What Does Israel Fear from Palestine?

by Raja Shehadeh

Lo Stato di Israele venne formato nel 1948, dando luogo alla Nakba o «catastrofe»: la rimozione della nazione palestinese, causa di fratture che continuano a sfociare in forme tragiche e violente anche oggi. Negli anni che sono seguiti, mentre il muro di Berlino crollava e il Sudafrica aboliva l’apartheid, il governo israeliano ha rifiutato ogni opportunità di riconciliazione con la Palestina. Ma per Raja Shehadeh, avvocato dei diritti umani e uno dei più importanti scrittori palestinesi, ciò non significa che le due nazioni non possano lavorare insieme come partner sulla strada della pace. È di questo punto di vista nuovo che oggi abbiamo davvero bisogno. «Raja Shehadeh – ci ricorda Rachel Kushner – è un salvagente in un mare di desolazione».

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Middle East, War, Essays, Audiobook

Paperback

First published June 6, 2024

About the author

Raja Shehadeh (Arabic: رجا شحادة) is a Palestinian lawyer, human rights activist and writer. He is the author of Strangers in the House (2002), described by The Economist as “distinctive and truly impressive”, When the Bulbul Stopped Singing (2003), Palestinian Walks (2007), for which he won the 2008 Orwell Prize, and A Rift in Time (2010). Shehadeh trained as a barrister in London and is a founder of the human rights organization Al-Haq. He blogs regularly for the International Herald Tribune/The New York Times and lives in Ramallah, on the West Bank.

Reviews

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

a brief and necessary summation of the events of and leadup to October 7th, 2023. may israel fall in our lifetime ! one star knocked off for being pro 2 state solution seemingly

[Balvinder Sopal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative. Educational. Inquisitive. Reading material about the devestating events in the Middle East can only bring us closer to understanding what is happening and how peace can be achieved.

Raja Shehadeh is a brilliant writer, whom I have followed since 2017. His writings are sensitive, logical, and inquisitive. He writes from experience, and one thing we must always be aware of is negating someone's experience even if it sits at odds with what we think.

[Krysia o książkach · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Niezmiernie wysokie koszty ludzkie i materialne wojny w Gazie dowodzą, że tym, czego boi się Izrael ze strony Palestyny, jest samo jej istnienie."

[Jake · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an odd book. On its final page, Shehadeh writes: “the only future is for the two peoples to live together.” This is a respectable closing message. However, you would be unlikely to guess that was going to be his conclusion from the previous 107 pages. His strange historical narrative simultaneously presumes too much knowledge of the reader to be suitable for someone unfamiliar to this topic, yet is also too lacking in original insight to offer much to someone already well-acquainted. He blandly recites tired nationalist dogmas, the constantly reheated Nasser-era propaganda of how Jewish aggression in the name of their historically-illegitimate state is the one and only cause of the conflict, with no Palestinian having ever committed a single atrocity or even made a single mistake. At least, that’s how it appears on the surface. If you read between the lines, there subtle indication that he knows that there are truths beyond these dogmas, but he is loath to say them too loudly. There is a fascinating uncertainty and insecurity that rests unseen beneath and between the words of this book.

I could dive deep into this book's curious relationship with the historical truth, but there something more interesting to be said about Shehadeh himself here: his convictions seem certain on the surface, but deeper down are quite conflicted. For example, he smugly suggests that "the Bible" is the only basis Jews have for their historical claim to the Southern Levant, but then elsewhere refers to Jews "returning" after 2000 years. On the surface, this book will certainly appease hardline Palestinian ethnonationalists who cling adamantly to the mythology that all Jews are white Eastern Europeans with no claim to the Land - but if you dig a little deeper, it's clear that Shehadeh falls ever so slightly short of fully embracing such dogma. Much of the book is written in this way, falling almost imperceptibly short of nationalist absolutism, in a way that allows ultranationalists to smugly fill in the gaps, whilst leaving himself with enough plausible deniability for moderates. Shehadeh's outward certainty but inward uncertainty represents the crossroads that Palestinians and their allies find themselves at in the 21st century. The narrative that fuelled Palestinian nationalism for most of its history, an absolutist, ethnonationalist mythology that adamantly insists that 'من المية للمية فلسطين عربية - From the River to the Sea, Palestine is all Arab' is one that most Palestinians are deeply emotionally attached to, regardless of its truth, and Shehadeh is no exception. But 80 years have shown that such a narrative is not only a distortion of truth (to be fair, as all nationalist mythologies are), it is not useful to the Palestinians. Israel shows no sign of disappearing, and earnest interest in peace on the Arab side has been historically mirrored in Israel. A Palestine that earnestly wants peace, freedom, and justice will need a new narrative that allows it cease bowing to the twin golden calves of ethnonationalist irredentism and violent struggle.

Shehadeh is too smart to fall head-over-heels into nationalist dogma. He obviously recognizes that, practically speaking, some from of 2-state compromise is Palestine's best and most realistic path for freedom (he has implied this in interviews too), that the Jewish claim has some degree of legitimacy, and Israelis are not universally warmongering brutes. But he is loath to spell these ideas out, for risk of alienating some of his audience and expose the reality that the Pro-Palestine movement is quite ideologically divided, but also because I think he struggles to fully accept these truths himself. Shehadeh was born in 1951, and his generation of Palestinians is the last that can afford to languish in this uncertain dissonance. Now that the scale of destruction is higher than ever, and the world's eyes are glued to the Middle East like never before, Palestinians (and Israelis too) need to decide whether they believe in territorial compromise and peace, or ethnonationalist irredentism and perpetual war. The path to peace is not easy, King Hussein of Jordan's brilliant line "peace requires no less courage than war" remains as true as ever, but there is no alternative. Ironically. Shehadeh reminds me of the sort of Israeli who vaguely speaks of a sympathy for Gaza, but advocates for no tangible policies that would roll back the occupation and bring us closer to peace, too attached are they to their familiar old narratives—Shehadeh’s view is the Palestinian mirror image of this tired, outdated stance. Palestine, Israel, and all of the Middle East need thought leaders with more courage and creativity than Raja Shehadeh.

[Senga krew_w_piach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bardzo zgrabny i potrzebny dziś esej znakomitego p.skiego pisarza, dziennikarza, aktywisty i prawnika. Shehadeh rzeczowo wyjaśnia historię relacji dwóch narodów, tłumaczy czym w tym kontekście jest okupacja, pokazuje na czym polega i.ski apartheid i jak ten kraj wytrwale realizuje swoją długoterminową politykę pozbycia się sąsiadów, tłumaczy skąd wynika takie a nie inne podejście środowiska międzynarodowego i dlaczego cały świat potrafi w końcu nazywać rzeczy po imieniu, a USA nadal nie, pokazuje w jaki sposób I.el manipuluje przekazem, przesuwa granice własnych mieszkańców i wykorzystuje wojnę do tłumienia wewnętrznych niepokojów, do czego potrzebuje Ha.su i i jak to wszystko doprowadziło do dzisiejszej sytuacji. Jednocześnie nie traci nadziei na pokój i pisze co musiałoby się wydarzyć aby nastał.
Dla mnie ten esej ma szczególną wartość z dwóch powodów. Po pierwsze jest bardzo świeży, pisany już po 7.10, więc odnosi się do bardzo aktualnych wydarzeń. Po drugie nie jest ani trochę antysemicki, ani konfrontacyjny, nie gra na emocjach, nie skupia się na pojedynczych tragediach, tylko jest bardzo konkretną, trzymającą się faktów, wypełnioną informacjami analizą sytuacji.
Nie będę tu wrzucać cytatów, bo całość jest króciutka (78 stron ebooka, w tym 10 przypisy i 10 aneks), a uważam, że powinna go przeczytać każda i każdy, kto chce wyrobić sobie własną opinię, a nie tylko polegać na mainstreamowym przekazie (który w polskich mediach zasadniczo w ogóle nie istnieje), ale też z takiej ludzkiej uczciwości i oddania P.ńczykom szacunku. Tak że czytajcie koniecznie.

[MimbleWimble___ Elli Maria Moutsopoulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Αν επιλέξεις να διαβάσεις ένα -μικρής έκτασης- βιβλίο, που θα αφηγείται το χρονικό των ισραηλινοπαλαιστινιακών συγκρούσεων (μέχρι και σήμερα) με απλό, κατανοητό αλλά και επιχειρηματολογικά τεκμηριωμένο λόγο…
τότε ας είναι αυτό.

[Malgorzata (szczodrość ryb) · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 eseje o wojnie Izrael-Palestyna wykładające sprawę Palestyny i jej kontekst.
Pierwszy, „Jak do tego doszło?” pokazuje tło historyczne, przyczyny tego, że dwa narody zasiedlają to samo terytorium, a także dlaczego dotychczasowe, wieloletnie próby wprowadzenia rozwiązań pokojowych nie przynoszą zakładanych rezultatów.
Drugi, „Wojna w Gazie 2023-2024” pokazuje obecne zaostrzenie, które po przeczytaniu pierwszego eseju wydaje się wręcz oczywistą konsekwencją, której należało się spodziewać z wielu względów; w jakich warunkach Palestyńczycy bytują, jakie zbrodnie były i są na nich dokonywane i jak bardzo nikogo to nie obchodziło. Dochodzą do tego wewnętrzne podziały i polityka Izraela będącego bez wroga zewnętrznego realnie zagrożonym wojną domową.

Świetna na początek, krótka, polecam.

[Sweet Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο σύντομο και ευκολοδιάβαστο που σου παρουσιάζει το μεσανατολικό με ένα μεστό και ακέραιο τρόπο. Δεν αναλώνεται σε λεπτομέρειες γιατί ορθώς υποθέτει ο Shehadeh ότι για να το διαβάσεις ξέρεις τι έχει ήδη συμβεί.
Το ζήτημα όμως είναι να το διαβάσουν άτομα που δεν ξέρουν τι έχει συμβεί. Όλοι εκείνοι που νομίζουν ότι τα ήθελαν και τα έπαθαν οι Παλαιστινιοι ή αναπαραγουν προπαγανδισμους τύπου "τους δόθηκε δυνατότητα 105 φορές να φτιάξουν κράτος και αρνηθηκαν".

Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι για όλους αυτούς. Για να καταλάβουν τι θα πει εποικισμος και μεσσιανισμος και πως αυτά τα δύο χαρακτηριστικά που είναι φορεμένα στην σημερινή εκδοχή της Ισραηλινης κοινωνίας την έχουν καταδικάσει σε μια αέναη πάλη με αυτούς που η ίδια αδυνατεί να δει ως ανθρώπους. Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι, με λίγα λόγια, για όσους έχουν απανθρωποποιησει τους Παλαιστίνιους.

Υγ. Στο χορηγουμενο ποστ των εκδόσεων Μεταίχμιο, κάτω στις αντιδράσεις και στα σχόλια, βρίσκονται όλοι αυτοι στους οποίους απευθύνεται το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο.

Υγ2. Και τα υπόλοιπα βιβλία του Shehadeh είναι εξαιρετικά.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jokaisen tulisi lukea tämä teos.

Jos tässä vaiheessa et tiedä, miksi Israel toteuttaa kansanmurhaa Gazassa, alat olla sulkenut silmäsi jo ihan tahallasi.

[ola ✶ cosmicreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

obowiązkowa lektura na start

[Mallika Saharia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read- every fact about the conflict is observed through a lens of humanity and morality. Loved it!
This was one of the Staff Picks at Shakespeare and company.

[Yuko Shimizu · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have time to read only one book right now, that book be this.

[minyard]

Nie jestem w stanie pojąć tej zbrodni.

"Niezmiernie wysokie koszty ludzkie i materialne wojny w Gazie dowodzą, że tym, czego boi się Izrael ze strony Palestyny, jest samo jej istnienie."

[kosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

treściwy, świetnie skrojony materiał, dobra podstawa do dalszego pogłębiania wiedzy

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the river to the sea 🇵🇸🍉

[Jeść treść · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nie ma tu czego oceniać, trzeba czytać. Po prostu

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct outline of this issue covering 1947 – 2024 by Palestine’s leading writer, lawyer and founder of the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq.
Hard not to conclude that the Palestinian people have been screwed and so it will continue and we all know why.

[rézi]

although i believe that shehadeh and i agree politically, i can clearly see what he is leaving out of his essay, which i find disappointing. his narrative makes it impossible to understand how israeli society could have gotten to the horrifying state they are in now - the implication of the text seems to be that it is due to decades of propaganda in schools and the media, engineered by greedy zionists of centuries past. obviously, propaganda does play a vitally important role, but it is not the full story. it would also be disingenuous to claim that it was all created by evil people in the 1940s, rather than by a persecuted people, under siege at every turn (a situation that is not entirely dissimilar to the one the palestinians find themselves in now - i concede that they are not the same, but they are not dissimilar). at the very least, one must consider the shoah and the wars of 1967 and 1973 as deeply important events that influenced the thinking of entire generations. all of these are at most a footnote or a throwaway mention in shehadeh's account, though they desperately need to be included in any cogent analysis of the conflict. that is irresponsible and unhelpful, because it weakens shehadeh's point, which is ultimately a good one: we must be able to see a future in which palestinians and israelis can live side by side in peace, a future in which israel pursues this peace as a policy, seeing and treating palestinians as fellow citizens and fellow human beings - something that the state of israel has been making utterly impossible. and yet. we must have hope. for that, one must understand how israelis AND palestinians EACH got into the situation and state of mind that they are now in, or we can never meaningfully change anything. obviously, shehadeh is a great thinker that i deeply respect, which is why i'm getting so hung up on all of this - palestinian voices need to be heard, and i believe he can reach so many more people if his analysis goes deeper.

[Maddy Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

a super concise view on the reality of the war on palestine. if you haven’t read anything yet, this is your sign

[martyna • podkreslenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

eseje są niewielkie objętościowo, jednak zawierają w sobie ogrom informacji bardzo potrzebnych dla zrozumienia palestyńsko-izraelskich kontekstów oraz skali okrucieństwa wobec palestyńczyków.

jeśli nie wiecie od jakiej książki zacząć czytanie o palestynie, przeczytajcie ten esej, bo naprawdę rozjaśnia w głowie kilka kwestii.

[Booklists_ Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Κατατοπιστικο με ανάλυση της ιστορίας και παραθέτοντας γεγονότα.

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esej palestyńskiego prawnika i pisarza rzucajacy trochę światła na złożoność konfliktu izraelsko-palestyńskiego poprzez pryzmat emocjonalnych i psychologicznych uwarunkowań, które kształtują wzajemne relacje obu narodów. Odrzucając jednostronne narracje, Shehadeh wnikliwie bada, jak historia, trauma i kulturowe dziedzictwo wpływają na współczesne postrzeganie siebie nawzajem oraz na trudności, z jakimi się borykają.

Szczególną uwagę autor poświęca lękom Izraelczyków, które nie są ograniczone do obaw związanych z bieżącymi wydarzeniami, ale mają swoje korzenie w dramatycznych doświadczeniach historycznych, takich jak Holokaust czy wojny w przeszłości. Przez wieki przezwyciężali oni liczne zagrożenia, co wytworzyło głębokie poczucie potrzeby bezpieczeństwa. W takim kontekście Palestyńczycy często postrzegani są jako potencjalne zagrożenie, a ich działania mogą być interpretowane jako atak na istnienie Izraela. To z kolei z kolei prowadzi do wyostrzenia polityki obronnej oraz militarnej, a także do tworzenia stereotypów, które wpływają na relacje i dalsze eskalacje konfliktu.

Z kolei z perspektywy Palestyńczyków, Shehadeh ukazuje, jak okupacja oraz codzienne zmagania wpływają na ich tożsamość i poczucie przynależności. Utrata ziemi, praw człowieka i podstawowych wolności wprowadza do życia Palestyńczyków głęboki niepokój, poczucie niesprawiedliwości oraz przymus walki o godność. Te doznania manifestują się w zbiorowej pamięci i narracji, które dominują w palestyńskim społeczeństwie. Współczesne trudności, z którymi się borykają, są niezatarte i zostają przekazywane pokoleniowo, co tylko zwiększa ich ból i obawy.

Shehadeh, poprzez swoje przenikliwe obserwacje, konfrontuje nas z ideą, że empatia musi być fundamentem do budowania pokoju. Niezwykle ważne jest, aby każda ze stron zrozumiała emocje i doświadczenia drugiej, co jest kluczem do przełamania negatywnych stereotypów i wzajemnych lęków. Jego praca stanowi apel do całego świata, aby nie ignorować ludzkich tragedii, ale raczej starać się zrozumieć ich źródła.

[Marika_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

bardzo polecam - to niewielkich rozmiarów esej w przystępny sposób rozjaśniający temat historii izraelskiej okupacji w Palestynie, tego jak Izrael proboje wymazac historię Palestyny i dlaczego to robi czy tego dlaczego Izraelowi tak bardzo „opłaca się” nie zawieranie pokoju w żadnej jego formie.

[Mrs. Danvers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and to the point. Very well done.

[foteini_dl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Απλό και τεκμηριωμένο βιβλίο από μια ψύχραιμη φωνή για όσες και όσους αναζητούν μια εισαγωγή σε μια κατάστασταση που δεν βρίσκεις λόγια να περιγράψεις.

[Mannie Liscum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but it is so unbalanced in any objective way that the many valid points and perspectives it provides are largely negated. It is not surprising that the proud Palestinian authors takes a very pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel position. This is to be expected. However, one can make cogent and nuanced arguments without being completely one-sided, oft hyperbolic, and frequently flirting at the edges of overt dishonesty. Shehadeh fails to maintain his integrity in presenting his damning case against Israel. In failing to hold Hamas and 80+ years of Palestinian leadership responsible for their acts of violence and obstruction to peace, presenting both as peaceful oppressed freedom fighters with an international right to use violence, we are left with only one conclusion: Israel is unilaterally responsible for every bit of suffering in the region. A full account of history in which both Israeli and Palestinian leadership have accountability is not offered here; instead we tread the well-worn ground of the ‘liberation movement’ narrative that there is a simple oppressor-oppressed binary where Israel is evil and ‘Palestine’ is pure and good. Not to mention a misleading narrative of a Palestinian nation destroyed that never previously existed as a sovereign entity. History and reality are sacrificed on the alter of beliefs and tribal wishes/desires. We get no depth of understanding nor ideas about solutions. Save your money. There are much better pro-Palestinian books out there.

[Arthur Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but not an essential read by any means. Suffers from repeated comparisons with apartheid South Africa, which, if anything, are far too charitable to Israel, considering the Afrikaner regime in its entirety never committed crimes remotely as monstrous as Israel's on any given day of the year. The author also uses the phrase "right wing" to describe various Israeli governments past and present, which is a paradigm that cannot really be applied to Israeli politics. For example, David Ben-Gurion, who was as despicable a scoundrel as any in Zionism's sordid history, was/is considered "left wing" as the leader of the dominant Labor establishment. As arguably the point man behind the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Ben-Gurion would be considered the furthest fringe of far-right extremism according to how these terms are commonly understood today.

Shehadeh does write compellingly of the humanitarian catastrophe taking place in Gaza at the hands of the Jewish state, however.

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brief look into the history of the colonization of Palestine, focusing on the political situation from the Nakba to the Oslo Accords, to Gaza in 2023/24. The first part focuses on Israel/Palestine relations in the beginning and how events surrounding apartheid in South Africa impacted that. It also reveals the social tensions between Israel and Palestine as well as tensions within each of them. The second part focuses on events since October 7, including the global response.

I think this is good, especially for those beginning to look into what is going on in Palestine. This certainly isn't an an all-encompassing history, but it put into focus certain issues that we are seeing today. It's not THE book on the region but is a great starting point in learning about the current events there.

[Anya]

I don’t ever rate nonfiction because it feels wrong to rate a telling of historical events but this was very eye opening on the history of Israel/Palestine and Israel’s view of the Palestinian people, specifically from 1948 through the 1980s. I somehow feel even more angry at Netanyahu than I did before. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone

[CharlieSadNerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krótkie wprowadzenie do całego konfliktu, zawierające nie tylko opis obecnych wydarzeń, ale też tło historyczne