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The Palestinian Exodus: 1948-1998
This title deals with an important and often neglected subject: the Palestinian exodus and the creation of the refugee problem. The intimate and causal connection between the refugee exodus and the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine has rarely been defined and the two issues have customarily been treated as separate events. This book analyses this connection and reviews the Palestinian exodus from 1948, through 1967, right up to the present time with the continuing expulsion of Palestinians from Jerusalem. It explores the themes of compensation for Palestinians, the right of return of the refugees to Israel and the feasibility of return. It also sets out a vision for a future solution to the refugee problem, which remains an outstanding obstacle in the way of a lasting peace between the two sides. By bringing together historians, academics and legal experts to provide different perspectives, this book aims to address all the major aspects of this complex issue. As such, it forms essential reading for scholars and also for general readers concerned with the primary causes of and the solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Ghada Karmi
14 books156 followersDr Ghada Karmi was born in Palestine and then had to flee with her family when it became Israel. She grew up in Britain and now she's a doctor, author, academic, and well-know international commentator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ghada still vividly remembers a huge bombing just behind her house in Jerusalem. "It was absolutely dreadful. I was bewildered, I was scared - I could see my parents were scared, which is very scary for a child because you think your parents know it all and they look after you. I knew, from that moment on, things had changed for us. I didn't know how, but things weren't going to be the same again."
After fleeing their family home, her family eventually settled in London. "My mother was very angry about the loss of the homeland. She didn't speak English, she didn't want to come that far afield, she just wasn't prepared. I'm afraid she never adapted, she stayed very Arab. I think it's a very great tragedy, one of the many, is people like my mother, who could not accept her exile, and was never really happy in Britain - and never found happiness again, in fact."
Unlike her mother, Ghada settled in fairly quickly. "I was a child. I made friends, I became very much part of the English way of life. I married an Englishman! I felt not just integrated, but assimilated."
Her idea for a one-state solution in the Middle East hasn't got much support as yet. "This is still a minority view. There is a constituency for it, on both sides, and also by the way among non-Jews and non-Palestinians, but the good news is - this constituency is growing. A few years back nobody was talking about the one-state solution. Today, three or four years on, we are hearing more and more voices raised in support. That, to me, shows that the trend is growing."
Ghada still vividly remembers a huge bombing just behind her house in Jerusalem. "It was absolutely dreadful. I was bewildered, I was scared - I could see my parents were scared, which is very scary for a child because you think your parents know it all and they look after you. I knew, from that moment on, things had changed for us. I didn't know how, but things weren't going to be the same again."
After fleeing their family home, her family eventually settled in London. "My mother was very angry about the loss of the homeland. She didn't speak English, she didn't want to come that far afield, she just wasn't prepared. I'm afraid she never adapted, she stayed very Arab. I think it's a very great tragedy, one of the many, is people like my mother, who could not accept her exile, and was never really happy in Britain - and never found happiness again, in fact."
Unlike her mother, Ghada settled in fairly quickly. "I was a child. I made friends, I became very much part of the English way of life. I married an Englishman! I felt not just integrated, but assimilated."
Her idea for a one-state solution in the Middle East hasn't got much support as yet. "This is still a minority view. There is a constituency for it, on both sides, and also by the way among non-Jews and non-Palestinians, but the good news is - this constituency is growing. A few years back nobody was talking about the one-state solution. Today, three or four years on, we are hearing more and more voices raised in support. That, to me, shows that the trend is growing."
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May 7, 2020
How is it possible that only one person read this book on this plateform? And very few or none reviews on books with similar topic? I am extremely surprised.
Displaying 1 of 1 review