Customer Reviews

Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict" provides a concise and impartial history of Palestine, a topic which is the subject of much distortion and outright propaganda. Charles Smith, the author, relates the relevant historical facts, without judgemental commentary or extraneous information. His sources for significant facts are thoroughly documented in plentiful footnotes at the end of each chapter, which is probably why this book is often used as a text in university courses.

Smith's factual and scholarly approach to such a sensitive topic contrasts sharply with that of Mitchell Bard, author of the ubiquitous, though propagandistic, "Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict", which sets a new standard for one-sided apologetics. Bard has worked for AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group, and one of the most effective and powerful lobbying groups in America.

Some of the facts impartially reported by Smith invariably collide with popular misconceptions, which probably explains the defensive reactions reflected in some of the above polemical reviews of the book. In summary, if you want to know what events have led to the current situation in Palestine, without judgement of either side, read Smith's book.

Smith's book provides good detail on plenty of issues and benefits from attempting to be balanced even if he tends to blame Israel more for problems , especially in the last 30 years. Essentially, Smith tries to give the flavor of how each side sees events, rather than doing all the interpretation for you. While more entrtaining, David Fromkin's 'A Peace to End all Peace' in no way treats the Palestinians as having legitimate interests, while Noam Chomsky's books have no empathy for the Israeli position. Another author with a fairly balanced perspective is Itamar Rabinovich.

Much ink and paper has been wasted on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by propagandists claiming to be historians, so it is a rare pleasure to actually come across a solid, objective and even-handed introductory text such as this that anyone can use to gain an insight into the root causes of this conflict. Unlike the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict", the author of this book has no personal involvement with either side, and he does not try to spin-doctor, excuse or justify the atrocities committed by either said in this long historical conflict.

I assure you that this book is nowhere near as dry as Smith's lectures, and I also assure you that he is extremely (almost insanely) knowledgable on this topic. His lectures are unbiased and I find it hilarious that a lot of reviewers said that this book was biased against Israel. After reading this textbook, I think that only biased people would say that this book is biased (against their own side, of course) because Smith isn't afraid to point the finger at all sides. He clearly shows that the road to peace (or the lack thereof) is a two-way street.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get into the nitty gritty of this topic (details are PLENTY in this text), as long as you're willing to consider that America (as well as others) hasn't exactly been an angel in the past.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is one that touches on so many painful emotions and biases that no book will be deemed fair or unbiased by all concerned. However, Smith's book does a very good job of attempting to be as close to unbiased as possible. It is often used as a textbook in upper-level modern Middle East history courses for just that reason. It is good choice for someone who is new to the subject (other than the inescapable news coverage) and really wants to understand some of the issues invovled throughout the history of the conflict.

One of the strongest things about Smith's book is the inclusion of a number of primary sources. Other than disputing the translations, no one can deny that primary sources are as close to an honest look at history as we can get. Documents are included from many sides of the issues involved and no side comes out either squeekly clean nor as pure evil.

Another strength I found, to differ with another reviewers opinion, is that the book starts quite far back in the history of the conflict. As the mythologizing of the roots of Israel as a nation has been worked into the official stance of all sides, each for their own purposes, understanding what happened at the beginning is of utmost importance if you really want to grasp the subject. This is a good book that does it's best with a difficult subject and goes into some depth in addition to excellent primary source material.

This is a remarkably judicious and comprehensive account of Palestinian-Israeli relations in the 20th century. Its chapters cover: the Middle East and Palestine to 1914; Ottoman society, Palestine, and the origins of Zionism, 1800-1914; World War One, Great Britain, and the peace settlements, 1914-21; Palestine between the wars: Zionism, the Palestinian Arabs, and the British mandate, 1920-39; World War Two and the creation of Israel, 1939-48; the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1949-57; from Suez to the 1967 war, 1957-67; war and the search for peace, 1967-76; Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Camp David Accords, 1977-84; from pariah to partner: the PLO and the quest for peace, 1984-93; and finally, Israeli-Palestinian/Arab negotiations and agreements, August 1993-March 2000.

Key facts, of contemporary relevance, emerge from the narrative: Ben Gurion's aggressive approach was self-defeating - the Gaza raid of 1955 and the invasion of Suez in 1956 both made Israel less secure. The joint British-French-Israeli attack on Egypt, against the will of the United Nations, was a political fiasco. In 1967, the US government encouraged Israel to attack Egypt again, at the same time advising Egypt to hold back until a diplomatic resolution was reached! The first, key, Oslo agreement of 1993 was achieved without US participation, showing that the US is more a hindrance than a help to winning peace.

The Netanyahu government of 1996-99, like the present Sharon government, refused to carry out the agreements of Oslo 1, Oslo 2, the Hebron Protocol of 1997 and the Wye Memorandum of 1998. At Wye, Israel agreed not to `initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip'. As Smith notes, this was `a proviso that Israel had consistently ignored and would ignore in the future'.

The Palestinians have long recognised Israel's right `to exist in peace and security', but Israeli governments have consistently refused to reciprocate. Yet the majority of both peoples want peace, and recognise each other's right `to exist in peace and security'. Both peoples must ensure that their leaders act on this understanding.

This title is an informative and well-referenced history of the conflict in Palestine/Israel, and the author is to be commended for his excellent footnoting and inclusion of primary source documents. My only quibble is the tone with which he presents the conflict. While I share his political sympathies, I fear (as is seen in the lower star reviews of this book) that the language the author uses only leads some (Israeli sympathizers) to ignore the books factual claims and others (Palestinian sympathizers) to have an view of the other side as homogeneously malintentioned, which from my experience it certainly is not. Let us hope that that both sides can cease to think in groups so that a solution, one or two states, may be reached and allow all current occupants to have meaningful safe lives.

This book was on the syllabus of Professor Zachary Lockman's course on Israel and Palestine at Harvard, where I first learned of it. It is extremely well-documented, unbiased and comprehensive, and is also a very easy read. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its documentation of early Zionists' use of terrorist tactics which Palestinians have more recently begun to use. Although some readers criticize the book as unbiased, it is difficult to make that claim since the book is meticulously documented and relies heavily on Israeli and historical documents and newspaper archives.

A must read for those who want to get at the truth of the Arab-Israeli conflict.No propaganda here. This book backs up each statement with documents and is essential of our understanding of the legitimate grievances that the Palestinians have and that must be adressed before a peace can be achieved. Americans should make themselves aquainted with these facts and hold their elected officials accountable for the unconditional support given to Israel in the face of repeated human rights violations.

This is one of the most unbiased books out there on this subject, though i think it leans slightly towards pro-israeli. Definetly a good choice for the unbiased information on the conflict...