Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (Updated Edition) (South End Press Classics Series) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First published in 1983, Fateful Triangle is a comprehensive indictment of what Noam Chomsky calls the "disgraceful and extremely dangerous" policy the United States has enacted towards Israel, particularly with regard to Israel's actions concerning the Palestinians. Supporters of Israel must willfully overlook or deny that nation's long history of human rights violations and military aggression, Chomsky writes, and they will continue to do so as long as Israel is strategically useful towards "the U.S. aim of eliminating possible threats, largely indigenous, to American domination of the Middle East region." In the course of elaborating his argument, Chomsky cuts through the myths and distortions that appear in mainstream media accounts; the damning facts that he so systematically assembles portray a government more brutally and overtly racist, perhaps, than even apartheid-era South Africa. Three new chapters, drawing upon material from Z magazine and other publications, incorporate such developments as the Palestinian uprising, Israel's war on Lebanon, and the ongoing "peace process."

From Library Journal

"A devastating collection of charges aimed at Israeli and American policies that affect the Palestinian Arabs negatively," said LJ's reviewer of this thesis on Middle East politics. With several additional chapters, a new preface, and a new foreword by Edward Said, Chomsky brings the story up-to-date. With the political situation in the Middle East just as hot now, this is bound to be an important volume. (LJ 12/15/83)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: South End Press; 2 Upd Sub edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896086011
• ISBN-13: 978-0896086012
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 3.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #390,913 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Noam Chomsky, as always, brings clarity to this world, April 28, 2002

By	"nukemind" (Fremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Noam Chomsky delves into a delicate subject for many Americans, Israel and the politics surrounding our unwavering support of their regime. Chomsky, himself a nominal Jewish American, takes an academic and objective approach to examining the "special relationship" between the US and Israel and the dynamics surrounding the specific exchanges that have gone on for decades. What is apparent is that Chomsky has learned and given in great detail certain specific information about Israel's actions that make those who support Israel nervous and outraged. Chomsky doesn't pull any punches when he describes Israel's reasons for invading Lebanon and the illegality of that action. He discusses the role of American Jewry and their attempt to intertwine the tragedy of the Jewish Holocaust of WWII with the destiny of Israel. To speak out against Israel, Chomsky argues, is to be dubbed anti-Semitic. The fear of being called anti-Semitic has stopped many Americans from discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in an objective manner (as they would with other similar situations). He goes on to discuss the politics of the Arab-Israeli wars, popular perception and myth, and the reasons behind what motivates America to support Israel's actions with little or no criticism (even in the face of worldwide condemnation). For skeptics and other critics Chomsky includes prodigious notes and primary sources on the subject and leaves room for little doubt as to his reasoning. The newer updated version has a foreword written by Edward Said that is quite poignant and apt: "There is something profoundly moving about a mind of such noble ideals repeatedly stirred on behalf of human suffering and injustice." I couldn't have said it better myself. Far from being "anti-Semitic," this book is an honest analysis by a courageous academic crusader, willing to disregard his supposed religious affliation for the greater good and to serve the cause of justice and truth in reporting. Chomsky is not for those readers seeking an easy answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is not certainly not for those without an open mind. Highly recommended.

76 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 15 years later, the Noaminator's words still ring true, February 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians (Paperback)

As a gentile, my perspective on Israeli/zionist issues is automatically skewed to be that of an outsider, right? How can I question the motivations of the Israeli state, or its U.S. benefactors? When Chomsky questions these institutions, he's labeled a "self-hating" jew. The power of this book is in its Big Ideas, not the prose-style. He clearly illustrates the hypocrisy of the "counter terrorist" tactics of Israel, without excusing the barbaric practices of the PLO. The most obvious, knee-jerk criticism of this book is that it only goes after Israel and its American puppeteers, with insufficient condemnation of the many innocent lives cut short by the PLO. The reality, in line with that surrounding most, if not all of Chomsky's books, is that this critique misses the point altogether. There is no lack of criticism of the PLO in the popular media. But there is also no voice for those who have suffered at the hands of Israeli policy either. That voice is easily passed off as support for PLO violence, not documentation -- often to stamp out the possibility of dialogue that might challenge age-old ethnic beliefs and grudges. Just as a bloated windbag like Rush Limbaugh has the right to be heard so that rational society knows what it's up against, Chomsky deserves to be read, and not brushed off with convenient, paranoid name-calling. Though written in 1984, "Fateful..." will show you how little the Middle East conflict has changed, and why.

180 of 231 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American especially should read this book, August 20, 2001

By	W. Schmidt "Shane Schmidt" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are comfortable with American foreign policy in the Middle East, this book offers a great opportunity to test your comfort. For some the most difficult part about reading something like this will be clearing their head of decades of US-Israeli bias in America's press and popular culture. Remind yourself that it really is ok to consider opposing views and then see for yourself if you still like the way the United States coddles and manipulates Israel's violent self-interest for its own gains.

You will find excellent resources for further study and consideration, including updated discussion covering recent developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sources are plentiful. Regardless of where you ultimately land on this debate, the book is well-documented and useful.