An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel [Paperback]

Jeff Halper (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0745322263 | ISBN-13: 978-0745322261 | Publication Date: February 20, 2008

Jeff Halper's book, like his life's work, is an inspiration. Drawing on his many years of directly challenging Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, he offers one of the most insightful analyses of the occupation I've read. His voice cries out to be heard.Jonathan Cook, author of Blood and Religion (2006) and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations (2008)In this book, the Israeli anthropologist and activist Jeff Halper throws a harsh light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the point of view of a critical insider. While the Zionist founders of Israel created a vibrant society, culture and economy, they did so at a high price: Israel could not maintain its exclusive Jewish character without imposing on the country's Palestinian population policies of ethnic cleansing, occupation and discrimination, expressed most graphically in its ongoing demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories.An Israeli in Palestine records Halper's journey 'beyond the membrane' that shields his people from the harsh realities of Palestinian life to his 'discovery' that he was actually living in another country: Palestine. Without dismissing the legitimacy of his own country, he realises that Israel is defined by its oppressive relationship to the Palestinians. Pleading for a view of Israel as a real, living country which must by necessity evolve and change, Halper asks whether the idea of an ethnically pure 'Jewish State' is still viable. More to the point, he offers ways in which Israel can redeem itself through a cultural Zionism upon which regional peace and reconciliation are attainable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Jeff Halper's book, like his life's work, is an inspiration. Drawing on his many years of directly challenging Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, he offers one of the most insightful analyses of the occupation I've read. His voice cries out to be heard.'Jonathan Cook, author of Blood and Religion (2006) and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations (2008)

About the Author

Jeff Halper, an Israeli Professor of Anthropology, has been a leading figure within the Israeli peace movement for over thirty years, and the head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Halper was nominated by the American Friends Service Committee for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and is the author of Obstacles to Peace (2005) and Between Redemption and Revival (1991).

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (February 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745322263
• ISBN-13: 978-0745322261
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #806,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If there was one book I would like to put in every library in America, April 26, 2008

By 

Douglas Carpenter (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel (Paperback)

If there was one book I would like to put in every library in America - it would be this book! I would have to say that this books is the most complete book I have ever read in explaining clearly what is wrong with the occupation and how absolutely awful it really is. Both anecdotally and with facts and figures, the book lays out in very clear and concise terms what is wrong with the whole Oslo process and post Oslo negotiations and what is wrong with the kind of two-state solution Israel and the U.S. are trying to foist off on the Palestinians.

To those who are not familiar with Jeff Halper's work; Professor Halper is Professor of Anthropology at Tel Aviv University and he is founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition.

Please allow me to quote from the first paragraph of the first chapter of this excellent book:

Quote:

"I first became aware of being an "Israeli in Palestine" on July 9, 1998, the day my friend Salim Shawamrch calls "that black day in my life and the life of my family." On that day the bulldozers of Israel's Civil Administration, its military government in the West Bank, demolished his home for the first time. It was an act so, unjust, so at odds with the ethos of the benign, democratic, Jewish Israel fighting for its survival I had absorbed on "my side" of the Green Line that it was inexplicable in any terms I could fathom. It had nothing to do with terrorism or security. It was not an act of defense or even keeping Palestinians away from Israeli settlements or roads. It was purely unjust and brutal. As the bulldozer pushed through the walls of Salim's home, it pushed me through all the ideological rationalizations, the pretexts, the lies and the bullshit that my country had erected to prevent us from seeing the truth: that oppression must accompany an attempt to deny the existence and claims of another people in order to establish an ethnically pure state for yourself."


Many people are under the absolutely false impression that most house demolitions are demolitions of the homes of suspected terrorist. Actually 95% of home demolitions are done ostensibly on the ground that the homes were built or extended without building permits. And the occupations authorities and even the civil authorities inside Israel rarely grant building permits to Palestinians either in the Occupied Territories or even within Israel itself, no matter how drastic the housing shortage is. Most Palestinians on both sides of the green line who have the means and the desire to build a house, spend thousand of dollars in fees and fines and wait years and years only to have their permits denied again, again and again.

Professor Halper's opinions are much more nuanced than some would presume. Dr. Halper actually supports the the two-solution and does not particularly favor the single state or binational state solution although he is favorable to their democratic principles. Dr. Halper does not describe himself as either a Zionist or an anti-Zionist. In fact he is quite favorable to the whole concept of cultural Zionism - the Hebrew cultural revival and renaissance; but not political Zionism which he views as an idea rooted in outmoded 19th Century Eastern European "ethnocratic" nationalism. His main point is that for there to be long term peace in the region, Israel must move beyond an ethnocratic, "state for the Jews' and become a real multi-ethnic, multi-religious modern democracy that is a state for all of its citizens.

Another point Dr. Halper emphasizes is that Israel must completely move away from the whole confrontational, " Iron Wall" approach to the Arab and Muslim world and seek full integration into the region. His long term picture is a situation in which Israel eventually becomes part of an EU type configuration with their neighbors. His actual view is a two-state solution that hopefully can evolve into a binational state in an economic and political community with their neighbors. This would be among other things a way to help resolve the refugee problem. The right of return would be far more acceptable to Israelis if Palestinians who chose to live in Israel would either be citizens of a Palestinian state or of neighboring countries. The issue of settlers would be completely different if those Israelis who chose to live within a Palestinian state would remain Israeli citizens but living as equals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Gaza - which would be far more acceptable to Palestinians if the settlers were living as equals and they - the Palestinians also had the right to live in Israel. And of course the whole issue of Jerusalem would be put on an entirely different level.

A few decades ago Australia moved away from the concept of being a western outpost in Asia - to recognizing that their own viability and long term survival required Australia to seek integrating into East Asia and become a vital part of the East Asian family of nations. It's hard to imagine today, but only in the 60's Australia had a "white Australia" policy which essentially only welcomed White-Christians as citizens. NO amount of military power and prowess can out muscle geography and demographics forever. Dr. Halper challenges everyone to move from the "Iron Wall" - either we win and they lose or they lose and we win paradigm to a win/win paradigm.

As Professor Halper points out, integration into the region is for the Israelis not simply a matter of idealism or multiculuralism. It is a matter of viability and even survival. And as Professor Halper points out in his book, the one real power the Palestinians have is that they - the Palestinians are the gatekeepers of Israel's acceptance and integration into the Middle East.

Professor Halper's main point in discussing the two-state solution which he does support - is that the type of two-state solution currently being cooked up for the Palestinians is an nonviable apartheid arrangement that will not bring independence, peace, justice or security or acceptance into the region. It must be vigorously opposed.

Professor Halper has goes into great detail in his book and he has written elsewhere about how the whole system of how settlements, bypass roads, walls, tunnels, borders controls and infrastructure completely dissect the entire West Bank and Occupied Territories into a system of economically and politically nonviable cantons which make political and economic independence absolutely impossible and creates a Matrix of Control over virtually every aspect of their lives.

You can also read more about how this Matrix of Control operates in the real world at this website:

[...]

The book goes into far more details of the on-the ground realities


I cannot recommend this book enough. Some have asked, "what can be done to really help the Palestinians and improve their situation while recognizing that only a full end to the occupation is the real answer?" This is a hard question to answer considering that it does not look likely that a full end to the occupation is coming any time soon. In 1996 Professor Halper took this question to numerous Palestinians. What can we do to help that can both thwart the occupation and contribute to its demise while at the same time doing something productive that helps Palestinians in their day to day lives? That is when he joined with others in founding The Israeli Committee Against House Demolition.

For a Youtube interview with Jeff Halper - bottom of the page:

[...]

Website for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition:
[...]

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE book to read if you want to understand this issue!, August 23, 2008

By 

Joanne Heisel (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel (Hardcover)

Jeff Halper, a Jewish Israeli peace activist, lays out in devastating detail the horrors of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This book is so well documented, it seems impossible to refute. It's really difficult to read. Not that it's difficult to UNDERSTAND... not at all. But what Israel has done -- and continues to do -- to the Palestinians is so atrocious, it actually hurts me to read it.

This book is CHOCK-FULL of unbelievable facts and statistics that demonstrate the utter complexity, completeness and cruelty of the "Matrix of Control" that Israel maintains over the Palestinians. I would like to quote just one section. It will give you an idea of how devastating the occupation is for the Palestinians:

"The [Jewish-only] settlement blocs are consciously built atop the [occupied] West Bank aquifers from which Israel draws about 30 percent of its water in violation of international law, which prohibits an Occupying Power from utilizing the resources of an occupied territory. Indeed, 80 percent of the water resources of the West Bank and Gaza are under Israeli control, and a full 80 percent of the water coming from the West Bank goes to Israel and its settlements. Only 20 percent is allocated to its 2.5 million Palestinian inhabitants, and they receive none of the water pumped from the Jordan River. As for consumption, the settlers use six times more water per capita than Palestinians. Per capita water consumption in the West Bank for domestic and urban use (drinking, washing, consumption by public institutions, watering parks, and so on) is only 60 liters per person per day, far below the minimum water consumption of 100 liters per person per day recommended by the World Health Organization; Israelis consume 350 liters per person per day. Mekorot, the Israeli water carrier, which controls all the water of the country, allocates 1,450 cubic meters of water per year to each settler, while a Palestinian receives only 83. Around 215,000 Palestinians living in 270 West Bank villages have no running water at all. The destruction of Palestinian wells and water mains, which has intensified with the construction of the ["separation"] wall over the main aquifers, creates months of water shortages, while the need to purchase water from Israeli tank trucks, costing $3 during the rainy season and up to $8 in the dry months, is beyond the financial resources of the impoverished population. As a final blow, Palestinians are forbidden to collect rainwater in open reservoirs."

The Israeli state is absolutely brutal in its treatment of the Palestinians... of this there can be no doubt. Another thing Halper makes painfully clear is that Israel has no intentions of negotiating a contiguous, viable and truly sovereign Palestinian state. It has already established "facts on the ground" that preclude such an entity.

I haven't quite finished the book yet, but it seems obvious to me that what Israel wants to do, vis-a-vis the Palestinians, is to make life so intolerable for them in the Occupied Territories that they will give up their dreams (and their rights!) and leave their homeland.

If you really want to understand what is going on in the Middle East, PLEASE read this book. Halper is a genius at explaining what Israel is doing... and why.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Book, July 6, 2008

By 

Jan Bauman (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel (Paperback)

I have just finished reading Jeff Halper's An Israeli in Palestine and found it almost impossible to put down.
Halper has laid out the history of the establishment of the Zionist state in an easy to read manner although what he has written is not easy to digest.
As an American Jew who once staunchly supported Israel, I am horrified at how that state came into being with the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians who had been on the land for many generations. Halper quotes early and later Zionist leaders who acknowledge that with a large Arab population there could not be a Jewish state. He shows how the dispossession of the Palestinians was accomplished. this included the destruction of at least 500 Palestinian villages and taking the lands of the Arabs who remained, many of whom now live in what Israel calls unrecognized villages which lack electricity, roads and water supplies.
Halper has coined a more apt word for Israel than "democracy." Israel, he says, is an ethnocracy run for the benefit of the 70% Jewish population. In Israel today Arabs are barred from living on 93% of the land and, while they pay the same taxes, they do not get the same services. I wonder how America's Jews would feel if, in this so-called "Christian" nation we were barred from living on 93% of the land. I imagine that we would fight like hell against such blatant discrimination.
But it is in the Occupied Territories that Israel has committed the greatest sins. Since 1967 Israel has demolished at least 18,000 Palestinian homes. Palestinians cannot build new homes without permits but the irony is that the permits are rarely, if ever, granted to Palestinians who must pay large fees for the "privilege" of applying. When the permits are turned down the Palestinians, who are in dire need of housing, will build without the permit. Sooner or later it is likely that the bulldozers will arrive to destroy the house and everything in it. Jewish built homes built without permit are never bulldozed.
It is interesting to note that the Palestinian who last week overturned a bus in Jerusalem with a bulldozer was the victim of an Israeli bulldozer that demolished his home a few years ago.
Halper points out that Israel has for years avoided any chance of making peace with the Palestinians if that peace meant giving up the land and water resources it had already stolen. In the paperback version of the book he devotes six pages to listing all the opportunities for peace at which Israel thumbed its nose.
Halper makes it abundantly clear that what Israel wants is as much land and resources as possible with as few Palestinians as possible on that land. That is not a formula for peace.
This is a book that I wish would be read by every American whose tax dollars go to support the apartheid Israeli system. I wish that it would be read by every member of Congress who, if they were not too cowed by AIPAC, might just get up and say "Not one penny more."