Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations

by Avi Shlaim

Avi Shlaim, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Israel–Palestine conflict,  reflects with characteristic rigour and readability on a range of key issues and personalities. From the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the failure of the Oslo peace process, from the 1948 War to the 2008 invasion of Gaza, Israel and Palestine places current events in their proper historical perspective. It assesses the impact of key political and intellectual figures, including Yasir Arafat and Ariel Sharon, Edward Said and Benny Morris. It also re-examines the United States’ influential role in the conflict, and explores the many missed opportunities for peace and progress in the region.

Clear-eyed and meticulous, Israel and Palestine is an essential tool for understanding the fractured history and future prospects of Israel-Palestine.

Genres: History, Middle East, Politics, Nonfiction, Israel, Essays, International Relations

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Avi Shlaim FBA (born October 31, 1945) is an Iraqi-born British/Israeli historian. He is emeritus professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy. Shlaim is considered one of Israel's New Historians, a group of Israeli scholars who put forward critical interpretations of the history of Zionism and Israel.

Reviews

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Israel and Palestine is a great review of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you are reading this book with previous well-rounded knowledge of the conflict, then this book won’t bring much more to the table for you. However, it did cause me to reevaluate the role of Saddam Hussein and Iraq within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the roots of the American invasion of 2003. Overall, it was well worth my time.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shlaim is the author of The Iron Wall, Israel and the Arab World, and one of the major “new” historians who used Israeli source documents to challenge some simple assumptions about Israel as an innocent actor in the Middle East, the lone democracy and lone party willing to seek peace with its hostile neighbors. Among the givens challenged: that Palestine was a land without people prior to Jewish immigration, that during the first Arab-Israeli war Palestinians abandoned on their own or at the behest of Palestinian leaders their towns and villages and thereby created the refugee problem, and that peace has failed to come to the Middle East because of relentless unilateral Arab intransigence.

Shlaim is a thoughtful, evidence-based historian of integrity. You may disagree with some of his interpretations, even all of them, but they are rooted in available documentary evidence, not unsubstantiated bias or agenda driven readings of aligned facts while other facts are ignored. The Iron Wall is the better book, a comprehensive undertaking, but this is collection of reviews and essays, arranged in a chronological order and edited with some connective transitions and references to essays that appear earlier in the book, is both readable and informative. There are pieces that cover topics from the Balfour Declaration to the first Arab-Israeli War, the 1967 Six-Day and 1973 Yom Kippur wars, the various attempts at peace, either short- or long-term, the role of the US and others in the Mideast, the Oslo agreements, Rabin’s assassination and the prime ministries of Ben Gurion, Meir, Shamir, Peres, Rabin, and Netanyahu, terrorism, Arafat and King Hussein, and historians and writers like Benny Morris and Edward Said.

Shlaim is a cogent, even graceful writer and a persistent and compassionate voice for reason and a path for peace in the Middle East. Both of his books are worth the reading, even necessary for an informed understanding of the modern history of Israel and Palestine and any hope for a peaceful future.

[محمود قدري · Rating 4 out of 5]

 

الكتاب من تأليف المؤرخ اليهودي العراقي،الذي يحمل الجنسية البريطانية والإسرائيلية،المنتمي لمجموعة"المؤرخون الجدد"الهادفة لكشف الأكاذيب كما دأب أعلام الدولة الإسرائيلية علي ترديدها بمختلف الأبواق الإعلامية،كي تستدر عطف ودموع العالم لتغمض جفونهم عن دماء الآلاف من ضحايا آلة الحرب الإسرائيلية،بينما تتسع وتتقد بالغضب لدي كل ما يمس سمعة إسرائيل حتي لو أدي لخنق حرية الرأي في العالم.

المؤلف يهاجم بشدة الدولة العبرية،مظهراً حقيقتها باعتبارها دولة يحكمها عصابة من قادة بلا ضمير،ويذكر أنه تبعاً لتعريف الإرهاب باعتباره عنف ضد مدنيين لتحقيق أغراض سياسية فإن إسرائيل كيان يقوم في الاساس وينمو بالإرهاب في حق العرب،ويستمر في تعرية الدولة المحتلة،واستخدامها لسياسة العقاب الجماعي واغتيال المناضلين واتباع سياسة تجويع وحصار الشعب الفلسطيني،ويبدأ سرد مأساة أرض الزيتون منذ صدور وعد بلفور ١٩١٧المكون من ٦٧كلمة فقط،حتي الحرب علي قطاع غزة ٢٠٠٨،شارحاً أن العرب والإسرائيلين يحملون علي ظهورهم تركة التاريخ والأيدولوجيا والصور المشوهة عن الآخر مستعيناً بعبارة المؤرخ الفرنسي أرنست رينان"الأمة مجموعة من البشر تجمعهم رؤية خاطئة عن الماضي وكراهية لجيرانهم،ويصف الصهيونية بانها من أكثر قصص العلاقات العامة نجاحاً،بينما القومية الفلسطينية نموذج كامل للفشل وهو أحد أسباب الهزيمة العربية ١٩٤٨،وعن المقاومة يؤكد أن الجيش يمكنه هزيمة جيش آخر لكنه لا يقدر علي هزيمة شعب يريد الحياة والكرامة، مفنداً أكذوبة الشعار الذي ابتدعه الكاتب الكوميدي يسرائيل زينجويل"أرض بلا شعب لشعب بلا أرض" ،ولا يدخر جهداً في الهجوم علي قادة إسرائيل كبن جوريون ورابين وشارون وينعتهم بالسفاحين ويطلق عليهم صفات وحشية والأخير هو الأكثر وحشية وخداعاً وتهوراً،مع إبراز جرائم و إخفاقات الموساد،ويعرض تحولات القضية الفلسطينية من خلال شخصيات عربية كوصفي التل وحسني الزعيم وياسر عرفات والملك حسين وإدوارد سعيد وحنان عشراوي،ويفضح المزاعم الإسرائيلية بشأن السلام لان كل سلوكياتهم وأقوالهم تشير بأن الأرض أهم من أي مشروع للسلام مع العرب،وعن علاقات إسرائيل مع أمريكا يذكر وجود مدرستين للسياسة الامريكية مدرسة التوازن بين العرب وإسرائيل ومدرسة إسرائيل أولاً التي انبثق عنها احتلال العراق في عهد بوش كتوطئة لعالم جديد يكون في خدمة إسرائيل.



https://wwwmahmoudkadrycom.blogspot.c...

[Shu Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first serious reading foray on the Israeli Palestinian issue. As such, I do not feel I can confidently compare or contrast it to any other work. However, the writing was accessible; the issues were well outlined in the various sections. The subject matter is bleak. If anything, that was the challenge from this book to the reader, to continue to read a story with no positive end in sight.

The diversity of opinions and personalities included by the author grant a larger view of the issues than I have commonly met and brought a wide array of aspects to the issue. He demonstrates many of the reasons for the stubborn intransigence of the actors that seems to be inherent to the situation. Shlaim goes to pains to demonstrate the diversity, changing opinions and complexity of the solutions that have been brought to the table by various people and organizations since the beginning. The contextualization is, to me, the most useful characteristic of the book.

[Faiz Azizan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very analytical. The compare and contrast of views taken by other historian adds to this book resourcefulness. Easy to say, this book is for beginners who want to understand the events that lead to the israel-palestine crisis today

[Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cleverly chronologically organized set of book reviews representing a critical view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In addition to being a rich source of literature review for any Middle Eastern studies researcher.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important book to understanding the role of the Palestinans and the Israelis in the current lack of peaceful resolution.

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avi Shlaim's book is the best introduction to the Israel/Palestine conflict I've found, though the author did not intend the collection of essays as an introduction to the conflict. It is an excellent introduction because Shlaim writes clearly and cogently in narrative form with chock-full of reflections and insights as a historian and former member of the Israeli military in the 1960s. Accompanying his work are clear and simple maps of mandated Palestine, Israel, and the occupied territories of Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Moreover, there is a useful chronology at the beginning of the book starting from 1947 through 2009.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book appears to be a combination of essays and history. I very much enjoyed the section where the write interviewed the late King Hussein of Jordan. Overall I think that the writer appears even handed in his comments, although his comments on Benny Morris are quite strong.
Israel are the people of God. Palestine is their ancient homeland, which they were evicted from because they crucified the Son of God. The scriptures foretold they would return to their ancient homeland. What this book does successfully is present the Palestinian perspective on the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland. I feel enriched as a result of this book to see the Palestinian perspective.

[Jan de Vries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for Israeli history. I have reviewed this book for university, send me a message if you are interested in reading this book!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scrupulous, acid-penned take on peace processes in particular, though Shlaim covers all of the 20th century. I clearly need to reread The Iron Wall as well, since here he makes a big point of the distance between Jabotinsky (build Israel as "iron wall," then negotiate) and Sharon (build literal iron wall and then don't negotiate). No Israeli leader escapes unscathed here, and Arafat comes across as small-minded, duplicitous, and inept, a low-level mobster playing way out of his league. Positive portrayals are of Hanan Ashrawi, King Hussein of Jordan, Edward Said, George HW Bush, and possibly Jabotinsky.

Otherwise, we've got Abba Eban, "who was extraordinarily eloquent in seven languages but had the backbone of a noodle"; Golda Meir, about whom I'd cherished positive thoughts, clearly based on no evidence ("intellectually incapable of making the kind of subtle distinctions that are so crucial in the conduct of foreign policy"); Yitzhak Shamir, who cherished "a monochromatic picture of the world...[with a] basic, inflexible, and unchangeable position"; Yitzhak Rabin "was not endowed with imagination or vision, and he certainly had no empathy for the other side in the conflict"; Ehud Barak's "style was arrogant and authoritarian, and he approached diplomacy as the continuation of war by other means"; for Ariel Sharon, "bargaining, accommodation and compromise were alien to his whole way of thinking....President George W. Bush once described Sharon as 'a man of peace,' which is about as accurate as describing Sharon as a slim and handsome young man." Like that.

But, or and, it must be said that Shlaim is an intensely granular, detail-oriented and precise analyst, whether you're parsing historians' accounts of what happened in 1948 (an article I've taught, and whose seven pages it took a whole class to unpack), following the brief hopes and longer failure of the peace process, or comparing accounts of the Balfour Declaration. Though there's the repetition you'd expect in a collection of separately-published pieces, on the whole this provides a provocative, opinionated, and hugely grounded vision of the last century's diplomatic history in the region. The list of books I feel I should read (Meron Benvenisti's Intimate Enemies, Colin Shindler's Israel, Likud, and the Zionist Dream, his own The Iron Wall [a reread], to start) but forego ordering for the time being. I found this an immensely useful and educational book, with the occasional bad pun, usually reserved for the closing line (he's pretty scrupulous before then, honest) and several good ones.

[José · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible and deeply researched book on the Israel-Palestine conflict. To fully appreciate it, essential is the knowledge that Shlaim is a 1967 borders Zionist (or a post-Zionist I guess), which renders him partial to the existence of the state of Israel but misaligned with what Israel became in the post-Likud era.

The book covers a tremendous period, starting with the proto-Zionist movements and conventions, moving on the Balfour declaration, the Nakba, the Arab-Israeli war, the Oslo accords, the Camp David accords... Among other events in the history which led to the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people and the consolidation of Israel as a fascist ethno-state.

Through the book, one gets to know about how the Israeli relationships with Palestine and its Arab neighbours evolved, but the sense is also of a changing Shlaim - his initial position as a revisionist historian somewhere between Morris and Pappe gradually becomes increasingly more critical of Israel, finishing with the intuitively named essay "Freedom of Speech, except for the critics of Israel". It is a journey through the savage history of a settler colonial project, but it is also the process of becoming critical of what once was home.

[Jared Rosamilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Measured, chronological collection of essays on Israel, Palestine and the larger Arab-Israeli conflict, with a focus on the Israel-PLO negotiations in the '90s. Ultimately, Shlaim's argument is that, though established through a great injustice to the Palestinians in 1948, Israel is a legitimate state within it's pre-1967 borders, with post-Oslo progress obstructed by the colonial expansionist project beyond the Green Line. Definitely not comprehensive, but very informative collection.

[Kane Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really insightful perspective on Israel-Palestine. It is clear that the author is a rigorous and even handed historian. He offers his own position, taking a critical view of the scholarship on the matter while also crediting other authors for their (varied) contributions to our joint understanding. In the wake of the latest crisis which started on 7 October 2023, the book is (sadly) somewhat prophetic in parts.

[Prateek Chand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most comprehensive analysis of the issue that one can find in a paperback version. It is dense and at times really dry. Having said that in order to truly dip one’s toes into the Israel Palestine conflict dry and impartial are critical. Regardless I would rate this book as one of the must read ones

[Dipak Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative read

- it is a collection of essays rather than chronological fact
- if like me you know little about the origins of the conflict and want a relatively unbiased but broad outline of the history, this is useful
- the view does feel one sided at times but that’s just how literature on this topic tends to be

[Bullpost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent insight into this awful conflict. The book points out how the current carnage could have been avoided and lays the blame largely at the feet of Israel .

[Michiel Van R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Water Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent book, however Shlaim wrongly accuses Political Scientist Nur-Eldeen Masalha of simply writing a cherry-picked narrative regarding the 1947-1949 War for Palestine via his monograph, "The Expulsion of the Palestinians."

What's interesting about these is that between Benny Morris' work on the subject, Nur-Eldeen Masalha's work on the subject, and Ilan Pappé's work on the subject, Shlaim suggests that Pappé's written the most evenhanded and objective narrative on the subject.

Of all the scholars who Shlaim highlights, however, and with regard to the specific works of theirs Shlaim highlights ('Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem' by Benny Morris, 'The Expulsion of the Palestinians' by Nur-Eldeen Masalha, and 'The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1947-1951' by Ilan Pappé), Masalha's work makes the most novel contribution to the scholarship since he furthered dug up the degree to which 'transfer' was prevalent in Zionist political thought.

Conversely, Morris is also a tremendous scholar and has also dig up evidence of atrocities during the 1947-1949 War for Palestine and its attendant exodus, so perhaps it is then difficult to rank Masalha over Morris.

But Masalha has the most novel analysis based on the evidence he produces.

But perhaps it's true that Ilan Pappé has written up the most evenhanded chronicle. That still does not point to why Masalha's book should be disparaged like it is.

In fact, both Morris and Pappé agree with the findings of the book.

Furthermore, it is not clear why Masalha's work is "cherry-picked" given that Shlaim never investigated the same topic ("transfer) and Shlaim didn't document the supposed poor quality of Masalha's scholarship.

If Shlaim had been more reflective, then he'd realize that both Masalha's examination of 'transfer' and Shlaim's own examination of the Iron Wall Doctrine are crucial in understanding Israeli Military, Diplomatic, and Political history.