Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 [Paperback]

Tanya Reinhart (Author)

Book Description

Series: Seven Stories' Open Media | Publication Date: November 5, 2002

In Israel/Palestine, Reinhart traces the development of the Security Barrier and Israel’s new doctrine of "disengagement," launched in response to a looming Palestinian-majority population. Examining the official record of recent diplomacy, including United States–brokered accords and talks at Camp David, Oslo, and Taba, Reinhart explores the fundamental power imbalances between the negotiating parties and identifies Israel’s strategy of creating facts on the ground to define and complicate the terms of any future settlement.
In this indispensable primer, Reinhart’s searing insight illuminates the current conflict and suggests a path toward change.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

TANYA REINHART is a professor of linguistics and cultural studies at Tel Aviv University and at the University of Utrecht. She is most well known academically for her contribution to theoretical linguistics. In 1994, following the Oslo agreements, which she viewed as a painful deception of the Palestinian people, and the setting of a sophisticated Apartheid regime, she turned to political writing. She has had a regular critical column in the biggest Israeli daily, Yediot Aharonot, as well as many other articles online. For more information, visit Reinhart's web site at http://www.tau.ac.il/~reinhart.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583225382
• ISBN-13: 978-1583225387
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, Unbiassed, and Challenges the Popular Notion, February 4, 2003

By 

Edgar Hopida (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (Paperback)

Despite the many detractors of this book, this book is a wonderful and honest piece on the current situation regarding Palestine and Israel. All the facts are documented, and character attacks put out by the reviewers before me show the brainwashed and rejectionist mentality that effects western academia and media. This book goes well with Norman Finkelstein's book Image and Reality of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict and Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky. It seems that whenever scholars or people speak out against the unlawful practices of the Israeli government, people are labeled as anti semites and this and that. This cant be applied to this author or noam chomsky or norman finkelstein. All of them are Jews and all of them have documented the evidence. So instead of attacking this book based on rejectionist literature and models, confirm it from the sources its drawn on

40 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading from Irrefutable Source, March 26, 2003

By 

Smitty88 (Fort Jones, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (Paperback)

I am ordering two more copies of this book to lend to friends. It is essential reading from a respected Israeli academic for anyone wanting to have a real understanding of current Israel/Palestine problems and a reasonable resolution.
Reconciliation is difficult unless based on truth and it is the truths presented here - confirmed to me by other Israelis as well as by my observations - that have been systematically avoided by persistant propaganda that have impeded it.
It is ironic that the greatest long-term threat to the safety and security of Israel and Palestine is those Americans who most loudly and vociferously support Sharon's stated efforts to purge the entire land of Palestinians.

39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reinhart's Book is a Gem, October 15, 2002

By 

Rahul Mahajan (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (Paperback)

Tanya Reinhart's book is a gem, combining analytical precision with in-depth understanding of her own society. She doesn't just blow apart the myth of Barak's "generous offer" -- she gives us a plausible interpretation of Barak's strategic reasoning. The fundamental question in Israeli society right now is, as she says, "How to end the War of 1948." Her counterposition of the two options -- Oslo-style apartheid vs. "transfer" -- is right on the money, but she goes further, exploring the civilian-military split at the heart of the question. Her analysis that Barak, like Sharon, is an advocate of transfer, and that both his non-negotiations with Syria and his non-offer at Camp David were deliberately designed to manipulate Israeli public opinion is original and compelling. The suggestions of high-level Israeli military collusion are intriguing, although likely the full story will come out only years later. Tanya Reinhart has not just repackaged standard analysis of the occupation -- she has seen deeper into the past five years of Israeli state policy than anyone else writing in English.