The Struggle for Palestine

by Lance Selfa (Editor)

Leading international solidarity activists offer insight into the ongoing struggle for Palestinian freedom and justice. Includes Anthony Arnove, Naseer Aruri, David Barsamian, Paul D'Amato, Phil Gasper, Toufic Haddad, Tikva Honig-Parnass, Rania Masri, Tanya Reinhart, Edward Said, and Ahmed Shawki.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Middle East

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Lance Selfa is an editor of and contributor to International Socialist Review. He edited The Struggle for Palestine (Haymarket, 2002). He lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire world has failed Palestine. The imperialists have beaten Palestine to a pulp while their puppet governments and lackeys for empire look the other way or benefit from the destruction. The neighboring Arab nations, afraid of the mass movements that Palestinian resistance have inspired in their own countries, capitulate to the Zionist entity. The comprador bourgeoisie, who sought to make a dime regardless of the flag they operated under, pressured for internal collapse and compromise.

And yet, despite the entire world propelling Palestine to the shredder, it is Palestine who have cracked the world open. How fitting it is that I finish this book on the day a so called ceasefire has been announced. Palestine has utterly transformed me.

This book, written by several authors, goes into each betrayal in detail: the zionist jewish movement backstabbing bolshevik jewish resistance against nazi germany, jordan and king hussein expelling the PLO, the PLO backstabbing and suppressing resistance against zionism. It discusses how Israel becomes the henchman, the secret weapons dealer, the brute of the world. It discusses the contradictions of each political wing of Palestinian resistance: Fatah, PFLP, DFLP, Hamas, PIJ, FIDA, etc.

As a Korean, the history, the factionalism, the compradors, the capitulation, the genocide, the partitioning-- it is all too familiar. However, this familiarity is a point of inspiration and learning for me. I am reminded of Uncle Che's words: "I envy you... You live in the belly of the beast!" How lucky am I, to struggle against the perpetrators of a genocide-- who also happen to be the genociders and partitioners of my ancestors!

[Rowan🍉 · Rating 5 out of 5]

my only complaint is that the font is small and cramped which made this super important read very hard to get through. Content-wise though, it was enlightening. Learning about the ties Zionist leaders had to Nazi leaders makes me sick to my stomach especially.

[mat bullock-betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the last chapter and how the buildup of Hamas is laid out with all the other movements. Probably should have read this before reading more recent books on Palestine.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I read about Israel and Palestine, as a college freshman, and I found it a very comprehensible introduction.

In the past two weeks (July 2006), as Israel has invaded Gaza and Lebanon, I have re-read the book and been stunned by how much I have learned reading it a second time (and after, four years later, having now read many other sources on the conflicts in the Middle East as well). This book has been very helpful for me in being able to understand what is happening in the world. It is still the best book I have found on Israel and Palestine.

One of the things I most appreciate about it is that the different chapters and contributors all approach the issue from different angles:
- Was Israel founded to counter anti-Semitism? (Actually, to my great surprise when I read it for the first time, Zionist leaders actually made deals with the Nazis to encourage more Jews to leave Europe and move to Palestine! This is in the book's first essay, "Zionism: False Messiah," with many more examples of how Zionist leaders prioritized their political goal of building a Jewish-only state above fighting anti-Semitism)
- Why does the US offer so much support to Israel and how did this relationship evolve? How is it related to US support for other regimes in the Middle East, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and in the past, Iran and Iraq?
- What was the "peace process" about and why did it fall apart? What were Israel, Arafat and the US each hoping to achieve from it?
- Where did the different movements in Palestine (PLO, Hamas, Fatah, etc) come from and how are they different from each other?
- What would Palestinian liberation look like and what kind of movement in the Middle East would win it? Is it possible for Arabs and Jews to live together without racism? How would we get there?

...and many more; those are just some examples. I find it very helpful that the book discusses so many aspects of the situation in the Middle East. It also includes interviews with and statements from Palestinian and Israeli activists who have resisted Zionism and Israeli colonialism.

In short, I can't recommend this book more highly for anyone trying to understand the conflicts in the Middle East. I've lent my copy to a number of friends over the years, and I hope more people will buy and learn from this book.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

For newcomers to the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is an excellent place to start. This gave me a solid introduction to Zionism, the history of the Palestinian struggle, etc. Quite useful.

[Dan Sharber · Rating 5 out of 5]

this books lays it out very well. just short essays so there is some overlap but it is a good primer and gives a good explanation of the one state solution in the final essay.

[Halimah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a primitive understanding of Palestine and on the question of Palestine, this is a great read. Very informative and really easy to read.