Customer Reviews

A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Indiana Series in Arab and Islamic Studies)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Too often the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict gets distorted by those who are too attached to one side or the other and twist the history to fit their agenda. They often fail to admit the tragedies they have inflicted on the other side and demonized their opponents' motives. Mark Tessler does an excellent job of presenting a fair and balanced history of the conflict and of avoiding these pitfalls. What is great about this book is that it not only details the actually events but discusses the ideologies and the political constraints facing both sides. I felt like I didn't just learn history, but also learned why each side made the decisions they did. I hope Professor Tessler is considering making an updated edition.

I searched for 2 weeks for a book that would fairly present both sides of the Israeli-Palistinian debate and probably most of you are in the same boat - feeling too ignorant about something too important. Tessler presents such a balanced view that 400 pages into the book I can't tell if he believes either side is "in the right." The book makes clear why both sides have reasons to call this land their own and also makes clear that both sides have engaged in less than moral tactics to stake their claim and drive out the other side. You may not come away knowing who is right but at least you'll have a sense of why the middle east is how it is today.

What subject could be more complex, and the telling of its history more liable to political bias and encumberance, than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? One must be extremely diligent and capable of independent critical analysis to find one's way through the warring literature on this subject, whether from right, left or center. Mark Tessler's is the most objective, scrupulous, balanced--and therefore most humane--detailed history of this conflict that I have seen. I cannot imagine why it hasn't had more attention. It should, in fact, be on the required reading list of everyone concerned about this conflict. If only its findings and approach could sink into popular consciousness, it might provide an antidote for violence and blind rage, as well as for politically or intellectually-motivated self-righteousness. It should be widely translated, and available in both Arabic and Hebrew.

It has taken me several months to finish off this huge book, but the experience of learning so much has been very rewarding. This is quite simply the best nonfiction book I've ever read, and this on a topic as complex as the Middle East conflict, no less. Tessler's work is completely unbiased and offers an incredibly detailed presentation of the facts up to Fall 1993, after the Oslo accords were announced.

Tessler, an American professor, writes in a straight-forward style that is easily understandable. Although the sheer volume of history covered in the book was considerable, I never found myself bored by the writing. I wish my high school history books were written so well.

Like a good academian (in the very best sense of the term), he presents the facts clearly. For each historical event, he cites several credible sources stating the event, and for retrospective analysis of its importance, he cites opinions from multiple sides. The build-up to the 1967 war, for example, consumes 20 pages and 50 citations. His use of references is so thorough that of the book's 900+ pages, 93 pages are endnotes.

I only have a few minor negative remarks about this book:

1. Obviously, since the book was published in 1994, it is not up to date and does not cover the break-down of the negotiations from the Oslo accords. However, historical facts prior to 1993 have not changed (at least not in the Orwellian sense, thank goodness), and this book does an outstanding job for its time frame as I have said.

2. There are no photos at all, save for the picture on the cover.

3. For a topic so centered on geography, the quality of the maps is surprisingly poor. There are 20 maps showing the important boundaries and such, but these look like they were drawn by a high school art student. A single high-detail, atlas-quality map from 1994 would have been appropriate as well. Instead, I found some colour maps on the web that I printed out and keep folded in the book to use as a quick reference.

A much more recent book that I also highly recommend that covers these three points (recentness, photos, and maps) is _The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Crisis in the Middle East_ by Reuters journalists. That book is filled with beautiful photography, nice maps, and is up-to-date to March 2002. It makes a great companion to this book.

Overall, this book by Tessler is outstanding. Although its size may be a bit daunting, you will thank yourself for reading this book.

Tessler's "A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" is a must read for anyone truly wanting to dive deep into the historical background of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Contrary to most other books on this topic, Tessler provides a highly objective and in-depth analysis into the evolution of the conflict from the 1880's to the early 90's, when the book was written. He includes necessary prerequisite information, including an analysis of the Judaic and Islamic religions, Arab nationalism vs. Zionism, and even some European history. Also unique to this book are the inclusions of various historical accounts that provide better context for which to analyze the present-day conflict.

Whenever possible, Tessler attempts to include exerts from historians on both sides; further adding to the book's credibility and objectivity.

The book reads surprisingly easy and is not overly cumbersome.

if you have the time, you can do worse than to read this valuable volume on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The book looks at the rise of nationalism among both peoples, the Palestinians developing their identity forst as Arabs during the 19th century and under Ottoman occupation and the Israelis as an extension of euroepan nationalism and their initial attempts at assimilation. In fact, I found the description of the rise of Zionism to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the book. This book works very well, therefore, in explaining the background of the conflict presenting all sides. I could not really detect a bias, as I could certainly find plenty of arguments taht selectively and logically assembled could be used to support either side. Moral considerations of justice are excluded, and individual readers wilkl necessarily have to fit those in. I therefore recommend reading this volume before approaching the more slanted ones. I certainly know where I stand on the issue, but I understand the other side more and that can't hurt when I argue in favor of Palestinian self determination.

I agree with all the 5 star reviews totally. This is one of the few books on the subject that actually deserves to be called "unbiased". That is why I am truly puzzled by the negative review below that says that this book has a strong Pro-Israeli bias. The person obviously never read the book. In reality, Tessler's work paints a rather unpleasant portrait of both sides, so the accusation made by the reader is absolutely absurd. In any case, this book is extremely thorough. All of the arguments made by both sides are presented and discussed. I have no idea why this book is not better known. It is an amazing reference guide to those who want to look beyond the headlines and beyond all those simplistic comments regularly made by Israeli and Palestinian goevernment spokesmen.

There are aspects of Mark Tessler's work that cry out for revision at this point. His history was published in 1994 and so, naturally, there is no discussion of the demise of the Oslo process or the second Intifada, no discussion of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, nor of the increasing importance of Hamas and Hizbullah... Moreover, weaknesses in Tessler's treatment of the early development of Zionism and Palestinian nationalism also seem quite dated at this point, making little reference to the fundamental revision of theories of nationalism that was still in its early stages when this book was first published. All of which suggests that Indiana University Press should be talking to Tessler about the possibility of a revised edition.

Despite these notable weaknesses, Tessler's work still stands as a model of sober and balanced analysis and unlike many textbook-style discussions of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Tessler is careful to outline the basic points of debate before explaining how he comes down on a particular issue. This concern for debates within the historiography, along with Tessler's nuanced attention to detail, and his refusal to engage in easy moralizing make this work - for all its datedness - a very useful source on the Arab-Israeli conflict and a fine selection as a course textbook.

In my own classes, I have found it works well with James Gelvin's much more thematic volume.

This is an excellent book for anyone that is interested in understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you read the book from beginning to end it is well balanced in explaining all sides of this conflict. If you only read part of the book, or pick and choose which chapters to read, you might think that the book is one sided. The fact is that this book is not one sided and does a great job of explaining Israeli and Palestinian sides to this issue.

I recently picked up a copy of Mark Tessler's second edition of the epic narrative A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - and you know what? - just reading the preface alone is enough to have you believe that this conflict is almost beyond the scope of human endeavor to deal with, let alone resolve.

The mood of Tessler's second edition preface is in complete reversal of the first, and with good reason. When Conflict was first published in September 1993, it coincided with the signing of the 'Declaration of Principles' by Israel and the PLO on the basis of bilateral recognition of each other's rights, plus an active agenda to initiate concrete steps towards a mutually-agreed partition plan that would eventually lead to a sovereign Palestinian state. Prior to this, there had been secret meetings between the two parties in Oslo, the purpose of which was to kick-in the negotiation process. Both parties have been slowly but surely coming to terms that peace was still the best deal in this divisive land, and in order for peace to coagulate, it didn't take much rocket science to know that to yield was to gain, and that compromise was the only way forward. And so as the first edition of Conflict went to print, the mood was somewhat encouraging, despite decades and decades of conflict.

So, yes, the preface to the first edition had that bit of 'cautious optimism' in Tessler's voice, but sixteen years have gone by, and Tessler admits in his second preface that the "Israelis and Palestinians are today more distrustful of one another than ever and the prospect for peace is correspondingly remote". In fact, Tessler tells us that the new material of his second edition is a 'long epilogue' devoted to the 'rise and fall of the Oslo peace process'.

As an academician, historian and a concerned human being, Tessler has first to inform that his work was originally built on the premise of 'objectivity without detachment'. The operative aspect of his scholarship is therefore coloured by the concept of 'without detachment' which means that there is a need to put his studied impressions of what lies ahead for peace for the benefit of his readers, students and fraternity. As it turns out, Tessler pulls no punches in this department.

Tessler, in his second preface, meticulously prepares the reader of what scenarios lie ahead, claiming first, that the Oslo process 'did not have to fail'. He runs us through the usual barrage of peace proposals, returning always to the optimistic position that peace will eventually be found and that the only barriers to peace are people's attitudes, believes, symbols, and a whole bunch of mind-poisoning, distrust-sowing propaganda by the powers that be. And this is the very paradox of his second preface, for here, in dealing with the human psyche which drives all our fears, anger, appetite for destruction and what not, Tessler succumbs to the gravity of the situation on the ground.

In his closing paragraph, we get a dose of Tessler's pain, for while he tells us that despite the complete breakdown at making peace in all its attempts, 'the eventual resumption of negotiations, to be followed by a new peace process, is all but inevitable." That's the bright side. Then he opens the floodgates on us and declares, "But perhaps this is wishful thinking..."
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2009/11/09