This book is a beautifully crafted historical study of the "frame of reference" or mindset of Americans since early times toward the indigenous Arab people of Palestine -- now known as Israel and the Occupied Territories (OT).
Christison sets out to understand why even the foreign affairs elite of scholars, diplomats, politicians and journalists have twisted themselves into knots of puzzlement, dismay and angry frustration that the Palestinians have not happily accepted their displacement and found ways to make the European settlers who control Israel and the OT feel welcome and secure. She chronicles the many decades of ignorance, willful ignorance, stubborn indifference and tactful silence that these elites have used to avoid perceiving the huge, simple fact that the Palestinians were systematically dispossessed of their ancient homes, and rendered stateless by complete strangers from the West. She nicely illustrates the peculiar invisibility of such a massive, long-term, violent event to American eyes by the noting that the Palestinians' word for their overwhelming misfortune, the 'Nakba,' which simply means Catastrophe, was long translated as Arabic for the founding of the State of Israel. So, the Palestinians only even are visible in American eyes when they are connected somehow to the Israeli Jews or the West. It’s always been all about Israel, all the time.
This selective Mr. Magoo condition goes back more than 100 years and Christison details its contours and effects in a cool, insightful prose. It is a fascinating sort of deja vu to encounter beloved and respected historical figures such as FDR emitting the most ridiculous, callous opinions about the Arabs of Palestine, such as that they had only recently moved to the region and that it should be possible to move a few hundred thousand over to Iraq to make room for Jewish immigrants. The first time FDR met an Arab leader (first time for any president) was two months before he died and it dawned on him only then that the Arabs might not appreciate being displaced, but the perception died with him.
The book shows how from the beginning issues concerning Palestine have not been foreign policy issues but domestic political issues in a political context where only the Zionist side has a political and social presence. So, whatever brutal injustices were being perpetrated against the indigenous people of Palestine have been perceived by American elites in something the way that indulgent parents (feeling a bit guilty that they haven't been as kind and loving as they should have been) might perceive the troubles and entanglements of their far-away, demanding son. Understanding and concern for those with whom their son is fighting is theoretically called for but psychologically worrisome. So, the instinctive cowardice of maintaining a convenient "jamais vu" attitude has always prevailed. The U.S. Senate's 100 to zero vote in July 2014 to support the Israeli bombing of Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza shows how powerful the pro-Israel mindset remains.
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