The Palestinian People: A History [Paperback]

Baruch Kimmerling (Author), Joel S. Migdal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674011295 | ISBN-13: 978-0674011298 | Publication Date: March 2003

In a timely reminder of how the past informs the present, Baruch Kimmerling and Joel Migdal offer an authoritative account of the history of the Palestinian people from their modern origins to the Oslo peace process and beyond.

Palestinians struggled to create themselves as a people from the first revolt of the Arabs in Palestine in 1834 through the British Mandate to the impact of Zionism and the founding of Israel. Their relationship with the Jewish people and the State of Israel has been fundamental in shaping that identity, and today Palestinians find themselves again at a critical juncture. In the 1990s cornerstones for peace were laid for eventual Palestinian-Israeli coexistence, including mutual acceptance, the renunciation of violence as a permanent strategy, and the establishment for the first time of Palestinian self-government. But the dawn of the twenty-first century saw a reversion to unmitigated hatred and mutual demonization. By mid-2002 the brutal violence of the Intifada had crippled Palestine's fledgling political institutions and threatened the fragile social cohesion painstakingly constructed after 1967. Kimmerling and Migdal unravel what went right--and what went wrong--in the Oslo peace process, and what lessons we can draw about the forces that help to shape a people. The authors present a balanced, insightful, and sobering look at the realities of creating peace in the Middle East. (20030901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This remarkable book recounts how the Palestinians came to be constituted as a people. The authors offer perceptive observations on the status of Palestinian citizens of Israel, the successes and failures of the Oslo process, and the prospects for both Palestinians and Israelis of achieving a peaceful future together. A dispassionate and balanced analysis that provides essential background for understanding the complexities of the Middle East. (Rashid Khalidi, University of Chicago 20040601) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Baruch Kimmerling was George S. Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Toronto.

Joel S. Migdal is Robert F. Philip Professor of International Studies, University of Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674011295
• ISBN-13: 978-0674011298
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > History > Middle East > Palestine

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Balanced History, May 17, 2003

By 

Jessica M. Ramer "johanna777" (Pompano Beach, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Palestinian People: A History (Hardcover)

In a field littered with propaganda, two knowledgeable scholars, Baruch Kimmerling, the George S. Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University, and Joel Migdal, professor at the University of Washington, have written an objective, scholarly treatise on the history of the Palestinian people and the forces that shaped the development of their national consciousness.

It is difficult to imagine a better collaboration than the one between Kimmerling and Migdal. Kimmerling is one of the best social scientists in Israel with a list of impressive publications on his vita. I am less familiar with Migal's work, but his prose is often breathtakingly beautiful, especially when he describes the land itself. Rarely will one find a better writer in the social sciences than Migdal.

Those without a scholarly knowledge of the field will find the book tough to read at times but the patient reader will be rewarded for his efforts with a deeper understanding of the world's most intractable conflict.

28 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very useful history of the Palestinian people, August 26, 2004

By 

William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Palestinian People: A History (Hardcover)

The Israeli historian Baruch Kimmerling and the American historian Joel Migdal have written an excellent study of the development of Palestinian society, economy and national identity over the last two centuries. Part 1 looks at the development from the 1834 revolt against the Ottoman empire, the start of modern Palestine, to the 1936-39 revolt against the British ruling class, who decimated Palestinian institutions, to Zionism's benefit. It shows how the Europe-dominated world market, Zionism and government intervention framed the Palestinian nation. Part 2 examines the dispersal of 1948. Part 3 looks at how the Palestinian nation was reborn in resistance against occupation, up to the 1987 Intifada.

Part 4 studies the Oslo peace agreement of 1993, negotiated away from the Washington talks. Large majorities of both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples backed Oslo. The left, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the diaspora, conspicuously Edward Said, opposed it - all put the right of return above every other consideration.

Oslo negotiated a two-state settlement - two states for two peoples. It involved explicit acceptance of each other's existence, and mutual acceptance of the idea of partition, with agreed borders between the two states. Both sides renounced violence, and committed themselves to cooperation, negotiation and peaceful coexistence.

Its gains included Israeli withdrawal from the urban areas of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the first establishment of Palestinian self-government. Yet between 1993 and 2000 successive Israeli governments undermined the agreement by doubling the numbers of settlers in the West Bank.

For the future, the authors conclude, "Neither people can achieve peace without fulfilling some of the most deeply held the aspirations of the other." Israel will have to make concessions on settlements, the refugees' right of return, a capital city in Jerusalem, and Palestinian control over sufficient water resources. It must end the brutal, illegal occupation, and - the key issue - it must accept a sovereign Palestinian state.

The alternative is that both sides strive for maximalist goals involving mutual denial, which will lead only to their mutual destruction.

27 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good, balanced view, January 31, 2004

By 

DAVID-LEONARD WILLIS (Thessaloniki Greece) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Palestinian People: A History (Paperback)

Rejecting standard Palestinian and Israeli historiographies, this book puts forth an explanation of why we are in the present situation by relying heavily on published material and undisputed facts but viewed from the author's particular perspective and interpretation. Stephen Covey, in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' illustrates the fact that we can all see the same world completely differently by the picture of a woman. To some who have been conditioned beforehand she is an old hag while to others, conditioned differently, she is a real cutie. No where does this point have greater validity than when we view the history of the relationship between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. To put it crudely, the Israelis have been conditioned to view the Palestinians as the old hag, while the Palestinians, quite naturally, see themselves as the real cutie. For the neutral outsider who is concerned that the Third World War might arise in this area, it is very difficult to get past the passions and prejudices, to get to facts and solutions that are acceptable to everyone. It seems that we have two broad alternatives - let the contestants fight it out until one is the victor or both are so exhausted that they are prepared to negotiate. During their centuries of immaturity, humans have used this method. I like to think that humans have grown beyond that stage and can act in a more mature manner and this is basically what this book sets out to do. They have tried to gather the facts of history in an unbiased way and work on the solution in a mature manner.

Their 1993 book "Palestinians: The Making of a People', was the first full account of Palestinian society and politics from their origins to the present and was published as the Oslo peace process was starting. It generated considerable interest from neutral people, Palestinian acclaim and vitriolic debate in Israel. When Rabin took Arafat's hand on the White House lawn in September 1993, it was acknowledged that the Oslo agreement demanded a new way of thinking about old issues and stubborn problems. The prime issue was whether or not there was a unified Palestinian people prior to Zionism - an assertion that the authors reaffirm in this book, recognizing that it is extremely unpopular in Israel as it undermines the Zionist story. However, since 1993 there has been a growing acceptance of the authors' points and in an August 2002 poll 78% of Israeli Jews accepted that Palestinians have a legitimate right to a state. After Barak's 1999 election, 75% of Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza Strip voted for negotiations, knowing that this meant acceptance of Israel's legitimate existence and Israel's occupation of 80% of historic Palestine.

The Oslo process induced Palestinians and Israelis to reconsider their shared history - a painful undertaking for both sides. Building the future requires an ability to deal maturely and honestly with the past and it is the hope of the authors that this book will contribute to that process. Tracing events from the 1834 Revolt and the making of the modern Palestine in the first three parts of the book, the final part examines what went right and what went wrong in the Oslo process. If we accept the fact that the authors have made an effort to present the facts in a neutral way - recognizing that the hag and cutie prejudice will not be easily overcome - the important thing is to study the final part, stop the bloodshed and move forward.

It is a responsibility of all peace loving people to read this book and lend their support to finding and implementing the solution which comes closest to being fair for all. I am reminded of Edmund Burke's statement: "For the triumph of evil it is only necessary that good men do nothing."