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Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer
If you have ever wondered "Why is there so much violence in the Middle East?," "Who are the Palestinians anyway?," "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. Together her answers provide a comprehensive understanding of the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
230 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2007
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625 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 25, 2015
This short handbook can be read in an evening. It really is hand-sized, fitting in the palm. The language in it is so clear, it could be written for a non-English speaker or a school child. It was published in 2007. This subject is so fraught with emotion and intention it is difficult to just get the facts. In fact, this conflict may be the perfect place to begin to understand how "facts" are slippery things. Bennis has an opinion, but she is very good at tamping down the rhetoric and writing quietly.
If you have read any of Bennis’ other works, you will find she tries to answer the most pressing questions people have first. That is, she will try to simply explain why there is fighting, or why suicide bombers appear on only side in the conflict. Her answers will raise more questions, which she tries to answer by going broader in the region and deeper into history. It is an organic method of setting out the issues and has the value of always providing at least a partial answer before we become overloaded with detail. The added benefit is that the questions can be listed, as they are in her handbook, as the Table of Contents.
Bennis’ work is an important addition to the material one will need to read to get some measure of the size and depth and rightness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s almost seventy years since Israel was founded. The generation involved in the creation of Israel is dead now. The generation that came after, that built Israel, is nearly gone. We can make judgments now about what those first generations have left us.
Bennis herself is an American Jew. In her youth she was a Zionist, until she actually began to see what happened, what was happening, in the area of land now called Israel. To her credit, she could tell that what she’d learned, and what she was hearing, did not correspond to what she could see with her eyes. When she investigated, she discovered she could make up her own mind about the conflict. Her discussion on C-Span about the origins of ISIS includes, towards the end, a discussion of how she came to see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some people may not like the facts, and some people may like to put their own gloss on the facts, but if we just look at the facts, and the situation on the ground in Israel and (what as yet is not quite) the promised Palestine, I think everyone would agree there is something seriously amiss here.
What the Israelis are doing is illegal. It is immoral, too, but lots of people do immoral things and we can’t stop them. The International Court of Justice in the Hague, however, ruled in 2003 that the Wall Israel constructed in the West Bank, ostensibly for its own protection and beginning in 2002, is illegal. It cuts off fifteen percent of West Bank land from the West Bank and puts tens of thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side of the Wall, among other things. Why hasn’t this been addressed in the 12 years since it was constructed?
Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center has an online Journalist’s Resource from which I gathered the following information:
Since the history recounted in this short book, the United Nations has granted non-member observer state status on Palestine, and now allows the Palestinian flag to fly at the U.N. These steps were taken despite the U.S. and U.S. allies voting “no” on the resolutions. This book will tell you why this has happened.
It is difficult for even a well-read American to separate truth from falsehood in the history we learned in school and from our own government these past sixty-odd years. We only hear the Israeli voice; Palestine has been almost erased, her people silenced. It takes real dedication for anyone to understand why, in this modern era, millions of people would be forced from their land with no compensation, and then, gradually, over time, lose rights to even the small amount of land they had left from their own holdings.
I feel quite sure that things could have been handled differently at many turns over the years. I wonder how Israelis think their occupation of Palestinian land will end. Does their government think they are going to protect Israelis from harm by this method? Is this the way to live in the world? Americans can hardly claim the high road by their treatment of minority classes in their own country. I think we are seeing how that’s working out in real time.
I am forming an opinion, and it is not what I learned growing up.
If you have read any of Bennis’ other works, you will find she tries to answer the most pressing questions people have first. That is, she will try to simply explain why there is fighting, or why suicide bombers appear on only side in the conflict. Her answers will raise more questions, which she tries to answer by going broader in the region and deeper into history. It is an organic method of setting out the issues and has the value of always providing at least a partial answer before we become overloaded with detail. The added benefit is that the questions can be listed, as they are in her handbook, as the Table of Contents.
Bennis’ work is an important addition to the material one will need to read to get some measure of the size and depth and rightness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s almost seventy years since Israel was founded. The generation involved in the creation of Israel is dead now. The generation that came after, that built Israel, is nearly gone. We can make judgments now about what those first generations have left us.
Bennis herself is an American Jew. In her youth she was a Zionist, until she actually began to see what happened, what was happening, in the area of land now called Israel. To her credit, she could tell that what she’d learned, and what she was hearing, did not correspond to what she could see with her eyes. When she investigated, she discovered she could make up her own mind about the conflict. Her discussion on C-Span about the origins of ISIS includes, towards the end, a discussion of how she came to see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some people may not like the facts, and some people may like to put their own gloss on the facts, but if we just look at the facts, and the situation on the ground in Israel and (what as yet is not quite) the promised Palestine, I think everyone would agree there is something seriously amiss here.
What the Israelis are doing is illegal. It is immoral, too, but lots of people do immoral things and we can’t stop them. The International Court of Justice in the Hague, however, ruled in 2003 that the Wall Israel constructed in the West Bank, ostensibly for its own protection and beginning in 2002, is illegal. It cuts off fifteen percent of West Bank land from the West Bank and puts tens of thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side of the Wall, among other things. Why hasn’t this been addressed in the 12 years since it was constructed?
"The International Court…stated directly that other countries have their own responsibility to pressure Israel to comply with the court’s opinion…The US government quietly criticized the Wall early in its process of construction, but soon dropped the critique and agreed, in direct violation of the Court’s ruling on the obligation of other states, to pay Israel almost $50 million—taken out of the $200 million the US provided in humanitarian support to Palestinian NGOs—to construct checkpoints and gates in the Wall."
Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center has an online Journalist’s Resource from which I gathered the following information:
Since it was founded in 1948, Israel has become the largest single recipient of US foreign assistance — a total of $121 billion, almost all of which has been in the form of military assistance. - See more at: (“http://journalistsresource.org/studie...”)Why aren’t we tying assistance to compliance with the law? I can’t figure it out. I know that wealthy Jewish donors in the US skew the political process by pressuring candidates to vote sympathetically to their issues by giving them generous campaign donations, and by buying up media sites that send out constant self-serving messages. Is it really that bald? Money? Power? Influence? Geez. Talk about a morality deficit.
Since the history recounted in this short book, the United Nations has granted non-member observer state status on Palestine, and now allows the Palestinian flag to fly at the U.N. These steps were taken despite the U.S. and U.S. allies voting “no” on the resolutions. This book will tell you why this has happened.
It is difficult for even a well-read American to separate truth from falsehood in the history we learned in school and from our own government these past sixty-odd years. We only hear the Israeli voice; Palestine has been almost erased, her people silenced. It takes real dedication for anyone to understand why, in this modern era, millions of people would be forced from their land with no compensation, and then, gradually, over time, lose rights to even the small amount of land they had left from their own holdings.
I feel quite sure that things could have been handled differently at many turns over the years. I wonder how Israelis think their occupation of Palestinian land will end. Does their government think they are going to protect Israelis from harm by this method? Is this the way to live in the world? Americans can hardly claim the high road by their treatment of minority classes in their own country. I think we are seeing how that’s working out in real time.
I am forming an opinion, and it is not what I learned growing up.
May 20, 2021
Free Palestine.
November 20, 2011
A suscinct, clear, and amazingly informative view of the longest running occupation and conflict in the modern world. The book presents questions and answers that many Americans need to ask.
The author indicts all parties for the violence and distrust, but emphasizes that the Israelis have the money, the firepower, and above all, the backing of the United States, versus the Palestinians who have very little power, influence, or finances.
The book is forward looking as well - offering a realistic model of a two state solution at the end, acknowledging that getting to a just peace will not be easy, but it is doable.
Read this book if you have any concerns about the people on both sides of this 60+ year-old conflict, and discuss with your frlends, family, and our representatives.
The author indicts all parties for the violence and distrust, but emphasizes that the Israelis have the money, the firepower, and above all, the backing of the United States, versus the Palestinians who have very little power, influence, or finances.
The book is forward looking as well - offering a realistic model of a two state solution at the end, acknowledging that getting to a just peace will not be easy, but it is doable.
Read this book if you have any concerns about the people on both sides of this 60+ year-old conflict, and discuss with your frlends, family, and our representatives.
May 27, 2017
A better title would be "Understanding ONE SIDE of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict." Enough said.
November 25, 2013
I picked up this little book at a sale table for under $5. Although I thought I was beyond needing a "primer" on this topic, the price was right and, thumbing through it, I liked the way it was organized.
Bennis explains the complex history between the Israelis and the Palestinians through a series of questions, which she poses and then answers. The question and answer format provides a quick way to reference the issues and breaks down the complexity of most of the problems into easily digestible chunks. It also makes the book somewhat repetitive and allows Bennis to frame the questions and to choose which questions she will ask.
For such a small book, I found it to be quite comprehensive, although it doesn't deal with the most recent events, having been published in 2007. In the first section, Bennis deals with such basic questions as "Who are the Palestinians"? Why are Palestinians in Israel at all?" Who are the Israelis?" Where did they come from?" to the more difficult ones, "What do the Palestinians want?" "What does Israel want?" Why are Israeli settlements located outside Israel's borders"? "If Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, why are so many Palestinians in the eastern part of the city?" These are just examples, not a comprehensive list of the topics covered.
In the other four sections, Bennis turns to what role the U.S. and the other Arab countries have in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, what international law and the Geneva Convention have ruled concerning the conflict and disputed borders, the Oslo Peace Process and the Camp David Accords and why they failed, and much more. Bennis uses UN Resolution 242, in particular, and Articles of the Geneva Convention to show time after time that Israel is in direct violation of international law on a variety of fronts, most particularly in its continued occupation of the West Bank and continued expansion there. She also clearly and compelling traces how much the land that the Palestinians are now trying to hang on to has diminished from the UN partition in 1947.
Bennis has written widely on US foreign policy and is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, an institute some would refer to as left-wing. And Bennis clearly has a bias but for too long the bias has been on the Israeli side and I'm sympathetic with Bennis for championing the cause of a neglected and infringed upon people against a rich, very powerful nation protected and funded by the world's most powerful nation. I don't think what Bennis writes is inaccurate; it's what she chose to leave out some might find fault with. Nevertheless I liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone wanting a basic grasp on the history of the Palestinian-Israel conflict. I'd have given the book another star, if Bennis had called it "A Perspective," (hers) rather than "A Primer."
Bennis explains the complex history between the Israelis and the Palestinians through a series of questions, which she poses and then answers. The question and answer format provides a quick way to reference the issues and breaks down the complexity of most of the problems into easily digestible chunks. It also makes the book somewhat repetitive and allows Bennis to frame the questions and to choose which questions she will ask.
For such a small book, I found it to be quite comprehensive, although it doesn't deal with the most recent events, having been published in 2007. In the first section, Bennis deals with such basic questions as "Who are the Palestinians"? Why are Palestinians in Israel at all?" Who are the Israelis?" Where did they come from?" to the more difficult ones, "What do the Palestinians want?" "What does Israel want?" Why are Israeli settlements located outside Israel's borders"? "If Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, why are so many Palestinians in the eastern part of the city?" These are just examples, not a comprehensive list of the topics covered.
In the other four sections, Bennis turns to what role the U.S. and the other Arab countries have in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, what international law and the Geneva Convention have ruled concerning the conflict and disputed borders, the Oslo Peace Process and the Camp David Accords and why they failed, and much more. Bennis uses UN Resolution 242, in particular, and Articles of the Geneva Convention to show time after time that Israel is in direct violation of international law on a variety of fronts, most particularly in its continued occupation of the West Bank and continued expansion there. She also clearly and compelling traces how much the land that the Palestinians are now trying to hang on to has diminished from the UN partition in 1947.
Bennis has written widely on US foreign policy and is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, an institute some would refer to as left-wing. And Bennis clearly has a bias but for too long the bias has been on the Israeli side and I'm sympathetic with Bennis for championing the cause of a neglected and infringed upon people against a rich, very powerful nation protected and funded by the world's most powerful nation. I don't think what Bennis writes is inaccurate; it's what she chose to leave out some might find fault with. Nevertheless I liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone wanting a basic grasp on the history of the Palestinian-Israel conflict. I'd have given the book another star, if Bennis had called it "A Perspective," (hers) rather than "A Primer."
August 22, 2013
I chose this book because it caught my eye passing through the halls of the library. I thought it'd be a simple, neutral explanation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, I was disappointed when Bennis quickly assumed a political stance and her anti-Israel bias was persistent throughout the entire book. One thing that I did like was her Question and Answer way of writing; it made her information easy to follow, and at the same time it allowed her to more easily inject her opinion because she chose what she wanted her reader to know. Her journalistic style was interesting, but her information was at times really overwhelming and made me tune out at times. Bennis refers to events between the creation of Israel to the present back and forth which can throw the reader off. Still, I think there are better options to read that explain Israel and Palestine than this book.
February 14, 2008
An excellent outline of one of the most significant conflicts in the world. The only thing that keeps this book from a 5 is the author's heavy pro-Palestinian bia -- a bias I share by the way
July 1, 2010
So far I have learned that Palestinians have not been given a fair look by most Americans.
January 4, 2013
I really enjoy the question answer format of this book. Although it is very pro Palestinian, it gives a very accurate and fact full perspective on how the conference has been shipped. The set up provides an easy way to read and understand for those who don't know the conflict
June 22, 2012
I learned some new perspectives reading this book, however, I found it repetitive and the pro-Palestinian bias too strong.
September 30, 2016
This is a much more one-sided book than I had anticipated. Disappointing.
December 21, 2022
Full of information, but poorly edited and a non-chronological narrative.
December 16, 2023
⭐ Il voto sarebbe 3.5/5
Piccolo saggio molto interessante che funziona molto bene nello spiegare la questione p. a chi magari non la conosce benissimo. Con il format "domanda-risposta" Bennis parte dalla situazione dei palestinesi, da come è nato Israele, perché c'è Hamas a Gaza, ecc... Per poi approfondire il rapporto tra USA e Israele, i vari accordi nel tempo e cosa non ha funzionato. La prima parte è ferma al 2006, c'è poi una parte aggiuntiva che aggiorna la situazione fino al 2018. Molto semplice e ben scritto, ci sono anche delle mappe che mostrano le suddivisioni del territorio. Lo consiglio per chi volesse una panoramica generale sull'argomento!
Piccolo saggio molto interessante che funziona molto bene nello spiegare la questione p. a chi magari non la conosce benissimo. Con il format "domanda-risposta" Bennis parte dalla situazione dei palestinesi, da come è nato Israele, perché c'è Hamas a Gaza, ecc... Per poi approfondire il rapporto tra USA e Israele, i vari accordi nel tempo e cosa non ha funzionato. La prima parte è ferma al 2006, c'è poi una parte aggiuntiva che aggiorna la situazione fino al 2018. Molto semplice e ben scritto, ci sono anche delle mappe che mostrano le suddivisioni del territorio. Lo consiglio per chi volesse una panoramica generale sull'argomento!
December 26, 2025
quite well written and very informative. i plan to read more books about this subject, but i feel more prepared to discuss israel & palestine after this one. stresses the importance of historical and global context for current events. the format was confusing at first but ended up paying off.
the one thing i regret is that the author is clearly pro-palestine (as she states in the introduction). this view is pretty noticeable throughout the book. i was hoping for something less biased….. so be warned. hence why i want to read more from different viewpoints.
the one thing i regret is that the author is clearly pro-palestine (as she states in the introduction). this view is pretty noticeable throughout the book. i was hoping for something less biased….. so be warned. hence why i want to read more from different viewpoints.
October 30, 2023
Good question and answer format but…
I loved the question and answer format of the book but there are no footnotes in the book and the author makes matter-of-fact claims in the book without enough quoting of primary sources to make this a book exhibiting top notch research.
It’s too bad too, because the question and answer format was very easy to follow.
I loved the question and answer format of the book but there are no footnotes in the book and the author makes matter-of-fact claims in the book without enough quoting of primary sources to make this a book exhibiting top notch research.
It’s too bad too, because the question and answer format was very easy to follow.
December 16, 2023
A lot of good information but put together in thoroughly disorganized fragments leading to an inchoate reading experience. For example, the issue of what is zionism is only brought up in the last 25 pages! Seems like it should have been the starting point. So this is another baffling disorganized book about the Middle East.
December 31, 2023
Essential. I normally find reading history laborious but was compelled first to learn more about this long-term crisis and in this book to read on furiously. The Q&A format was perfect. I hope more and more folks educate themselves on this unjust, unrelenting siege ... and are moved to supportive collective action on Palestine's behalf.
December 31, 2017
A short booklet to give a reader an overview of a complicated mess. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning a bit about the struggles between Palestine and Israel. It will give you a basic understanding. This was written in 2002. I would love to see an update.
July 21, 2020
To sum up this book: Palestinians good Israelis bad. This is nothing more than a Palestinian propaganda manual filled with half-truths and lies. There are many better books offering a balanced discussion of the subject.
June 1, 2021
Good information - that I mostly knew due to my intense preoccupation with this subject for the past 17 years - but a bit of a dry presentation!
May 2, 2023
A complex subject presented in a confusing manner.
November 30, 2023
Quick and easy to read, though I struggled with getting through some of the historical policy discussion at times because it's very textbook-speech if that makes sense
August 21, 2024
Wish I had read this long ago…. Incredibly succinct, informative. Truly catastrophic state of affairs and I would think unfathomable if it weren’t happening in front of our eyes
April 9, 2025
Free Palestine Always. The book was not pro anything but truth!
January 20, 2026
One of the best, most objective, simplified books on the conflict I’ve ever come across. Would recommend to absolutely everyone!
April 10, 2025
“In 2001, Israel itself requested that the apportionment of its US aid be shifted. Instead of the current balance of about $1.8 billion in military aid and $1.2 billion in economic assistance, the new plan called for an approximately ten percent reduction of economic aid, to be matched by a parallel increase in military aid. The goal would be, after ten years, to have Israel's entire aid allocation in the form of military assistance” - Pg 72
Want to read
November 11, 2019Being a complete neophyte on this subject I was looking for a very approachable and balanced overview of the history. That's a big ask, I understand. I don't know how I came to this explainer. I read about it somewhere is the most I can recall. I've read about 10% and it is excellent in most ways. It nicely checks the "approachable" box. The "balanced" box...not so much. I don't necessarily dispute the facts presented but I worry that that the nature of the presentation might actually tip too much in favor of a bias I already have re: Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. See. So, I'm going to look for something else and probably come back to this later.
October 24, 2024
I absolutely loved reading this book, I felt like it gave me a large amount of knowledge on the conflict at the perfect time when I truly was curious and confused as to what was happening in Palestine. I highly recommend anyone with a brain and a basic level of understanding of words read this book. It's slightly dated as it was published before the more recent happenings beginning in October of 2023, but it gives amazingly detailed reasoning behind certain events and a lot of background. I read every word and am very grateful to have happened upon it.
June 27, 2008
Provides a great introductory overview of the major political issues at stake. It is framed through a lens of Israeli colonization of Palestine. Very accessible, with good politics. Helpful for talking points.
-Becca
-Becca
March 2, 2020
Precise and detailed. The book is structured in the form of a Q&A. I highly recommend it for people who have always wanted to understand the Israeli and Palestinian conflict but were put off by the overwhelming-and contested--information concerning the subject.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews