I had the chance to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to #netgalley and I'm so thankful I did. The book is so well researched, straight to the point and asks the most daring of questions; why is it that the liberals of the US, both private citizens and public officials alike, call for justic ...more
“U.S. policy in Israel-Palestine rests upon decades of decisions that have been supported, either through active endorsement or silent complicity, by the American Left. No American president has been an exception in this regard.” (pg 8)
Hill and Plitnick are obviously writing to a well informed demog ...more
This book is not comprehensive, but if you are looking for something that gets to the point and want to know more about the occupation of Palestine, this is the right book for you. It’s 4 chapters, and each one will give you pretty salient takeaways. The last chapter on Trump’s foreign policy is wor ...more
Whenever someone asks “what’s the deal with Israel & Palestine?” I have always responded (somewhat cheekily) “do you have ten hours?” It’s always felt important to give people the history so they can fully grasp how we got to where we ...more
Reads like a very thorough, well sourced (nearly half of the kindle format was notes and sources), and, at times, passionate position paper. Its primary aim, besides just to give an overview of the current political situation (from which I learned a lot, even as someone relatively familiar with the ...more
“If we claim to care about producing freedom and justice around the world, which is often the expressed basis for American foreign policy, then we must remain morally consistent. Palestine cannot be an exception.”
The writers call out the hypocrisy of progressive politicians who deliberately turn a b ...more
“As the violence raged in Gaza, Democrats were as silent as their Republicans colleagues. One need not to support Hamas to recognise that people of Gaza are living in an unacceptable squalor. Yet, as we have demonstrated, the United Stated has not merely been indifferent to the crisis in Gaza, but p...more
This book was overall good, addressed some of my knowledge holes in Israeli/Palestinian conflict. E.g. I have vague recollection of when Hamas won election, and taking over Gaza completely, and these issues have been explained thoroughly in the book.
However, the book is a bit dense for such short le ...more
This is so informative and well articulated about the American policy as a medium between Palestine and Israel, and how it’s always backs Israel up, and violates many international laws for it. I listened to the audiobook and I have to get a physical copy of this. ...more
More of a 3.5 for me. Well written and informative, though I would imagine most readers who pick up the book probably already agree with their general thesis. My main criticism is that it isn’t entirely clear to me who the intended audience is or whether the authors contributed anything new to the t ...more
The American left claims to champion progressive policies and values but has historically excluded justice for Palestinians from their agenda. When it comes to Israeli oppression, both sides of the American political spectrum move the goalposts, favoring one side at the expense of Palestinian life, ...more
I’ll start with my biggest criticism of the book: if you don’t know enough about the history of the region and establishment of Israel, then it can be tough to follow parts of this book. I suppose, as one of the aforementioned people, I was hoping for much more history, but the authors don’t get int ...more
This is a calm, ordered and exceedingly well argued look at the failure of American liberals to consider Palestine and the complicity of America in the oppression of Palestinian people. Obviously a Liberal Democrat in America, is a centrist in Europe but they still present themselves as the moral an ...more
I've never marked up a book and developed a system for referencing important points again in the future, but this book broke that streak. I've been extremely infuriated about the treatment of Palestinians ever since the Israel-Palestine issue came to my full attention earlier this year. I'd spent a ...more
If you don't follow it, Palestine/Israel can seem like a complex issue. Marc Lamont Hill's book is very short and to the point. Like 150 pages. Four chapters. You can do it. (I mean it's pretty accessible even if you don't regularly submerge yourself in political reading. I think it hits the high po ...more
This is a well-written and detailed book about the role the United States has played in supporting Israel's atrocities towards Palestinians for 70 years. It is particularly focused on turning the liberal perspective to stand for Palestinians, which in the past have given nearly unanimous support for ...more
Well-sourced book on how the Israel-Palestine conflict is where it is today. It’s deeply informative and sometimes frustrating to read about the US’ long-time unwavering bipartisan support for the Israeli government with little regard for Palestinian human rights and the historical injustice that ha ...more
So appreciated the very clear way that Hill and Plitnick lay out the arguments in this book: that progressives/Democrats have taken the same line as conservatives/Republicans when it comes to Israel (at least for the last three or four decades): give the nation of Israel lots of aid money, ignore th ...more
This book is very well thought out and reasoned if short. It comes to this issue from a progressive point of view; meaning that its target audience cares bout BLM, LGBTQ equality, feminism, native American rights and those who live on the margins. It demonstrates precisely the double standards that ...more
Excellent. Here is a book you will learn from, even if you think you understand the situation in Israel/Palestine and have been following the situation there for years. For example, I always knew the U.S. was not an honest broker and that we were extremely biased in favor of Israel. But I did not--q ...more