Struggle And Survival In Palestine Israel

"This wonderful volume illuminates the human dimensions of the complex and often painful history of modern Palestine/Israel by vividly relating the life stories of a variety of individuals and exploring how their experiences have been profoundly shaped by the recurrent struggles over this land. It highlights the importance of human agency in shaping history, but also the impact of historical events and processes on individuals’ life choices. This book is not only a valuable resource for teaching but is also of great value to anyone interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in the perspectives and destinies of those who have lived in its shadows."—Zachary Lockman, New York University. "This book is a welcome and essential addition to the extensive literature on the conflict in Israel/Palestine that tends to overlook the individual and their personal experiences. It is through these personal stories that one best appreciates the complex realities of this land. Each of the powerful narratives chosen by the contributors to this valuable volume is like a microcosmos that teaches us about the diverse realities in Israel and Palestine as a whole. This is a refreshing and original contribution to a field of inquiry that is craving for such a novel approach."—Ilan Pappé, author of The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty

The Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the world’s most polarizing confrontations. Its current phase, Israel’s “temporary” occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, turned a half century old in June 2017. In these timely and provocative essays, Gershon Shafir asks three questions—What is the occupation, why has it lasted so long, and how has it transformed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? His cogent answers illuminate how we got here, what here is, and where we are likely to go. Shafir expertly demonstrates that at its fiftieth year, the occupation is riven with paradoxes, legal inconsistencies, and conflicting interests that weaken the occupiers’ hold and leave the occupation itself vulnerable to challenge.

This landmark book offers a truly integrated perspective for understanding the formation of Jewish and Palestinian Arab identities and relations in Palestine before 1948. Beginning with the late Ottoman period Mark LeVine explores the evolving history and geography of two cities: Jaffa, one of the oldest ports in the world, and Tel Aviv, which was born alongside Jaffa and by 1948 had annexed it as well as its surrounding Arab villages. Drawing from a wealth of untapped primary sources, including Ottoman records, Jaffa Shari'a court documents, town planning records, oral histories, and numerous Zionist and European archival sources, LeVine challenges nationalist historiographies of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, revealing the manifold interactions of the Jewish and Palestinian Arab communities that lived there. At the center of the book is a discussion of how Tel Aviv's self-definition as the epitome of modernity affected its and Jaffa's development and Jaffa's own modern pretenses as well. As he unravels this dynamic, LeVine provides new insights into how popular cultures and public spheres evolved in this intersection of colonial, modern, and urban space. He concludes with a provocative discussion of how these discourses affected the development of today's unified city of Tel Aviv–Yafo and, through it, Israeli and Palestinian identities within in and outside historical Palestine.

This book is a collection of narratives collects from family archives, interviews, and published memoirs. They tell the stories of everyday people living a conflict-ridden world, emphasizing individual interaction, introducing marginal voices alongside more renowned ones, defying "typical" definition of Israelis and Palestinians.

Ali Abunimah provides an effective strategy for advancing the struggle for a just, single-state solution in Palestine.

One Land, Two States imagines a new vision for Israel and Palestine in a situation where the peace process has failed to deliver an end of conflict. “If the land cannot be shared by geographical division, and if a one-state solution remains unacceptable,” the book asks, “can the land be shared in some other way?” Leading Palestinian and Israeli experts along with international diplomats and scholars answer this timely question by examining a scenario with two parallel state structures, both covering the whole territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, allowing for shared rather than competing claims of sovereignty. Such a political architecture would radically transform the nature and stakes of the Israel-Palestine conflict, open up for Israelis to remain in the West Bank and maintain their security position, enable Palestinians to settle in all of historic Palestine, and transform Jerusalem into a capital for both of full equality and independence—all without disturbing the demographic balance of each state. Exploring themes of security, resistance, diaspora, globalism, and religion, as well as forms of political and economic power that are not dependent on claims of exclusive territorial sovereignty, this pioneering book offers new ideas for the resolution of conflicts worldwide.

This is the only book you need in order to comprehend the complexities of the modern Middle East. Unlike most writing on the Arab-Israeli conflict, How Israel Was lion is a balanced, well researched, and insightful chronicle of Israel in the twentieth century. Baylis Thomas's concise history synthesizes for the general reader the vast number of historical studies and recently declassified documents from the United States and Israel to create a sophisticated and completely original interpretation of this conflict. The narrative reveals the complex story behind Israel's founding, its early struggle for survival, and its movements toward reconciliation with its Arab neighbors. Thomas also investigates the critical roles played by Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and he explores the political and psychological attitudes of the protagonists and of the international community. How Israel Was Won is the most current and most accessible account of the Arab-Israeli conflict written to date. To understand the events behind tonight's breaking news in the Middle East, read this book.