A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples by Ilan Pappé

A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples Reviews

• 
  Zach Cohen

  A History of Modern Palestine is a thoroughly enlightening, in-depth, unbiased analysis of the land that is known now as Israel and the Occupied Territories. It's important to note, before getting into the review, that in mainstream US and Israeli discourse, "unbiased" means falsely equivocating the behavior of two parties as if they share equal power and equal responsibility for the course of events in the region, which is simply not true. Pappe analyzes significant developments in the region in context, emphasizing the great chain of cause and effect that is often left out of discussions of the issue.
  
  Pappe is an Israeli professor of history who offers a captivating attempt to unite both the Zionist and Palestinian nationalist narratives and reconcile them with what has actually happened. The writing is dense and academic, but highly readable. He occasionally goes off on tangents discussing various theories and models that professional historians use, applying them to the subject matter or examining how other historians have applied or misapplied them, but other than that, I found it highly accessible.
  
  The book begins around 1850 in Ottoman Palestine, discussing the social structures of the people who lived there and setting the stage for the conflict that developed during the 20th century. The rise of Zionism in Europe is chronicled, and its ensuring slow migration of Jews to Palestine from the 1880s onward. Pappe examines how Palestinian social structure was initially affected by this immigration, as well as by integration with the European economy.
  
  Significant time is devoted to the interwar period of the British Mandate, and how Zionism developed, centralized its civil and military institutions, and established goals for the future Jewish State during that time. Following the second world war, Pappe examines the UN establishent of Israel, including the ethnic cleansing, expulsion, and murder carried out by the Zionists against Palestinians in the months prior to the official birth of Israel in May of 1948.
  
  The remainder of the book discusses the rise of Palestinian resistance and the increasingly brutal Israeli suppression, the 1967 war and subsequent occupation of the rest of ex-Mandate Palestine by the Israelis, the 1973 war, beginnings of the peace process in the 1970s, the Israeli invasions of Lebanon, the first Intifada, the rise of post Zionism in Israel, the Oslo accords, the rise of suicide terrorism, and the degeneration back into violence that has engulfed the region in the early 2000s.
  Throughout the history, Pappe often pauses to discuss what the Zionist or Palestinian mythology has to say about a given issue, comparing it to how the other side perceived events and to what actually happened.
  
  If you are a die hard Zionist, you probably won’t like this book. I was raised Jewish and attended Hebrew night school for many years, and the Zionist narrative I was provided is starkly at odds with historical realities. I felt Pappe treated both sides fairly, pointing out shortcomings and never moralizing or judging. However, as I suggested at the beginning, there is no false equivocation. Israeli bloodshed and violence vastly exceeds Palestinian, and much of the Palestinian violence is a direct result of their economic, political, and military oppression and exploitation by a vastly more powerful Israeli society. He also documents the radicalization of Palestinian resistance, culminating in the rise of extremist movements like Hezbollah and Hamas, resulting from increasing Israeli oppression and failure to address the fundamental issues of the conflict. Throughout his treatment of the peace process, Pappe, documents how Israelis continued to undermine peace efforts with military intervention and illegal settlement expansion, slowly eroding the chances that a peaceful solution could occur.
  
  Pappe also does not generalize each side. Much time is spent examining the various factions within Israeli and Palestinian society, investigating their origins, ideologies, and motivations. I was particularly struck with his dissection of the class structure of Israeli society and explanation of how poorly Arab jews and even Holocaust survivors were treated.
  
  Final thoughts: excellent read for anyone who wants an open minded, comprehensive, and systemic analysis of the events that brought Israel and Palestine to their present impasse, and the obstacles that their societies must come to terms with if the conflict is to be resolved.
  
• 
  MissFede

  Veramente consigliato a chiunque sia interessato all'argomento. Ben scritto e chiaro senza essere scolastico o troppo asciutto.
• 
  Moe Jamul

  I highly recommend the history of modern Palestine by Ilan Pappe.. the amount of insight you acquire about Palestine from the ottoman era up until the post Oslo era is interesting and eye opening
• 
  William Johnson

  Yet another book written on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Modern History of Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples by Ilan Pappe offers a leftist perspective on the conflict similar to that of Noam Chomsky or Edward Said. I’m not sure it divulges anything entirely new to historical discourse – critiques of “Orientalism” and anti-colonialist analysis of the Palestinian conflict have always been commonplace in academia.
  
  One does wonder why Pappe often highlights academically disputed Jewish massacres of Arabs during the 1948 war, but only gives scant mention to the numerous, well-documented Arab massacres of Jews during the same period – perhaps this is the new discourse Pappe is offering; one of apologist revisionism.
  
  An objective history should discuss violence committed by both communities in a conflict and contextualize this violence. Pappe seems only to be interested in contextualizing violence conducted by Jewish forces against Palestinians.
  
  The academic tone of the book made it a slow read, but this is to be expected. The omission of certain areas of history – especially those that cast the Palestinian people in a negative light – made it hard for me to accept A Modern History of Palestine as a fair historical perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  
• 
  Maha

  الكتاب جيد جداً كمصدر لبحث!
  هذا الكتاب مهم جداً لمعرفة تاريخ فلسطين قبل الإنتداب البريطاني، وطبيعة المجتمع الفلسطيني!
  أكثر ما لفت نظري في الكتاب أولاً الإهداء!كاتب يهودي يكتب إهداءه لأبنائه الذي يتمنى لهم أن يستطيعوا العيش في فلسطين بسلام!
  الرائع بهذا الكتاب هو تبيان الكاتب أن المجتمع الفلسطيني كان متحضر قبل هجرة اليهود، وأن الثورة الصناعية كان لها بنمو فلسطين سواء بالزراعة أو الصناعة.
  تطرق الكاتب لمواضيع كالمرأة ، التعليم، الأقليات مهم جدًا . خصوصاً أن المؤرخين الإسرائليين، يستخدمون حجج كإضطهاد الأقليات، التخلف، وضعف الإنتاج ، وأنهم عندما أتوا لفلسطين جلبوا التطور معهم، الكاتب هنا يبين العكس.
  الكتاب جيد جدًا لمن يهتم بتاريخ فلسطين، خصوصًا فترة الخلافة العثمانية .
  
• 
  Zoe

  Was hard to get through because of the intense focus on government and war instead of people's history. Also was somewhat biased but author did try to cover himself in the last couple chapters.
• 
  Beatrice

  While I appreciate the attempted scope of this book, at times it became far to verbose to make the history any clearer; and it became quite dry at portions. There is an obvious bias, but not to the point where it makes any side out to be at ultimate fault for the conflict. Overall a fairly comprehensive view of the history of modern Palestine.
• 
  Monica

  Very well written and with an easy approach, Pappé manages to explain the complexity of the topic and their issues throughout time.
• 
  Popoy Mindalano

  The lack of academic infrastructures in Palestine hampered the breeding of historians and writers relating the history of thier homeland and their plight over the centuries. It is just fortunate that there is an impartial narrative that we could rely on from an Israeli writer that is apparently not blinded by zeal of nationalism or dogma. An unbiased and untainted by prejudice in the narration of the account of modern history of Palestine by viewing it on the hindsight. People who are known in this modern day as ‘post-Zionist” intellectuals.
  
  Who could give an accurate and detailed narrative of the chronicles of Palestine except its inhabitants be it an Israeli or most preferrably a Palestinian, however the latter is most often dismissed as a propagandist than a researcher rejecting all factual accounts despite its substantial historical evidence. So there is no one that could better do it and most fitted to do so except an intellectual, an academic elite and on top of that an Israeli who was willing to put his country’s prestige at risk and his life on the line just to have a narrative based on facts and rationality.
  
  Ilan Pappe’s book is about the modern history of Palestine where its chronicles starts from the late 19th century up until the late 20th century. The author obviously made emphasis on the term ‘modern’ to lay stress on the inception of the predicament of the Palestinians and the absurdity of the Zionists’ ideology of returning to their “promised land” that is based on Jewish ancient history but not on any explicit divine command that can be traced from any Rabbinic texts. The fact is that this ideology is not recognised by the Jews in general, in fact Orthodox Jews frowned upon it so much so that they discourage their Jewish brethrens from being associated with what they deemed to be as heretics.
  
  Theodor Herzl, a European Jew, dawned the notion of Zionism where he believed that with the dramatic rising of anti-semitism in Europe the only theoritical solution to save the Jewish people from imminent destruction is to return to Zion or Palestine where Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in peace and stability before the inception of Zionism in the region. Yes there were already an existing problem with the German Templars who percived Palestinians as spiritual commodity and the Ottomans after the revolution of the Young Turks; however these events sprouted sporadically unlike the Zionists where it occured perpetually eversince they had colonized them. The opression persist until now and their persecution shows no sign of ending or even deterred.
  
  Reading this book provides us with a much broader and more profound understanding vis-a-vis the the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We percieve it not shallowly because it presents us with its intircacies that will give us a wider perception of the conflict and how it ended up being a complex problem that requires a pragmatic solution so peace and stablilty could be attained in the region.
  
  This book also tells us that there were some juncture in time that proves that Israel is not as invincible as we percieve them to be. Yes they already gave the Arabs an embarassing historical defeat, however its international prestige was shattered when the table had been turned due to their unprecedented loss in a battle between them and a joint Arab forces during the 70s, and had it not been for the Arab’s uncertainties, they would have definitely made an incursion inside the occupied lands of Israel. Perhaps pragmatism was an alien terminology to the Arabs back then as they were guided by moral principle rather practicality.
  
  I recommend this book to everyone who can read this to enlighten us on the root cause of the conflict and its intricacies and it is imperative that the people with prejudicial notions of the issue spare some time to do so.
• 
  Keith

  Ilan Pappe is less objective in his analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than he contends in the beginning of the book, but I still found it to be an essential read, and it elucidated multiple, complex layers to the decades of unrest that I never read in the NYTimes or saw on cable news.
  
  Particularly, I enjoyed learning about the various class divisions within Israel, especially among the various groups of Jewish citizens. What you realize in those passages is that even if you removed the Palestinian refugee crisis from the equation altogether, Israel remains a nation-state run by (at best) flawed elected officials and, at worst, far-right conservatives. It never was and never will be a Utopian safe-haven for ALL Jewish people, even if you somehow separated it from the rest of the Middle East and made it an island onto itself. As such, activists of all stripes must continue to question and doubt the actions of the political elite (i.e. assume the leadership is guilty until proven otherwise) and continually push it forward, in the name of justice and humanity.
• 
  Luna

  I think this is an ideal book for anyone who already has some context of modern Palestine and the struggle towards liberation. I had zero context and I took everything slowly, but there was still a lot of googling and searching to make sense of it all, references, names, organizations, etc...
  
  I still feel that Ilan Pappé gave us the "what you need to know" about major historical events and thoughtful analyses on issues like "the road to suicide" and radicalization, common American narratives told about this region in the world.
  
  It took me a while to read as I was digesting this information and further googling. I watched a lot of companion videos to better understand and gain a deeper analysis, and will be referring to more texts and videos.
• 
  Ryan Riot

  First attempt at diving into the history of Palestine and this book was recommended by a friend who’s studied Middle East poli sci extensively as a great starting point as Pappe, an Israeli himself, attempts to provide an unbiased history of the region from the 1800’s on (“Modern Palestine”).
  
  Lots of information here and lots of detail. Agree with some other reviews that at times it’s a little difficult to follow as he seems to jump around between related events often not chronologically, however, I’m not sure there much of a solution to it as it seems this is related to the complexity of the information trying to be shared rather than a specific shortcoming of Pappe’s writing.
• 
  Viola Rastrelli

  Descrizione storica giustamente non imparziale ma dalla parte degli oppressi, come dice lo stesso Pappe, siano questi palestinesi, ebrei marocchini o israeliani in fondo alla catena alimentare (incredibile a dirsi, ci sono anche quelli). Completo senza risultare oscuro, uno di quei libri che in libreria bisogna avere, per quando qualcuno ti chiederà “mi racconti cosa succede in Palestina”?
• 
  Gonçalo

  Very clear analysis of the whole Zionist process since the beginning of the 20th century until the failure of the Oslo Accords. Provides a non-Zionist perspective of Zionism, while also having a clear comprehension of Palestinian history.
  A must read for those wanting to get a clear view of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
• 
  Chris Hubbs

  An even-handed 20th century history of Palestine. Very readable and engaging.
• 
  Joseph

  I read most of this book before going on a Taglit Birthright trip to Israel, in order to get a better handle on the Palestinian historical perspective... One caveat to this review is that most of what bothered me about this book pertains to the last third or so. It merits a re-read, but it took a while for me to become aware of all the things which make this book so problematic. By the end of the book, they were driving me absolutely insane. However, I still give him some credit because despite the problems I had with the book, there were informative and insightful parts as well.
  
  A couple problem areas IMHO:
  
  1) His dreadedly subjective and wholly unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, which range from the annoying to the fact-distorting. For example: "...after the non-consensual war in Lebanon..." (how many wars are 'consensual'?). Mizrahi Jews are described as having been "forcefully" brought from Arab countries (when actually the vast majority of 750,000+ Mizrahi Jews were in fact forced not by Israel to flee their respective countries of origin but were instead forced to flee by the local populations and governments who exploited the nascent existence of Israel to fuel waves of violent anti-Semitic purges across the Arab world). Israel is assumed to be driven by territorial aggression and never self-defense, with little care for or interest in peace (despite things like the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in order to secure peace... a fact of huge historical significance but which Pappe pays little attention to).
  
  Worse yet are passages like the one where he describes suicide bombers as being "inspired... to blow themselves up in Israeli towns and public spaces." It's immediately followed by: "zealot settlers murdering indiscriminately their Palestinian neighbors." Both are horrible instances of violence, but Pappe's bias is clear in the language he uses. Near the end of the book, Pappe goes even further, and stops just short of cheering the 2nd Intifada and suicide-bombing. Palestinian violence is always described in terms of being politically justified with not-so-subtly implied heroism; all actions by Israel are, alternatively, "fanatical, "callous", "evil", and so on. One group is described with loaded language, the other group either without any unnecessary descriptors or accompanied by arguments as to why their violent acts are largely justified. While staunch pro-Israel supporters simplify the phenomenon of Palestinian suicide bombers as being largely a matter of religious insanity, Pappe fully endorses the equally simple-minded view that suicide bombing is purely politically-motivated, the logical result of decades of oppression. Anyways I could go on and on about Pappe's descriptions - he sprinkles one-sided descriptors whenever possible, undoubtedly to the cheers of uncritical anti-Zionist drones. So unnecessary, in some cases untrue, and in all cases: not good writing!
  
  2) Perhaps more importantly, Pappe often provides no evidence whatsoever for claims that are contestable or even outrageous. I was glad in places where he did provide evidence, whether a modicum or more, because then at the very least the informed reader can do his/her own research and see the truths that lie behind parts of the Palestinian narrative he highlights. But Pappe has no problem accusing Israeli doctors of treating Palestinian victims of torture, only to "return them to the torture chambers" without providing a shred of evidence. If that did/does indeed occur, we just have to take his word for it. That's perhaps the most extreme example in what would be an exhaustive list for anyone wanting to waste their time sifting through this irresponsible, unacademic, and distorted history.
  
  Sadly, this book not only fails miserably to provide a remotely even-handed account (granted, it never claimed to attempt one), it fails to do justice to Palestinian and Israeli history in not recognizing the true complexity of that history.
• 
  Nan

  This was a tough read because of Pappe's heavy-handed use of adjectives and academic language. However, I learned a huge amount of history that was new to me. The oppression and bias of Zionists against Palestinians really opened my eyes. Palestinian economic hardships, loss of lands/farms, and Israeli colonialism caused me to consider analogies to Native American and African American history in the U.S.
  
  I recently viewed the 2012 indie documentary, Five Cameras, which was filmed by a Palestinian farmer. So many of Pappe's facts were confirmed by this movie. His concluding statements of optimism felt almost surreal - I honestly do not know how these two ethnic cultures will ever come to a peaceful resolution of their issues.
• 
  Rachael MacLean

  I have mixed feelings about Pappe. On the one hand, I agree with a lot he has to say and I think he's incredible intelligent and analytical. I've gained a new perspective from everything he's written. On the other hand, his organization is strange. He does a combination of thematic and chronological organization that can sometimes be confusing to read. I also think that, like a lot of leftist historians I've read, he tends to overestimate the ability of the elite to control the lower classes. He sometimes doesn't leave a lot of room for the agency of the popular. That being said, I still engaged with his works with a lot more interest and attention than many I read, so I'd certainly recommend him and this book to anyone interested in Modern Palestine/Israel.
• 
  Haley

  Should probably be 5 stars but the 4 stars is my confession that it was a bit hard to get through without much of a background in the history of the region. It was probably written as accessibly as possible, and I still came away with much more knowledge about how the Zionist project originated and the root causes of the violence on each side. I really enjoyed the way Pappe distinguishes between the political history of the elite and the history of the general Palestinian and Jewish populations.
• 
  Philip

  A good introduction to Palestine but leaves much wanting. Most of all are primary source quotations, which would increase the credibility of his assertions. On a related note, the book covers too much material in too limited a manner, especially about the pre-mandate era.
• 
  Katherine

  A fascinating and necessary history.
• 
  Nate Glenn

  A more comprehensive history of palestine, that doesn't just deal with al Nackba.