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البندقية وغصن الزيتون: جذور العنف في الشرق الأوسط
عندما ظهر هذا الكتاب قوبل بردات فعل عدوانية من قبل الصحف الأمريكية، إذ رأت فيه فضحاً للسياسة الأمريكية التي تنتهجها الإدارات الأمريكية المتعاقبة من مسألة الصراع العربي الإسرائيلي. وقد وصف الكتاب بأنه "محاولة أخرى جديدة من العبث إجراؤها ومن المستحيل تحقيقها، محاولة تحديد نقطة البداية للعنف في التاريخ الحديث للشرق الأوسط، كما وصف بأنه أخبث الكتب المعادية لإسرائيل التي ينشرها بالإنكليزية شخص يدعي أنه معلّق جدي".
والكتاب يتألف من اثني عشر فصلاً تتناول في مجملها الصراع العربي-الصهيوني، وبذور الصراع في الفترة بين 1882-1939 وخلفيات هذا الصراع والثورة العربية الكبرى، وهو ما تقدمه الفصول الثلاثة الأولى. في حين عرض المؤلف في الفصلين الرابع والخامس أساليب الحركة الصهيونية واستخدام العنف. ثم يتحدث في الفصل السادس عن الكفاح العربي الذي قادته مصر عبد الناصر وينتقل إلى حرب الأيام الستة للعام 1967 التي سيتناولها في الفصل السابع. أما في الفصل الثامن فهو يتناول دور الصهاينة العرب في التآمر على القضية العراقية، في حين يحمل الفصل التاسع عنوان الكتاب "البندقية وغصن الزيتون" وهو يغطي مرحلة الكفاح المسلح وصولاً إلى الاعتراف الدولي بمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ممثلاً شرعياً للشعب الفلسطيني. ويتناول الفصل العاشر عملية السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية في حين خصص الفصلان الأخيران لاغتصاب الضفة الغربية واجتياح لبنان. يذكر أن مؤلف الكتاب دايفيد هيرست قد عمل في الشرق الأوسط وله عدة مؤلفات أخرى عن المنطقة.
والكتاب يتألف من اثني عشر فصلاً تتناول في مجملها الصراع العربي-الصهيوني، وبذور الصراع في الفترة بين 1882-1939 وخلفيات هذا الصراع والثورة العربية الكبرى، وهو ما تقدمه الفصول الثلاثة الأولى. في حين عرض المؤلف في الفصلين الرابع والخامس أساليب الحركة الصهيونية واستخدام العنف. ثم يتحدث في الفصل السادس عن الكفاح العربي الذي قادته مصر عبد الناصر وينتقل إلى حرب الأيام الستة للعام 1967 التي سيتناولها في الفصل السابع. أما في الفصل الثامن فهو يتناول دور الصهاينة العرب في التآمر على القضية العراقية، في حين يحمل الفصل التاسع عنوان الكتاب "البندقية وغصن الزيتون" وهو يغطي مرحلة الكفاح المسلح وصولاً إلى الاعتراف الدولي بمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ممثلاً شرعياً للشعب الفلسطيني. ويتناول الفصل العاشر عملية السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية في حين خصص الفصلان الأخيران لاغتصاب الضفة الغربية واجتياح لبنان. يذكر أن مؤلف الكتاب دايفيد هيرست قد عمل في الشرق الأوسط وله عدة مؤلفات أخرى عن المنطقة.
657 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1977
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1765 people want to read
About the author
David Hirst
4 books22 followersDavid Hirst is a veteran Middle East correspondent based in Beirut. He attended Rugby School from 1949 to 1954 and performed his national service in Egypt and Cyprus from 1954 to 1956. From 1956 to 1963 he studied at Oxford University and the American University of Beirut. He reported for the Guardian from 1963 to 1997 and has also written for the Christian Science Monitor, the Irish Times, the St. Petersburg Times, Newsday, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Daily Star. He was kidnapped twice (including one kidnapping in Beirut from which he escaped on by bolting from his captors' automobile in a Shia neighborhood of Beirut) and was banned at various times from visiting six Arab countries, including Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He continues to contribute to the Guardian and to other newspapers around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 26, 2024
كتاب عظيم.
المراجعة على الرابط
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hlY8...
المراجعة على الرابط
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hlY8...
September 20, 2015
This is an unapologetically partisan history of the Palestinians. The book was first published in 1977. It was the author's contention that at the time the American press presented a completely one-sided version of events. The author says many of the things in the book will be familiar to European readers where the press was more even-handed.
There was a commission after WWI created to "ascertain the wished, not just of the Palestinians, but of all the newly liberated Arab inhabitants of the former Ottoman provinces ... concluded that, if the Zionist project were to go through it would constitute 'a gross violation of the principles of self-determination and peoples' rights'". He maintains that 'Israel' is the only remaining 'colony'. "The European powers vacated all others or turned them to native rule."
Myth: the Palestinians fled the country at the instigation of their leaders. Palestine was very fragmented and much of the land was sold to Zionists by very wealthy absentee owners. This myth was exposed as false in 1959 by Palestinian scholar, Walid Khalidi and independently corroborated by an Irish scholar, Erskine Childers two years later.
We too: The Zionists pursued land acquisition the same way American settlers pursued the land of the Native Americans.
On the settlements: The UN exposed documents by the Zionists in 1979 which stated that "the disposition of the settlements must be carried out not only around the settlements of the minorities [read Arab majority], but also in between them." Think of the new Israel-only roads and the wall.
Stated Jewish foreign policy aims carried out by the US government: Remove Saddam Hussein form power in Iraq, contain and roll-back Syria, pressure Iran. Which of these were really US policy needs?
Funny: America's Christian Right supports Israel while Jewish fundamentalists "continue to harbour a doctrinal contempt for Christianity." The Christians see events as fulfilling "Biblical prophesy, prelude to Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ".
No solution is offered but there are lots of details on the dirty tricks, violence and lying that have taken place. Dark but worth reading.
There was a commission after WWI created to "ascertain the wished, not just of the Palestinians, but of all the newly liberated Arab inhabitants of the former Ottoman provinces ... concluded that, if the Zionist project were to go through it would constitute 'a gross violation of the principles of self-determination and peoples' rights'". He maintains that 'Israel' is the only remaining 'colony'. "The European powers vacated all others or turned them to native rule."
Myth: the Palestinians fled the country at the instigation of their leaders. Palestine was very fragmented and much of the land was sold to Zionists by very wealthy absentee owners. This myth was exposed as false in 1959 by Palestinian scholar, Walid Khalidi and independently corroborated by an Irish scholar, Erskine Childers two years later.
We too: The Zionists pursued land acquisition the same way American settlers pursued the land of the Native Americans.
On the settlements: The UN exposed documents by the Zionists in 1979 which stated that "the disposition of the settlements must be carried out not only around the settlements of the minorities [read Arab majority], but also in between them." Think of the new Israel-only roads and the wall.
Stated Jewish foreign policy aims carried out by the US government: Remove Saddam Hussein form power in Iraq, contain and roll-back Syria, pressure Iran. Which of these were really US policy needs?
Funny: America's Christian Right supports Israel while Jewish fundamentalists "continue to harbour a doctrinal contempt for Christianity." The Christians see events as fulfilling "Biblical prophesy, prelude to Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ".
No solution is offered but there are lots of details on the dirty tricks, violence and lying that have taken place. Dark but worth reading.
July 7, 2020
In August 1897, the First Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland with the aim of establishing a home for Jewish people in Palestine. It spearheaded the immigration of Jews to the 'homeland' from the diaspora which was earlier restricted to limited 'Aliyah'. If that was not enough, in 1917, the British government issued Balfour Declaration that increased the pace of Jewish immigration and set it in full swing. However, by the time Israel was created in 1948, Britain had been backstabbed by the Zionists and, somewhat owing to the ravages of WWII, they had handed the Palestinian affair to the newly created United Nations.
These all came to be a reality because of the Zionists' skills of political subterfuge and flagrant display of duplicity in all possible ways either diplomatically, militarily or politically.
This book is an eye-opening exposé of how Zionists came all the way to create this 'homeland' through the means only the degenerates could wield. From deceptively and dubiously routing the Palestinians to systematically expelling them from their lands, Zionists left no stone unturned in employing the wickedest of means for the ethnic cleansing of Arabs in Palestine. With their limitless dream of occupying entire Palestinian lands, Zionists unleashed the kind of violence which was reinforced again and again due to the lack of any Palestinian leadership in the initial decades and, mostly because Arab states failed to consolidate enough will owing to their own conflicting interests and disenchantment among them. The author, David Hirst, has done a splendid job in exposing the mechanisms through which Zionists absolutely colonized Palestine and subjected her people to the extreme of sufferings.
These all came to be a reality because of the Zionists' skills of political subterfuge and flagrant display of duplicity in all possible ways either diplomatically, militarily or politically.
This book is an eye-opening exposé of how Zionists came all the way to create this 'homeland' through the means only the degenerates could wield. From deceptively and dubiously routing the Palestinians to systematically expelling them from their lands, Zionists left no stone unturned in employing the wickedest of means for the ethnic cleansing of Arabs in Palestine. With their limitless dream of occupying entire Palestinian lands, Zionists unleashed the kind of violence which was reinforced again and again due to the lack of any Palestinian leadership in the initial decades and, mostly because Arab states failed to consolidate enough will owing to their own conflicting interests and disenchantment among them. The author, David Hirst, has done a splendid job in exposing the mechanisms through which Zionists absolutely colonized Palestine and subjected her people to the extreme of sufferings.
February 1, 2013
This book was exactly what I was looking for - the other side of the story between Israel and Palestine. While you may say its a biased presentation, the author at least makes it clear from the start that his intention is to balance the discussion with details you don't always hear in the US. Well worth the read, even if you don't agree 100% with his viewpoint.
November 20, 2013
Extract from the Book
There had been a few who died gun in hand, before Sheikh Qassam, there would be many thousands who were to do after him.
On 12 November 1935 a grey-bearded sexagenarian, wearing the turban and cloak of the Muslim cleric, presided over a secret meeting in the old slum quarter of Haifa. Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam realized he could delay no longer: his hour had come. The British had been in Palestine eighteen years; their rule, resented from the outset, had come quite intolerable in its disregard of Arab interests. Illegal Jewish immigration had reached the record figure of 61,844 a year. More and more Palestinian peasants were forced to leave their farms; others without families slept in the open. Such conditions contrasted humiliatingly with those well-to-do Jewish persona non grata. That was a fertile ground for Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam and his followers to rise against the usurper. Qassam and his followers resolved to fight and die, and would do so in a week.
His whole life had seemed a preparation this supreme self-sacrifice. A Syrian devout and cultured parentage, he went to Egypt and studied at Al- Azhar, the greatest centre of Muslims, he sat at the feet of Mohammad Abdu, the famous scholar who preached that, through Islam, Arabs and Muslims could rise to the challenge of the modern world. On his return to Syria, Qassam did not confine himself only to teaching, but he took part in various patriotic movements. He was a military leader in one of the uprisings against French rule in Syria.
This is why the French sentenced him to death which caused him to flee to Haifa in Palestine. There he taught, preached did charitable work and set a night school for illiterate. He moved easily among peasants and workers; he knew their intimate thoughts. Everywhere he warned the gravity of the Zionist invasion, he urged a true a spirit of patriotism, the ending of divisions, the emulation of the heroes of early Islam.
Verses from the Quran, particular those which called for struggle and sacrifice, were constantly on his lips. And everywhere, but especially in the mosques, he looked for disciples among the pious and God-fearing. Over the years, with great care and patience, he gathered about himself a band of followers. There were about 800 of them altogether; 200 of them received military training. They pledged to give their lives for Palestine. They were expected to supply their own arms and to contribute all else they could to the cause. Their training was done by stealth at night.
After the meeting in Haifa, Qassam and a group of his closest comrades, almost all of them peasants, made their way inland to the wooded hills of Jenin. They had sold their wives' jewellery and some of their household furnishings to buy rifles and ammunition. They spent the daytime in caves, near the village of Ya'bud, praying and reciting the Quran. At night they attacked the Jews and the British. At least that was their intention, for they barely had time for action. The British forces lost no time in sending its forces aided by reconnaissance planes to hunt them down. Surprised and overwhelmed, Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam was forced into a premature battle. Called upon to surrender, he shouted back: "Never, this is a Jihad for God and country." He encouraged his followers to 'die as martyrs'. When he saw the troops, he ordered his men to attack the British. After a battle lasting several hours, Qassam and three or four companions were killed, the rest were captured.
It had been a brief and—from a military point of view—futile rebellion. But it stirred up the Palestinian masses. It pointed the insurrectional way ahead. And that was all Sheikh Qassam had hoped for. The Jews failed to grasp its significance. For them, Sheikh Qassam was a kind of freak, the product on unnatural fanaticism. They (the Jews) could not see that, fifteen years after their own hero's exemplary death, the Palestinians in their turn now had the legend they needed. There had been a few who died gun in hand, before Sheikh Qassam, there would be many thousands who were to do after him. But in his deep piety, in his unswerving sense of mission, he was the archetypal "Fedayi"—' one who sacrifices himself'—of the Palestinian struggle. In the struggle against the twentieth-century invader, Sheikh Qassam is the outstanding example in a tradition of heroism.
A huge throng attended Sheikh Qassam's funeral in Haifa. He was buried ten kilometers away in the village of Yajour; the mourners bore the coffin all the way on foot. They shouted slogans against the British and the Jewish; they stoned the police. In Cairo, the newspaper alAhram wrote: ' Dear friend and martyr, I heard you preaching in mosques, calling us to arms, but today, preaching from the Boson of God, you were more eloquent in death than life'.
There had been a few who died gun in hand, before Sheikh Qassam, there would be many thousands who were to do after him.
On 12 November 1935 a grey-bearded sexagenarian, wearing the turban and cloak of the Muslim cleric, presided over a secret meeting in the old slum quarter of Haifa. Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam realized he could delay no longer: his hour had come. The British had been in Palestine eighteen years; their rule, resented from the outset, had come quite intolerable in its disregard of Arab interests. Illegal Jewish immigration had reached the record figure of 61,844 a year. More and more Palestinian peasants were forced to leave their farms; others without families slept in the open. Such conditions contrasted humiliatingly with those well-to-do Jewish persona non grata. That was a fertile ground for Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam and his followers to rise against the usurper. Qassam and his followers resolved to fight and die, and would do so in a week.
His whole life had seemed a preparation this supreme self-sacrifice. A Syrian devout and cultured parentage, he went to Egypt and studied at Al- Azhar, the greatest centre of Muslims, he sat at the feet of Mohammad Abdu, the famous scholar who preached that, through Islam, Arabs and Muslims could rise to the challenge of the modern world. On his return to Syria, Qassam did not confine himself only to teaching, but he took part in various patriotic movements. He was a military leader in one of the uprisings against French rule in Syria.
This is why the French sentenced him to death which caused him to flee to Haifa in Palestine. There he taught, preached did charitable work and set a night school for illiterate. He moved easily among peasants and workers; he knew their intimate thoughts. Everywhere he warned the gravity of the Zionist invasion, he urged a true a spirit of patriotism, the ending of divisions, the emulation of the heroes of early Islam.
Verses from the Quran, particular those which called for struggle and sacrifice, were constantly on his lips. And everywhere, but especially in the mosques, he looked for disciples among the pious and God-fearing. Over the years, with great care and patience, he gathered about himself a band of followers. There were about 800 of them altogether; 200 of them received military training. They pledged to give their lives for Palestine. They were expected to supply their own arms and to contribute all else they could to the cause. Their training was done by stealth at night.
After the meeting in Haifa, Qassam and a group of his closest comrades, almost all of them peasants, made their way inland to the wooded hills of Jenin. They had sold their wives' jewellery and some of their household furnishings to buy rifles and ammunition. They spent the daytime in caves, near the village of Ya'bud, praying and reciting the Quran. At night they attacked the Jews and the British. At least that was their intention, for they barely had time for action. The British forces lost no time in sending its forces aided by reconnaissance planes to hunt them down. Surprised and overwhelmed, Sheikh Ezzedeen Qassam was forced into a premature battle. Called upon to surrender, he shouted back: "Never, this is a Jihad for God and country." He encouraged his followers to 'die as martyrs'. When he saw the troops, he ordered his men to attack the British. After a battle lasting several hours, Qassam and three or four companions were killed, the rest were captured.
It had been a brief and—from a military point of view—futile rebellion. But it stirred up the Palestinian masses. It pointed the insurrectional way ahead. And that was all Sheikh Qassam had hoped for. The Jews failed to grasp its significance. For them, Sheikh Qassam was a kind of freak, the product on unnatural fanaticism. They (the Jews) could not see that, fifteen years after their own hero's exemplary death, the Palestinians in their turn now had the legend they needed. There had been a few who died gun in hand, before Sheikh Qassam, there would be many thousands who were to do after him. But in his deep piety, in his unswerving sense of mission, he was the archetypal "Fedayi"—' one who sacrifices himself'—of the Palestinian struggle. In the struggle against the twentieth-century invader, Sheikh Qassam is the outstanding example in a tradition of heroism.
A huge throng attended Sheikh Qassam's funeral in Haifa. He was buried ten kilometers away in the village of Yajour; the mourners bore the coffin all the way on foot. They shouted slogans against the British and the Jewish; they stoned the police. In Cairo, the newspaper alAhram wrote: ' Dear friend and martyr, I heard you preaching in mosques, calling us to arms, but today, preaching from the Boson of God, you were more eloquent in death than life'.
July 25, 2018
Every American interested in the Middle East should read this powerful, sobering, and enlightening book. To be sure, Hirst is no fan of the Israeli state, but I would challenge anyone who disagrees with the facts he presents to do their own research. Hirst is no conspiracy theorist, nor is he an anti-semite, but he provides an important perspective to what is in many ways the "default" pro-state of Israel view in the United States.
Even if one does not come away with one's mind changed, the reader cannot help but better understand the full range and complexity that drives one of the major conflicts in one of the world's most conflicted region.
Even if one does not come away with one's mind changed, the reader cannot help but better understand the full range and complexity that drives one of the major conflicts in one of the world's most conflicted region.
September 21, 2024
أنهيته للتو بعد شهور من القراءة المتأنية ،التفحصية و الثرية .
كتاب ثقيل جدًا و عظيم الأهمية ،لا يقرأ مع فنجان قهوة و حبة بسكويت إنما مع ورقة وقلم و متصفح انترنت بالجوار .
في خضم كل ما يحدث الآن في فلسطين و في غزة تحديدا منذ قرابة السنة ومع كل الأسئلة التي تخطر على بال كل من تهمه فلسطين هذا الكتاب يجد لنفسه مكانا واسعا بإجاباته الكثيرة عم اللماذا، المتى و خاصة الكيف حصل هذا!
الكتاب مقسم إلى محاور حسب التدرج الزمني للأحداث ، دراسة محايدة و موضوعية بدرجة كبيرة و هذا الأمر نادر جدا إن لم يكن شبه منعدم في كتاب غربي عن الشرق الأوسط.
إذا أردت أن تفهم كيف خلقت إسرائيل من العدم لتصبح اليوم كيانا مستقلا بذاته مستندا بكليته على حقوق منحتها له القوى العظمى دون أي اعتبارات، إذا أردت أن تفهم كيف يصير المرتزقة أصحاب حق و قرار و كيف بإمكان عالم بأسره أن يختار العمى في كل مرة تنتهك "قوانينه" بفجاجة لا يعرف تجسيدها سوى إسرائيليون لا وسائل محرمة عليهم في سبيل غايتهم.
ستقرأ عم المجازر ، عن الدماء ، عن السفالة ، عن خذلان الجار و الصاحب ، عن الطعنات العميقة في الظهر ، عن التخاذل، عن ازدواجية المعايير و المبادىء و عن تلاشي كل ما تجسده الإنسانية.
ستقرأ عن الفلسطيني الساذج الذي عاش في القرن الماضي ، الذي انتظر بكل بلاهة العرب كي يحرروا أرضه ثم استيقظ بعد فوات الأوان ليجد نفسه مطوقًا من كل ناحية بالعرب قبل الغرب .
ستقرأ عن القوى الكبرى !! عن مصالحها ، عن أهدافها التي لا تجاهد لإخفائها و لن تندهش .
ستقرأ عن أسوء شعب و أسوء بشر و ستصاب بالصداع في مرات عدة من شدة القهر و الغصة.
كتاب تاريخي عظيم عظيم عظيم جدا ...يقرأ و يعاد .
كتاب ثقيل جدًا و عظيم الأهمية ،لا يقرأ مع فنجان قهوة و حبة بسكويت إنما مع ورقة وقلم و متصفح انترنت بالجوار .
في خضم كل ما يحدث الآن في فلسطين و في غزة تحديدا منذ قرابة السنة ومع كل الأسئلة التي تخطر على بال كل من تهمه فلسطين هذا الكتاب يجد لنفسه مكانا واسعا بإجاباته الكثيرة عم اللماذا، المتى و خاصة الكيف حصل هذا!
الكتاب مقسم إلى محاور حسب التدرج الزمني للأحداث ، دراسة محايدة و موضوعية بدرجة كبيرة و هذا الأمر نادر جدا إن لم يكن شبه منعدم في كتاب غربي عن الشرق الأوسط.
إذا أردت أن تفهم كيف خلقت إسرائيل من العدم لتصبح اليوم كيانا مستقلا بذاته مستندا بكليته على حقوق منحتها له القوى العظمى دون أي اعتبارات، إذا أردت أن تفهم كيف يصير المرتزقة أصحاب حق و قرار و كيف بإمكان عالم بأسره أن يختار العمى في كل مرة تنتهك "قوانينه" بفجاجة لا يعرف تجسيدها سوى إسرائيليون لا وسائل محرمة عليهم في سبيل غايتهم.
ستقرأ عم المجازر ، عن الدماء ، عن السفالة ، عن خذلان الجار و الصاحب ، عن الطعنات العميقة في الظهر ، عن التخاذل، عن ازدواجية المعايير و المبادىء و عن تلاشي كل ما تجسده الإنسانية.
ستقرأ عن الفلسطيني الساذج الذي عاش في القرن الماضي ، الذي انتظر بكل بلاهة العرب كي يحرروا أرضه ثم استيقظ بعد فوات الأوان ليجد نفسه مطوقًا من كل ناحية بالعرب قبل الغرب .
ستقرأ عن القوى الكبرى !! عن مصالحها ، عن أهدافها التي لا تجاهد لإخفائها و لن تندهش .
ستقرأ عن أسوء شعب و أسوء بشر و ستصاب بالصداع في مرات عدة من شدة القهر و الغصة.
كتاب تاريخي عظيم عظيم عظيم جدا ...يقرأ و يعاد .
February 21, 2019
Her ne kadar Rashid khalidi kitapları, Filistin meselesinde başı çekse de; romanvari ve ��srail cephesi dışında anlatımı ile güzel bir kitap. Eklenen önsöz ile başta bir bocalama evresi olsa da, muntazam bir organizasyon ile anlatımın samimiyeti birleşince bu konuda başucu kitabımdan biri oldu. Ancak mesele 2015 yılına kadar gidiyor.iyi okumalar
February 19, 2008
This is one of the most helpful books I've read on Palestine in terms of being a solid historical overview. It's incredibly long, but has a 150 page or so introduction that is still fantastically informative when read alone.
July 29, 2021
هذا الكتاب أفضل وأجمل ما يمكن قرائته عن القضية الفلسطينية ،، رغم أنه كتاب متوسط في حجمه بالنسبة للفترة الزمنية الكبيرة اللي بيتكلم عليها ، إلا إن الكتاب شامل ومحايد جدا ولا غني عنه لكل من يريد أن يعرف عن القضية الفلسطينية
November 19, 2024
اوك مبدئيا اسراخرا(israhell)اوساخ ،مغتصبين و سفاحين من اول يوم،دايما عندهم حجة انهم مظلومين و مضطهدين...
الانجليز اتلسعوا منهم ومع ذلك ادوهم اللي مش حقهم...
الامريكان الصديق الصدوق لاسرازفت و المحامي الخاص بيهم...
بعض العرب للاسف خونة و متفرقين ولم يساعدوا القضية صح...
الانجليز اتلسعوا منهم ومع ذلك ادوهم اللي مش حقهم...
الامريكان الصديق الصدوق لاسرازفت و المحامي الخاص بيهم...
بعض العرب للاسف خونة و متفرقين ولم يساعدوا القضية صح...
December 19, 2016
Finally got around to finishing this dense tome. This is a great book but it's difficult to get through. By this, I do not mean it's bad, or even boring, as I found it extremely engaging and eye opening. It's hard to get through because the author pulls no punches, laying out an uncompromising narrative, drawn from years of research and first hand experience as a journalist specializing in the Middle East. Regardless of one's opinion on the topic, it presents a detailed view into this incredibly complex issue with ancient origins. While you can see the author's opinion bleeding through the pages, it seems less a persuasive narrative and more so him laying out the timeline and the facts from which the reader can then draw their own conclusions. I could write thousands of words on my thoughts on this subject but I will simply end here with a recommendation to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the history of this conflict. A great companion piece is The Lemon Tree which I finished earlier this year; it is shorter and much easier to digest.
August 28, 2017
I was never quite a fan of political history books but to read this book linked to my heritage as an Arab and a Muslim, it's something else. I never knew the beginnings of the Eternal Conflict, having been born after it started decades later. This book so brilliantly compiled and somewhat objectively written by David Hirst, offers you a more or less balanced view on the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He gives us a view of both sides and criticizes on an even scale -if somewhat still misjudged- both parties. It's an interesting read if you're a buff of history and/or politics but a downright boredom if you're neither.
March 20, 2025
Dialogue on the relations between Palestine and Israel often focuses on the distant past and the recent past—the Nakba and current news (plus whatever recent history contextualizes current news). But a lot has happened in the intervening decades, and this book goes into a lot of detail about that history. It was first published in the 1970s, and new material was added in later editions. But the last copyright was from 2003, so it forces you to wrap your head around a lot of events that have largely fallen out of discussion in contemporary times.
Hirst covers those events well, digging past the workshopped statements of the Israeli government to tell a lot of honest truths about the Zionist project. But the downside to reading this book is that it could have used some copy editing. And rather than just adding to old material, maybe it should have revised some of it as well. It's a lengthy and somewhat repetitive book that probably could have been pared down had a different approach been taken.
Hirst covers those events well, digging past the workshopped statements of the Israeli government to tell a lot of honest truths about the Zionist project. But the downside to reading this book is that it could have used some copy editing. And rather than just adding to old material, maybe it should have revised some of it as well. It's a lengthy and somewhat repetitive book that probably could have been pared down had a different approach been taken.
August 20, 2025
If you are interested in an in-depth account of the Arab-Israeli conflict until the early 2000s, this will do nicely. Even though, in 2025, major developments of the conflict are not included, it is striking how many of themes we see today are reflected in Hirst’s depiction.
Yet, I felt this book lacked a tangible message throughout. It often felt more like a textbook than a historical account of a deeply polarising event. Hirst’s opinions are always evident, the book is not apolitical nor is it trying to be, however, once finished, it did not leave me with a broader message about the conflict.
This book remains successful in its detailed descriptions, but for its ambitious breath and depth, the reader has no identifiable, recurring theme while reading the book or once finished.
Yet, I felt this book lacked a tangible message throughout. It often felt more like a textbook than a historical account of a deeply polarising event. Hirst’s opinions are always evident, the book is not apolitical nor is it trying to be, however, once finished, it did not leave me with a broader message about the conflict.
This book remains successful in its detailed descriptions, but for its ambitious breath and depth, the reader has no identifiable, recurring theme while reading the book or once finished.
November 30, 2023
An all-inclusive examination of the Israel-Palestine conflict, offering a historical account from its origins to the developments till around 1976. The book is well-researched and meticulously documented. Though the author appears to have put in a balanced approach yet one can smell a veiled ting of prejudice.
January 22, 2019
I enjoyed this a lot. Besides the introduction, the whole thing lacked harsh subjectivity; the author didn't use this as a propaganda piece and nor did he try to push his opinions on you. I think it's a good dive and will let people decide if they want to go further in detail. 4.5/5.
May 23, 2019
Too much Palestinian propaganda
February 9, 2024
Thorough and informative, though I admit I did some skimming due to its extensive detail & length.
June 8, 2024
Interesting points were made, but it's way too biased.
January 12, 2026
Intro to the preface or whatever it’s called was torture
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October 14, 2020Filistinli arapların ve İsrailin tarihini arap bakışından anlatan muazzam bir başyapıt. Her sayfası önemli bilgilerle dolu, Siyonist tarih anlatışının ne kadar da çarpıtılmış olduğunu anlatan mükemmel bir tarih kitabı. Siyonistler icin "Aliyah" adlanan şeyin filistinliler için "Nakba" anlamına geldiğini gerçekten anlamak mümkün. Bende müthiş değimler yarattı diyemem zira daha önce de Filistinliler ve İsraillilere araplar tarafından bakan sürü ile kitap okumuş bulunuyorum. Ama bu kitap tüm detayları harika tarzda ele almış. Diğer kitaplarda olmayan sürüyle detay var. David Hirst Orta Doğuda yaşamış (Lübnan) bir kişi olarak gerçekleri yalnızca soyut kaynaklardan toplamamış. Ve de sadece arap kaynaklarını da kullanamamış. İsrail şiddet ve cinayetlerini İsrail kaynaklarından anlatmış adeta. Ve de o kadar harika bir iş çıkarmış ki, her sayfasında o kadar kaynak kullanmış ki, yazdıklarına itiraz etmek adeta bir salaklık olarak anlaşılmalı.
Bu kitabı Filistinlileri, FKÖ-nü anlamak isteyen her kişi için tavsiye ediyorum. Terörizmin yalnızca cahil insanların bozuk faaaliyeti olarak anlaşıldığı bir medya dünyası için gerçekleri duymak mutlaka zor olacak. Zira sosyal haberleşmenin tüm demagolojik haberleri "gerçek" diye yutturmağa çalıştığı bir dünyada gerçekler acı vericidir. Bir gerçeği de benden duymak ister misiniz ? İsrail devleti kendisi de terörle kuruldu. Ve de bu terörü hala uyguluyor. Hem de Filistinli mülteciler ve Bantustanda (Batı Şeria ve Gazze).
Bu kitabı Filistinlileri, FKÖ-nü anlamak isteyen her kişi için tavsiye ediyorum. Terörizmin yalnızca cahil insanların bozuk faaaliyeti olarak anlaşıldığı bir medya dünyası için gerçekleri duymak mutlaka zor olacak. Zira sosyal haberleşmenin tüm demagolojik haberleri "gerçek" diye yutturmağa çalıştığı bir dünyada gerçekler acı vericidir. Bir gerçeği de benden duymak ister misiniz ? İsrail devleti kendisi de terörle kuruldu. Ve de bu terörü hala uyguluyor. Hem de Filistinli mülteciler ve Bantustanda (Batı Şeria ve Gazze).
February 7, 2010
This incredibly thorough book is defiantly worth reading. At the same time, it is a book about war and battles and nation states which makes it dry and a bit plodding, at least in my feeling-centric world. I'm not sure how much I retained, truthfully, but I have this sense that the information's in there and will be useful to me as I continue to learn about the Israeli occupation and Palestinian liberation struggle.
maybe-later
September 25, 2016Only reading the 120-page long foreword. Hirst is a more engaging storyteller with a more readable style than Rashid Khalidi. Note that he gives a slightly more Palestine-sympathetic interpretation of the events (the PNC's 1988 offer, Oslo in 1993, Sharon's visit that triggered the 2000 Intifada, etc) and a far stronger opinion on Ariel Sharon.
January 22, 2008
This is the best book I have ever read on the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Currently reading
May 28, 2008Still reading...
February 11, 2013
One of the best reviews of a war I have ever read. Written by someone who truly understands war and how senseless it can be.
August 25, 2015
A fascinating and mostly well-balanced documentation of the troubles of the region
March 17, 2020
One of the best academic works giving an insight into the history of the Palestinian position
December 30, 2014
Long review to come soon..
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