Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer

by Phyllis Bennis

Overview

If you have ever wondered “Why is there so much violence in the Middle East?”, “Who are the Palestinians?”, “What are the occupied territories?” or “What does Israel want?”, then this is the book for you. With straightforward language, Phyllis Bennis, longtime analyst of the region, answers basic questions about Israel and Israelis, Palestine and Palestinians, the US and the Middle East, Zionism and anti-Semitism; about complex issues ranging from the Oslo peace process to the election of Hamas to the Goldstone Report and the Palestinians' UN initiative. Together her answers provide a comprehensive understanding of the longstanding Palestinian–Israeli conflict.

Sections include: The Crisis; The Other Players: The Role of the US, the UN, the Arab States, and Europe; Recent History: Rising Violence; Looking Backward (1900-1991); The Future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623710255
Publisher:	Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/28/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	230
Sales rank:	350,002
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, and Director of its New Internationalism Program. She is also a Fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. Her areas include U.S. unilateralism and empire, the Middle East (particularly Israel-Palestine and Iraq), and US-United Nations relations. She is the author of Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the UN Defy US Power, Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today's UN, and Before&After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism. Earlier books include From Stones to Statehood: The Palestinian Uprising, Altered States: A Reader in the New World Order, and Beyond the Storm: A Gulf Crisis Reader.

Bennis appears frequently as a commentator/analyst on U.S. and international television and radio programs, including "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS, the CBS "Morning Show," NPR's "Diane Rehm Show," and many others on CNN, BBC, Fox, CBC, and al-Jazeera TV. Her work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris), TomPaine.com, New York Newsday, Soera (Amsterdam), Papeles (Madrid), die Tageszeitung (Berlin), The Philadelphia Enquirer, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Middle East Report (MERIP), The Nation, Middle East International, Mother Jones, Third World Resurgence (Malaysia), and many other publications.

Editorial Reviews

This balanced and highly useful "primer" presents in question-and-answer form extensive explanations of recent events in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. It explains both sides' needs and actions, the recent surge in violence, and the roles of the United States, the United Nations, the Arab States, and Europe. An essential volume by an experienced scholar and analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC.

—Elizabeth R. Hayford

Library Journal

11/16/2015
Revised and updated in a 6th edition that addresses recent developments through early 2015, this slim handbook from Bennis (Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror: A Primer) uses the Socratic method to present a broad overview of the history of conflict in the Holy Land, Israel's illegal military occupation, and the moribund peace process. Bennis covers a great deal of background information in an efficient, easily digestible format; the book is divided into brief, thematically arranged question-and-answer sections that allow readers to quickly locate topics of interest. While supportive of the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, Bennis remains ambiguous on potential solutions to the conflict, though she makes clear that the idea of a "two-state arrangement—dividing the total land of historic Palestine, now entirely under Israel's control—was never ultimately based on justice." Throughout, she contends that the United Nations, and ideally the General Assembly, should take center stage in negotiating a lasting settlement. Occasionally sloppy, Bennis confuses the minor right-wing Israeli parties Tsomet and Moledet, and makes a clumsy analogy between the consequences of NAFTA and a possible future Middle East arrangement. Despite its minor flaws, Bennis's book is useful for readers looking to boost their knowledge of this contentious topic. Maps. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly