Rashid Khalidi

Like many people since the events of October 7 2023 and all that has followed, I have read as much as has reached the media and the usual foreign studies publications but have also been looking for a more comprehensive history of Palestine, Israel and how we have reached where we are today.

There is a awful lot out there, but much seems to want to address the moral correctness of one view over another or alternatively how to get from here to there,whereas i have been looking for an impartial, factual history of the story. I suspect that there is no such work (or at least one or even a few that many would agree as being such a work.

Whilst this book is not that work, as it is clearly written from the Palestinian perspective, as a novice in this area, it seems to be a balanced depiction of that history in that it sets out (one) depiction of the history, highlights why various acts over time have been acceptable or not to the Palestinian people, where they have made mistakes, where Israel (and before its creation the Zionist Movement) and its main supporters (Great Brittan and the USA) have made mistakes, including the workings of the United Nations.

Despite the claims that reach back centuries, the story is mainly one of the 20th century, with its evolution away from colonialization, the development of the notions of statehood, nationhood and peoples and citizenship, the desire of the UK and later the USA to have a friendly, aligned place in the Middle East in order to better safeguard their respective security and economic interests (particularly petroleum interests), the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations.

I am very conscious that I have much more to learn about this ongoing tragedy ( I think I can call it that even if October 7 had never happened), particularly from the Israeli perspective, but this is a very readable starting point as to the history.

As hopefully already clear, this does not address October 7 itself, having been published in 2020, but the history is nevertheless very helpful background.

The only reason I have not awarded 5 stars is because I don't believe that with my amateur status in this arena, I could not confer that grading without being able to test the veracity of the underlying scholarship.

Big Ship

24 April 2024… (plus d'informations)

This book may be one of the best modern books you will read on Palestine. While I have been up in arms about the recent genocidal behaviour of the Israelis, I had also a smattering of understanding of the apartheid regime of Israel.
It is easy to allow emotion to blind you. However, when you read this book, you realise the genuine horror of the situation. Rashid Khalidi lived through some of the bombing, yet wrote a balanced, well-researched book. He does not spare the Palestinian authorities for their incompetence, nor does he spare the Arabic countries for their almost useless approach to the problem.
However, it becomes clear that the Americans have allowed the Israelis free hand. It is also clear that Israel owns American political strategy in the Middle-East.
Excellent companion books to this one are "The General's Son," Orientalism, "Culture and Colonialism." When you read the latter three books, you will understand the cultural context of the Palestinian problem, the genocide and apartheid.

Meanwhile, read this book. The scholarly, readable book does not conceal his pain.… (plus d'informations)

En 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, alcalde de Jerusalén, alarmado por el llamamiento sionista a crear un hogar nacional judío en Palestina, escribió una carta dirigida a Theodor Herzl: el país tenía un pueblo indígena que no aceptaría fácilmente su propio desplazamiento. Advirtió de los peligros que se avecinaban y terminó su nota diciendo: «En nombre de Dios, que se deje a Palestina en paz». Así, Rashid Khalidi, tataranieto de al-Khalidi, comienza esta amplia historia, el primer relato general del conflicto contado desde una perspectiva palestina. Palestina: Cien años de colonialismo y resistencia pone en entredicho las interpretaciones habituales del conflicto. Khalidi traza cien años de guerra colonial contra los palestinos, librada primero por el movimiento sionista y luego por Israel, pero respaldada por Gran Bretaña y Estados Unidos, las grandes potencias de la época. Destaca los episodios clave de esta campaña colonial, desde la Declaración Balfour de 1917 hasta la destrucción de Palestina en 1948, desde la invasión israelí del Líbano en 1982 hasta el interminable e inútil proceso de paz. Original, autorizada y significativa, Palestina: Cien años de colonialismo y resistencia ofrece una nueva y esclarecedora visión de un conflicto que continúa hasta nuestros días.… (plus d'informations)