa and Israel. Buy it here.

The Punishment of Gaza

The Punishment of Gaza, Gideon Levy (Verso Books, 2010)

This book from the great Israeli journalist tracks Israeli policy towards Gaza over a four-year period. Fantastic reporting. Buy it here.

The Way To The Spring

The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine, Ben Ehrenreich (Penguin, 2017)

Novelist Ben Ehrenreich traveled to and lived in the West Bank over a three-year period. That led him to pull off the rare feat of writing a book that’s heartbreaking, but hopeful. Buy it here.

The Case for Sanctions Against Israel

The Case for Sanctions Against Israel, Edited by Audrea Lim (Verso Books, 2012)

When this collection from writers like Naomi Klein and Neve Gordon was released in 2012, many probably viewed BDS as a doomed, niche movement. Eight years later, BDS continues to gain support and its opponents feel the need to implement draconian measures to stop it. There aren’t many books specifically about BDS, but this is a great one. Buy it here.

Mornings In Jenin

Mornings in Jenin, Susan Abulhawa (Bloomsbury USA, 2010)

A beautiful novel from the Palestinian writer and activist about a girl who is orphaned during the 1967 war. Buy it here.

Out of Place: A Memoir

Out of Place: A Memoir, Edward Said (Vintage, 2000)

Pretty much everything Edward Said left us is must-read. On the last list I included his classic The Question of Palestine, but the memoir of his early years in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt is just as important. Buy it here.

Goliath, Max Blumenthal

Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, Max Blumenthal (Bold Type Books, 2014)

An unapologetic piece of reporting and one of the most important recent books on Israel. Blumenthal documents a reality that many refuse to reckon with. Buy it here.

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“War over Peace: One Hundred Years of Israel’s Militaristic Nationalism” by Uri Ben-Eliezer

“Politicide: The Real Legacy of Ariel Sharon” by Baruch Kimmerling

“A Month by the Sea”, encounters in Gaza, 2013, and “Between River and Sea”, encounters in Israel and Palestine, 2015, both by Dervla Murphy, both published by Eland Publishing. Exposing the “Democracy” that Israel claims.

Thanks for putting “Goliath” on this second list. I’ve got pretty much all the books on both lists in my library. I have also turned from time to time to Sami Awadi’s “Bitter Harvest – A modern History of Palestine.” The 4th edition is from 1998. It contains a lot of quotes in their entirety, which I’ve only seen in part in other books and articles. As an example, one sometimes sees part of the below quote from a pre-World War 2 letter from Albert Einstein to Moshe Menuhin (yep – the father of the famous musicians). But Awadi’s book has the entire quote:

I should much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish State. Apart from practical considerations, my awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish State, with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain – especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish State. We are no longer the Jews of the Maccabee period. A return to a nation in the political sense of the word, would be equivalent to turning away from the spiritualization of our community which we owe to the genius of our prophets.

“The Unholy War” – Israel & Palestine, 1897-1971, by David Waines

“All That Remains – The Palestinin Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948”
Edited by Professor Walid Khalidi,.

“From Haven to Conquest – Readings in Zionism and the Palestine Problem Until 1948”
by Profesor Walid Khalidi.

“Jerusalem 1948 – The Arab Neighbourhoods and their Fate in the War.” edited by Salim Tamari

“The Unholy Land,” by Reverend A.C. Forrest

“Ten Myths About Israel” by Ilan Pappe

“Fallen Pillars” – U.S. Policy towards Palestine and Israel since 1945 by Donald Neff

“Warriors at Suez” – Eisenhower Takes America into the Middle East in 1956, by Donald Neff.

“Fifty Years of Israel,” by Donald Neff,

“The Passionate Attachment” – America’s Involvement with Israel, 1947 to the Present – by
George W. Ball and Douglas B. Ball

“Original Sins” – Reflections on the History of Zionism and Israel, by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi

“Blaming the Victims” – Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question” edited by Edward Said .

“Dictionary of the Middle East” by Dilip Hiro.

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned Menuhin”s book yet.

https://mondoweiss.net/2017/09/jewish-atonement-zionism/