Sharing The Land Of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle [Paperback]

Mazin B. Qumsiyeh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0745322484 | ISBN-13: 978-0745322483 | Publication Date: June 20, 2004

There is no more compelling and dramatic unfolding story, with more profound international ramifications, than the conflict in the Middle East. Sharing the Land of Canaan is a critical examination of the core issues of the conflict that dares to put forward a radical but logical solution: that a shared state is the best way to achieve justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, a human rights activist based at Yale University, offers an overview of the issues at stake, and outlines his vision for a lasting peace based on upholding the principles of human rights for all. Tackling taboo subjects, myths and obstacles, he argues convincingly that apartheid in the form of a two-state solution is no longer a feasible way to achieve enduring peace. At this critical time, when the 'road map' to peace looks more uncertain than ever, this book provides a refreshing counterpoint to the failed strategies of the past. It is a direct and accessible account of the history - and mythology - of the fabled 'Land of Canaan', which lays out hopeful ideas for the future of this truly multiethnic and multicultural region.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Mazin Qumsiyeh brings to light many forgotten and willfully buried facts about the origins of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.' --Norman Finkelstein

 

'A tour-de-force.' --Naseer Aruri, Professor Emeritus and author of 'Dishonest Broker'

 

'An erudite work of extensive scholarship, enormous scope, searing honesty, and intellectual audacity. ... Breathtaking!'-- Dr. Hanan Ashrawi

About the Author

Professor Mazin B. Qumsiyeh of Yale University is a co-founder of the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Middle East Genetics Association, Holy Land Conservation Foundation, and Academics For Justice, among other grass root groups. He received the Jallow Activism Award from the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee is 1998, and appears frequently in the media in the US and the Middle East.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (June 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745322484
• ISBN-13: 978-0745322483
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharing the Land: a Just Solution, November 21, 2004

By 

David Eliscu (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sharing The Land Of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle (Paperback)

Mazin Qumsiyeh's Sharing the Land of Canaan is a beautiful book. Suffusing the history of this Middle Eastern region and its peoples, is Qumsiyeh's own history as a member of the Palestinian diaspora. Thus, the book has a personal perspective underlying the historical, scientific, cultural and environmental facts brought out by Qumsiyeh, himself a scientist and human rights activist. He proposes for the region, one single multi-cultural state, in which the rights of all peoples of the region, Muslim, Christian and Jew, are respected and preserved, and those who have been displaced and disenfranchised be granted the right, under the United Nations Charter, and principles of humanitarian justice, to return to their homeland. Mr. Qumsiyeh considers all the objections and possible problems that might be caused by this course of action. But his conclusion, a convincing one, is that there is no other just and viable course for the Middle East, and, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international principles of justice, the only viable way to peace in the region.
Mr. Qumsiyeh skillfully demonstrates that co-existence is not an impossibility, but, rather the only solution to the problems facing the area today known as Israel-Palestine. This book is required reading for all those who seek to learn more about bringing a just peace to the Land of Canaan.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Europeans and Arabs in the Promised Land, July 6, 2005

By 

PhoenixTree "PhoenixTree" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharing The Land Of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle (Paperback)

This book was an overwhelming revelation to me even though i once considered myself well versed in the Palestinian/Israeli Affair. Before reading this book, through my own eternal ammateur research of past Euro-Palestinian accounts i have already surmised what Mazin B Qumsiyeh prooved to be true in his no-nonsense book about the atrocities set in motion by the terrorist state of Israel. His solution for the land of Canaan to return to the state of unity once lived by the denizens of Jerusalem in Medieval times is ideal at worst, but plants the seed of hope within anyone who wants peace to once again reign once more in the Land of Canaan. With scores of citation and genetic research the author has managed to breakdown the convoluted complexities of the Mid-east problem into a simple and perfect solution in just over a hundred pages-that all ethnicities and religions should live within the region peacably and equally with no more interference from the outside world.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Opportunity Not to Be Missed, October 19, 2008

By 

Giant Panda (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharing The Land Of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle (Paperback)

If you want to read one book about Palestine/Israel that will profoundly affect you and challenge your perspective, check out "Sharing the Land of Canaan". Mazin Qumsiyeh is one of the brave yet growing few who refuse to succumb to the media portrayal of Canaan as a land forever at war. He dares to see a workable peace between all the region's inhabitants, a peace he so convincingly and eloquently paints before our eyes. This book delves deep within the confines of history, going back from ancient times to the brink of this century, and extracts a wealth of little-known yet important facts about the history of the region and its conflicts. Even while considering myself a well-read expert on the region, I had learned many things for the first time from the pages of this little book.

Though concise, "Sharing the Land of Canaan" is very comprehensive in its coverage, with chapters on ancient Canaan, Genetics, Palestinian Refugees, Zionism, Israeli Laws, Jerusalem, Human Rights, Terrorism, Economics, and more. Dr. Qumsiyeh succeeds where no other writer has: condensing all the complex facets of this human conflict into so few pages, without missing anything of importance. The great thing about this book is its wealth of quotes from primary sources, some of them often hard to find. A wealth of notes and a suggested reading section after every chapter make it an excellent starting point for learning more about this Biblical land.

While common wisdom deems peace impossible or beyond the horizon, this book demonstrates how the current peace processes and visions of peace are in themselves the obstacle towards achieving a lasting peace. He outlines a step-by-step in which you, dear reader, can play a part if you choose to miss this opportunity and stay on the sidelines, listening to the media pundits making the conflict sound unintelligible.