What do you think?
Rate this book
The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process
Every negotiated settlement between the State of Israel and its Palestinian adversaries has failed to establish a stable and lasting peace. This is the history of what was attempted, why those failures were inevitable, and what must be done instead.
Every new American President has a plan to bring about peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and every one fails.
Every “peace process” has failed in its primary objective: to establish a stable and lasting accord between the two parties, such that they can live together side-by-side in friendship rather than enmity.
But why? And what can be done instead?
While this failure is a consistent pattern stretching back decades, there is virtually no public discussion or even basic understanding of the primary reason for this failure.
The Palestinian Delusion is unique in situating the Israeli/Palestinian conflict within the context of the global jihad that has found renewed impetus in the latter portion of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Briskly recounting the tumultuous history of the “peace process,” Robert Spencer demonstrates that the determination of diplomats, policymakers, and negotiators to ignore this aspect of the conflict has led the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world down numerous blind alleys. This has often only exacerbated, rather than healed, this conflict.
The Palestinian Delusion offers a general overview of the Zionist settlement of Palestine, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the Arab Muslim reaction to these events. It explores the dramatic and little-known history of the various peace efforts—showing how and why they invariably broke down or failed to be implemented fully. The Palestinian Delusion also provides shocking evidence from the Palestinian media, as well as statements from the Palestinian leadership, showing that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will never work.
But there is still cause for hope. Spencer delineates a realistic, viable alternative to the endless and futile “peace process,” that shows how the Jewish State and the Palestinian Arabs can truly coexist in peace—without illusions or unrealistic expectations.
Every new American President has a plan to bring about peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and every one fails.
Every “peace process” has failed in its primary objective: to establish a stable and lasting accord between the two parties, such that they can live together side-by-side in friendship rather than enmity.
But why? And what can be done instead?
While this failure is a consistent pattern stretching back decades, there is virtually no public discussion or even basic understanding of the primary reason for this failure.
The Palestinian Delusion is unique in situating the Israeli/Palestinian conflict within the context of the global jihad that has found renewed impetus in the latter portion of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Briskly recounting the tumultuous history of the “peace process,” Robert Spencer demonstrates that the determination of diplomats, policymakers, and negotiators to ignore this aspect of the conflict has led the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world down numerous blind alleys. This has often only exacerbated, rather than healed, this conflict.
The Palestinian Delusion offers a general overview of the Zionist settlement of Palestine, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the Arab Muslim reaction to these events. It explores the dramatic and little-known history of the various peace efforts—showing how and why they invariably broke down or failed to be implemented fully. The Palestinian Delusion also provides shocking evidence from the Palestinian media, as well as statements from the Palestinian leadership, showing that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will never work.
But there is still cause for hope. Spencer delineates a realistic, viable alternative to the endless and futile “peace process,” that shows how the Jewish State and the Palestinian Arabs can truly coexist in peace—without illusions or unrealistic expectations.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2019
196 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
Robert Spencer
116 books329 followersROBERT SPENCER is the director of Jihad Watch, a program of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and the author of seventeen books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies). Coming in November 2017 is Confessions of an Islamophobe (Bombardier Books).
Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the FBI, the United States Central Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Justice Department’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council and the U.S. intelligence community. He has discussed jihad, Islam, and terrorism at a workshop sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry. He is a consultant with the Center for Security Policy.
Spencer is a weekly columnist for PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine, and has written many hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism. His articles on Islam and other topics have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News, Fox News Opinion, National Review, The Hill, the Detroit News, TownHall.com, Real Clear Religion, the Daily Caller, the New Criterion, the Journal of International Security Affairs, the UK’s Guardian, Canada’s National Post, Middle East Quarterly, WorldNet Daily, First Things, Insight in the News, Aleteia, and many other journals. For nearly ten years Spencer wrote the weekly Jihad Watch column at Human Events. He has also served as a contributing writer to the Investigative Project on Terrorism and as an Adjunct Fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.
Spencer has appeared on the BBC, ABC News, CNN, FoxNews’s Tucker Carlson Show, the O’Reilly Factor, Megyn Kelly’s The Kelly File, the Sean Hannity Show, Geraldo Rivera Reports, the Glenn Beck Show, Fox and Friends, America’s News HQ and many other Fox programs, PBS, MSNBC, CNBC, C-Span, CTV News, Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News, France24, Voice of Russia and Croatia National Television (HTV), as well as on numerous radio programs including The Sean Hannity Show, Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Factor, The Mark Levin Show, The Laura Ingraham Show, The Herman Cain Show, The Joe Piscopo Show, The Howie Carr Show, The Curt Schilling Show, Bill Bennett’s Morning in America, Michael Savage’s Savage Nation, The Alan Colmes Show, The G. Gordon Liddy Show, The Neal Boortz Show, The Michael Medved Show, The Michael Reagan Show, The Rusty Humphries Show, The Larry Elder Show, The Peter Boyles Show, Vatican Radio, and many others.
Robert Spencer has been a featured speaker across the country and around the world and authored 17 books. Spencer’s books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Italian, German, Finnish, Korean, Polish and Bahasa Indonesia. His Qur’an commentary at Jihad Watch, Blogging the Qur’an, has been translated into Czech, Danish, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Spencer (MA, Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history in depth since 1980. His work has aroused the ire of the foes of freedom and their dupes: in October 2011, Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups wrote to Homeland Security Advisor (and current CIA director) John Brennan, demanding that Spencer be removed as a trainer for the FBI and military groups, which he taught about the belief system of Islamic jihadists; Brennan immediately complied as counter-terror training materials were scrubbed of all mention of Islam and jihad. Spencer has been banned by the British government from entering the United Kingdom for pointing out accurately that Islam has doctrines of violence against unbelievers. He has been invited by name to convert to Islam by a senior member of al-Qaeda.
Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the FBI, the United States Central Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Justice Department’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council and the U.S. intelligence community. He has discussed jihad, Islam, and terrorism at a workshop sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry. He is a consultant with the Center for Security Policy.
Spencer is a weekly columnist for PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine, and has written many hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism. His articles on Islam and other topics have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News, Fox News Opinion, National Review, The Hill, the Detroit News, TownHall.com, Real Clear Religion, the Daily Caller, the New Criterion, the Journal of International Security Affairs, the UK’s Guardian, Canada’s National Post, Middle East Quarterly, WorldNet Daily, First Things, Insight in the News, Aleteia, and many other journals. For nearly ten years Spencer wrote the weekly Jihad Watch column at Human Events. He has also served as a contributing writer to the Investigative Project on Terrorism and as an Adjunct Fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.
Spencer has appeared on the BBC, ABC News, CNN, FoxNews’s Tucker Carlson Show, the O’Reilly Factor, Megyn Kelly’s The Kelly File, the Sean Hannity Show, Geraldo Rivera Reports, the Glenn Beck Show, Fox and Friends, America’s News HQ and many other Fox programs, PBS, MSNBC, CNBC, C-Span, CTV News, Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News, France24, Voice of Russia and Croatia National Television (HTV), as well as on numerous radio programs including The Sean Hannity Show, Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Factor, The Mark Levin Show, The Laura Ingraham Show, The Herman Cain Show, The Joe Piscopo Show, The Howie Carr Show, The Curt Schilling Show, Bill Bennett’s Morning in America, Michael Savage’s Savage Nation, The Alan Colmes Show, The G. Gordon Liddy Show, The Neal Boortz Show, The Michael Medved Show, The Michael Reagan Show, The Rusty Humphries Show, The Larry Elder Show, The Peter Boyles Show, Vatican Radio, and many others.
Robert Spencer has been a featured speaker across the country and around the world and authored 17 books. Spencer’s books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Italian, German, Finnish, Korean, Polish and Bahasa Indonesia. His Qur’an commentary at Jihad Watch, Blogging the Qur’an, has been translated into Czech, Danish, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Spencer (MA, Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history in depth since 1980. His work has aroused the ire of the foes of freedom and their dupes: in October 2011, Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups wrote to Homeland Security Advisor (and current CIA director) John Brennan, demanding that Spencer be removed as a trainer for the FBI and military groups, which he taught about the belief system of Islamic jihadists; Brennan immediately complied as counter-terror training materials were scrubbed of all mention of Islam and jihad. Spencer has been banned by the British government from entering the United Kingdom for pointing out accurately that Islam has doctrines of violence against unbelievers. He has been invited by name to convert to Islam by a senior member of al-Qaeda.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
July 1, 2020
Written by a self identified Islamophobe, this book should stand as a testament to the very destructive and distractive ideas that have brought about conflict between Palestine and Israel for so long. Robert Spencer is careful to use the text and speeches from prominent Islamic leaders to further his own agenda. Sadly, his clear lack of empathy for a suffering people had clouded his judgment when it comes to the quality of his sources.
Spencer spends much of the beginning of the book running in circles, misquoting the Quran in hopes of highlighting the more accusatory passages, namely his favorite Hadith regarding trees and stones. Of course, if he were in any way capable of researching Islam and the Quran, he would find that sometimes, taking a line out of context is simply asinine.
Truthfully, this is an exercise in patience, as anyone with a ounce of respect for anthropology would see the multitude of assumptions and mistakes he makes while detailing a nation of people (both Jewish and Muslim) tortured and forced into war by colonial Britain. In fact, the most disappointing aspect of the book is his inability to see the issue at hand, the continued oppression of BIPOC by the British colonist, who later are aided in their efforts by the UN and the superpowers of the world as they continue to play games with the lives of humans.
So why read this book? I can assure you, I would never have been able to finish it, by the time I got to the part where Spencer wasn’t able to notate the numerous flaws in Newt Gingrich’s character, I knew that back in the first few chapters, it was no accident that Spencer called Trump a “maverick president,” likely because Spencer himself is racist. To make it easy for you, it should be known that Spencer has had far too many audiences with powerful people. He has led seminars on Islam for far too many organizations within the intelligence community, especially those who are working in “counter terrorism.”
Do not read this book, and if you do, steal it. The writer is a fool who repeats the same right-wing talking points to diminish the people of Palestine in hopes of perpetuating a conflict that benefits the white oppression of the world. I read this so that you don’t have to read it yourself.
Spencer spends much of the beginning of the book running in circles, misquoting the Quran in hopes of highlighting the more accusatory passages, namely his favorite Hadith regarding trees and stones. Of course, if he were in any way capable of researching Islam and the Quran, he would find that sometimes, taking a line out of context is simply asinine.
Truthfully, this is an exercise in patience, as anyone with a ounce of respect for anthropology would see the multitude of assumptions and mistakes he makes while detailing a nation of people (both Jewish and Muslim) tortured and forced into war by colonial Britain. In fact, the most disappointing aspect of the book is his inability to see the issue at hand, the continued oppression of BIPOC by the British colonist, who later are aided in their efforts by the UN and the superpowers of the world as they continue to play games with the lives of humans.
So why read this book? I can assure you, I would never have been able to finish it, by the time I got to the part where Spencer wasn’t able to notate the numerous flaws in Newt Gingrich’s character, I knew that back in the first few chapters, it was no accident that Spencer called Trump a “maverick president,” likely because Spencer himself is racist. To make it easy for you, it should be known that Spencer has had far too many audiences with powerful people. He has led seminars on Islam for far too many organizations within the intelligence community, especially those who are working in “counter terrorism.”
Do not read this book, and if you do, steal it. The writer is a fool who repeats the same right-wing talking points to diminish the people of Palestine in hopes of perpetuating a conflict that benefits the white oppression of the world. I read this so that you don’t have to read it yourself.
March 8, 2020
Excellent read about "Palestine People"
what I've learned from this book:
* Palestine was a waste land before the major "Aliya"
* The Turks that ruled the region didn't do any favor to the region and just collected taxes (Jizya)
* The British did some unfavorable decision regarding the Jewish people, like supporting the people that instigated Jihad, blocking access to Jews fleeing WWII.
* The KGB created the Palestine Nationality.
* The KGB faked Yasser Arafat birth certificate.
* Egypt is a FAIL, even trough it had better army more man and better technology from the Russians it still failed its war.
* UN has a bias against Israel.
* There will never be peace in the region, because its not a political issue but a religious war.
and on final thought, Islam is the real issue here not Israel.
what I've learned from this book:
* Palestine was a waste land before the major "Aliya"
* The Turks that ruled the region didn't do any favor to the region and just collected taxes (Jizya)
* The British did some unfavorable decision regarding the Jewish people, like supporting the people that instigated Jihad, blocking access to Jews fleeing WWII.
* The KGB created the Palestine Nationality.
* The KGB faked Yasser Arafat birth certificate.
* Egypt is a FAIL, even trough it had better army more man and better technology from the Russians it still failed its war.
* UN has a bias against Israel.
* There will never be peace in the region, because its not a political issue but a religious war.
and on final thought, Islam is the real issue here not Israel.
November 9, 2023
The book has an obvious bias.
But every rational being should have a bias when it comes to Palestine.
Totally agree with his conclusion.
The only way forward for Israel is to increase their strength.
There's no other way to fight Jihaad.
Many lessons to be learnt!
But every rational being should have a bias when it comes to Palestine.
Totally agree with his conclusion.
The only way forward for Israel is to increase their strength.
There's no other way to fight Jihaad.
Many lessons to be learnt!
December 6, 2019
Finally truth.
This thoroughly referenced book points out the complete ineptitude of most of our Western political 'leaders as they do not understand the basis of Islam, the Quoran or the Hadiths that govern the life of muslims.
This thoroughly referenced book points out the complete ineptitude of most of our Western political 'leaders as they do not understand the basis of Islam, the Quoran or the Hadiths that govern the life of muslims.
August 15, 2020
I wish I had six stars to give.
Till now I thought Spenser may be a knee-jerk advocate. I was wrong.
The man knows his facts, he has researched them in depth. At the end of the book he documents them.
Probably most important, Spencer knows how to write in a way that compels you to turn the next page.
I read the book as quickly as I read a nail biting novel.
Till now I thought Spenser may be a knee-jerk advocate. I was wrong.
The man knows his facts, he has researched them in depth. At the end of the book he documents them.
Probably most important, Spencer knows how to write in a way that compels you to turn the next page.
I read the book as quickly as I read a nail biting novel.
July 21, 2020
A must read for all
This book help show the huge imbalance and deceit of the force against Israel. The lies from our main stream media.
This book help show the huge imbalance and deceit of the force against Israel. The lies from our main stream media.
November 2, 2023
Some initial interesting history that turns to strong anti-Muslim propaganda.
Read
November 27, 2023This book does a pretty good job of laying out the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict and debunking the narrative that Jews stole the “indigenous” people’s land and ethnically cleansed the Arabs before establishing the state of Israel. The book covers the decades of failed negotiations for peace and the reasons behind the failures, which are incredibly obvious but ignored by almost every politician involved in trying to advance the “peace process.” After dozens of Arab suicide bombings that killed and injured hundreds of Israeli civilians (with the violence peaking during the years of the Second Intifada), Israel erected a blockade on the border of the West Bank, and that helped reduce the number of terrorist attacks. Most people are probably already familiar with the way Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas construct their base of operations in and beneath densely populated civilian areas. It is impossible to make peace with people who are dedicated to your destruction.
The author’s account of the Gaza protests of 2018 was incomplete and needed some more sources and editing, as there were a few significant errors. Over the course of the protests an Israeli soldier accidentally shot a 21-year-old medic named Razan al-Najar. Spencer quotes Razan as saying “I act as a human shield and rescuer for the injured on the front lines” in a video interview she gave before her death. Spencer then goes on to say that Hamas exploited her based on a claim made by an IDF spokesperson who said “Hamas puts her in front of the cameras, and she boasts of serving as a human shield for those who exploit even medical personnel to serve Hamas’s terrorist purposes.” But the IDF took the video out of context. Razan didn’t say she was a human shield for Hamas; she said she was a human shield for the injured, and apparently nobody could verify the IDF claim that she was the person in a video throwing a smoke grenade at Israeli soldiers. The Times of Israel corrected this misinformation from the IDF spokesperson. Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and pro-Palestine organisations fabricate Israeli war crimes regularly, even sinking so low as to take images of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and misrepresenting them as Arab victims of Israeli massacres. Just because Arabs lie and make propaganda doesn’t make it okay for the IDF to do the same.
Spencer writes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that some of the dead were their own members, which is true. He doesn’t mention a total number of deaths or injuries for the months of the protests nor what number of them were civilians, possibly because the numbers are uncertain or disputed. Regardless, it is clear that the IDF did shoot civilians. There is nothing that indicates they did so intentionally, and it seems to me that neither the pro-Israel side nor the pro-Palestine side is capable of representing the Great March of Return protests accurately and comprehensively, probably because neither side looks good. The purpose of the march was for Palestinians to demand to return to the homes that they had purportedly lost after Israel declared independence in 1948. Its original intent appears to have been non-violent, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad quickly got involved, encouraging people to attend the protests and saying that both violent and non-violent demonstrations are legitimate forms of resistance. Some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and grenades at Israeli soldiers, flew burning kites over the border, burned tires to cover their activities, and tried to break through the border fence. Of course the IDF stopped them. While I do believe the IDF used excessive force on some occasions, it is dishonest to say the Great March of Return was a peaceful protest by civilians who were shot at by the Israeli army for no reason.
Robert Spencer is a critic of Islam and known for his books, articles, and media interviews regarding Islam and Islamic terrorism. He is knowledgeable about Islam, about how Islamic terror groups operate, and about the role that Islam plays in political conflicts around the world. I don’t know how deeply he engages with sources from the other side. I’m not sure what to think about the chapter on the origin of the Palestinian national identity and the section about Deir Yassin. Either way, I need to take some time to investigate his sources and do some further research of my own before I give my final verdict on this book.
The author’s account of the Gaza protests of 2018 was incomplete and needed some more sources and editing, as there were a few significant errors. Over the course of the protests an Israeli soldier accidentally shot a 21-year-old medic named Razan al-Najar. Spencer quotes Razan as saying “I act as a human shield and rescuer for the injured on the front lines” in a video interview she gave before her death. Spencer then goes on to say that Hamas exploited her based on a claim made by an IDF spokesperson who said “Hamas puts her in front of the cameras, and she boasts of serving as a human shield for those who exploit even medical personnel to serve Hamas’s terrorist purposes.” But the IDF took the video out of context. Razan didn’t say she was a human shield for Hamas; she said she was a human shield for the injured, and apparently nobody could verify the IDF claim that she was the person in a video throwing a smoke grenade at Israeli soldiers. The Times of Israel corrected this misinformation from the IDF spokesperson. Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and pro-Palestine organisations fabricate Israeli war crimes regularly, even sinking so low as to take images of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and misrepresenting them as Arab victims of Israeli massacres. Just because Arabs lie and make propaganda doesn’t make it okay for the IDF to do the same.
Spencer writes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that some of the dead were their own members, which is true. He doesn’t mention a total number of deaths or injuries for the months of the protests nor what number of them were civilians, possibly because the numbers are uncertain or disputed. Regardless, it is clear that the IDF did shoot civilians. There is nothing that indicates they did so intentionally, and it seems to me that neither the pro-Israel side nor the pro-Palestine side is capable of representing the Great March of Return protests accurately and comprehensively, probably because neither side looks good. The purpose of the march was for Palestinians to demand to return to the homes that they had purportedly lost after Israel declared independence in 1948. Its original intent appears to have been non-violent, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad quickly got involved, encouraging people to attend the protests and saying that both violent and non-violent demonstrations are legitimate forms of resistance. Some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and grenades at Israeli soldiers, flew burning kites over the border, burned tires to cover their activities, and tried to break through the border fence. Of course the IDF stopped them. While I do believe the IDF used excessive force on some occasions, it is dishonest to say the Great March of Return was a peaceful protest by civilians who were shot at by the Israeli army for no reason.
Robert Spencer is a critic of Islam and known for his books, articles, and media interviews regarding Islam and Islamic terrorism. He is knowledgeable about Islam, about how Islamic terror groups operate, and about the role that Islam plays in political conflicts around the world. I don’t know how deeply he engages with sources from the other side. I’m not sure what to think about the chapter on the origin of the Palestinian national identity and the section about Deir Yassin. Either way, I need to take some time to investigate his sources and do some further research of my own before I give my final verdict on this book.
February 6, 2020
Two stars for having at least taken time to look for information instead of just writing blindly, and for (abysmally) incorporating how the Great Colonizer, Britain, played a disgusting role.
Minus three stars for blatantly omitting the context of what he siphoned out of the Qur’an (and also having so much of what he said be incorrectly assessed), for cherry picking from narratives and history of the immigration and settlement of Jews to the region. He also could have and should have expounded more on the forefathers of Zionism.
My Jewish ancestors would not be proud of this compilation of history.
Minus three stars for blatantly omitting the context of what he siphoned out of the Qur’an (and also having so much of what he said be incorrectly assessed), for cherry picking from narratives and history of the immigration and settlement of Jews to the region. He also could have and should have expounded more on the forefathers of Zionism.
My Jewish ancestors would not be proud of this compilation of history.
October 21, 2021
An exceptionally well-researched look at the tragic history of peace efforts in the middle east and the depressing outlook for the future.
January 13, 2024
I gave this one a fair shake. I got two hours in and had to throw in the towel. I wanted to become more educated on the current affairs in Israel and Palestine and this was obviously not the book for it. The Islamophobia and racism went way too far and made this book unreadable. Disgusting.
January 12, 2024
Islamophobic pro-zionist propaganda that cherry picks history to suit the chosen narrative, written by a prolific islamophobe, what more do you expect.
February 18, 2022
Robert Spencer takes readers through an easy to digest, academic journey that stretches from before the reestablishment of the modern state of Israel, through today. The Palestinian Delusion shines light on the aggressive forces, and the appeasers of such aggressive forces, that have tried to inhibit Israel's success and devastate its people.
The book details the harsh reality inflicted on the people of the only democracy of the Middle East and how the single-minded goal to destroy them, also harms Palestinians. Spencer wrote, “Mahmoud Abbas and his two sons control a business empire worth four hundred million dollars . . . the leader of Hamas’s political wing, Khaled Mashaal, is also a billionaire.” In addition to hoarding money to indulge in a lavish lifestyle that they deny their people, Hamas (acronym for their Arabic name, The Islamic Resistance Movement) leaders pay Palestinians to deliberately get in harm’s way. Spencer detailed the Hamas injury reward system they implemented during the 2018 riots, riots that were erroneously reported as simply, protests. Hamas’s goal was to boost global anger toward Israel when the terror group tried to breach Israel’s border: $500 to any Palestinian who would get shot and $3000 to the family of a Palestinian who would get killed. Recently published "reports" produced by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch didn't condemn that nor even mention that (nor mention any of the deadly attacks initiated by Islamists who have murdered over 1000 Israelis since 2000), which makes this book more critical supplemental reading for anyone who might get swept up in those NGO propaganda "reports," and who might be interested in THE truth.
Alas, Spencer diagnosed the root of the problem: the reason that the Palestinians are not truly committed peace partners is the same reason Islamic terrorists killed Sadat for making peace with Israel. It’s also the reason for incessant strife throughout the Middle East and Africa and periodic carnage in Europe and North America.
He concludes with suggestions on what must be done for the status quo to improve. For brevity, not all the atrocities that Islamic terror attacks have inflicted on the Israelis, since before its founding, have been included or detailed. But even including one instance is more than what Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International included in their 200 plus page “analyses” and erroneous accusation of apartheid against the state trying to survive and thrive in a most hostile part of the world.
For a more details, see my Arutz Sheva book review titled, "Learn the facts: Countering the sham Amnesty Report with truth."
October 25, 2023
It’s often hard to discern bias when reading history, but not in this instance: Mr Spencer seems to have found and describes a faultless Israel and patently evil non-Jewish Palestinians. There is a tremendous amount of good information in this historical account of Palestine, but it is tainted by what I perceive as an ardently pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian bent. Israel continues to confront a possibly irreversible Jihad against it, and has dealt with civil government Palestinian opposition that has failed to work honestly for peace. However, Israel is not faultless in the dysfunction of their region, and has contributed to civil unrest that feeds (at least in part) support for Jihad by the most radical elements amongst the Palestinians. And surrounding Arab countries are complicit in perpetuating the isolation and degradation of non-Jewish Palestinians. We would all be better served by an historian who would explain this horrible situation without pretending that fault lies on only one side of a multi-faceted problem.
February 24, 2024
An exercise in cherry-picking and misrepresentation.
June 14, 2025
This book I would imagine will make you either so hopping mad for exposing all the lies and ineptitude of Middle East diplomacy (as it does me - how can so many be so ignorant of the truth), or if you are blinded by the constant everyday rhetoric of anti-Israel from the anti-semantic voices around the world you would give it a 1 star as some have. For example, every time Israel responds in some way it is deemed as unjust and oppressive to the Palestinian people. Ridiculous! You cannot deny that it is an extremely well-researched book highlighting at best the misguided and at worst the tragic history of peace efforts in the Middle East. And by the way, American presidents (along with so many others including of course the United Nations) have led the way in not understanding the dynamics and the history of the region. At the very least there is so much to learn and understand and history 100% matters as it relates to the land that the Bible says God chose for His people.
November 5, 2023
Look the problem with history books is no-one has time to check sources. I hope all the quotes of famous people were genuine,as they were obviously cherry picked.
The first chapter about whether Palestinian people exist is probably the most contentious and also most obviously badly sourced. Instead of citing actual historians, he just picks quotes from a 200 year period about how desolate the landscape was. I can't recall the details, but iirc Marc Twain was seen as the "authority" on the topic, you know the fiction author/humorist. But when he gets to post-1945, it was actually very informative, at least of the "other perspective" and how they think. That is assuming he is accurately quoting the various political leaders involved at the time.
Spencer is relentless on a few points. The most obvious is Islamism, which he sees as the heart of the conflict. This breaks from the progressive view where terrorism in the name of Islam is the natural response to oppression. He is also returns to the theme of whether Palestinian politicians recognise the right of Israel to exist. After decades of politicians not doing so, Arafat recognised the right of Israel to exist, for which he won a nobel peace prize. Spencer doesn't drop the issue and focuses instead on how Arafat (and later Abbass) responded to actual acts of terror, the families' of terrorists etc. On this, he is pretty convincing by pointing out the families of martyr reward fund etc. In contrast, the progressive perspective seems to be that terrorist acts in the name of Islam are symptoms of the deeper oppressor-oppressed structure and the Islamic framing is by the by. This is clearly a one-sided view of the conflict, but still I found that I learned a new perspective.
Right after this, I started a new audiobook called "The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories". Pappe's book is right on the other side of the spectrum. I like it so far and the metaphor of a prison is apt. The author invokes it because the natural question is "how can innocent Palestinians be in prison before they commit a crime". This is unjust if you justify prisons by either retribution, rehabilitation, or deterrence. However, it forgets the incapacitation argument for prisons, which is that prisons exist to keep communities safe. This is why Israelis support the current apartheid like system, because they see it as a way to keep them safe. I think Spencer would concur. It reminds me of the book about violence by Sapolsky who analyses violence from a variety of diff perspectives, including ideology. He doesn't say this because he's not nuanced or well thought out, but I think Spencer combines the incapacitation argument with the ideological driver of crime in justifying his recommendation.
The first chapter about whether Palestinian people exist is probably the most contentious and also most obviously badly sourced. Instead of citing actual historians, he just picks quotes from a 200 year period about how desolate the landscape was. I can't recall the details, but iirc Marc Twain was seen as the "authority" on the topic, you know the fiction author/humorist. But when he gets to post-1945, it was actually very informative, at least of the "other perspective" and how they think. That is assuming he is accurately quoting the various political leaders involved at the time.
Spencer is relentless on a few points. The most obvious is Islamism, which he sees as the heart of the conflict. This breaks from the progressive view where terrorism in the name of Islam is the natural response to oppression. He is also returns to the theme of whether Palestinian politicians recognise the right of Israel to exist. After decades of politicians not doing so, Arafat recognised the right of Israel to exist, for which he won a nobel peace prize. Spencer doesn't drop the issue and focuses instead on how Arafat (and later Abbass) responded to actual acts of terror, the families' of terrorists etc. On this, he is pretty convincing by pointing out the families of martyr reward fund etc. In contrast, the progressive perspective seems to be that terrorist acts in the name of Islam are symptoms of the deeper oppressor-oppressed structure and the Islamic framing is by the by. This is clearly a one-sided view of the conflict, but still I found that I learned a new perspective.
Right after this, I started a new audiobook called "The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories". Pappe's book is right on the other side of the spectrum. I like it so far and the metaphor of a prison is apt. The author invokes it because the natural question is "how can innocent Palestinians be in prison before they commit a crime". This is unjust if you justify prisons by either retribution, rehabilitation, or deterrence. However, it forgets the incapacitation argument for prisons, which is that prisons exist to keep communities safe. This is why Israelis support the current apartheid like system, because they see it as a way to keep them safe. I think Spencer would concur. It reminds me of the book about violence by Sapolsky who analyses violence from a variety of diff perspectives, including ideology. He doesn't say this because he's not nuanced or well thought out, but I think Spencer combines the incapacitation argument with the ideological driver of crime in justifying his recommendation.
May 23, 2024
DO ‘PALESTINE’ AND A ‘PALESTINIAN PEOPLE’ REALLY EXIST? SPENCER SAYS ‘NO’
Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962) is an American author and one of the key figures of the ‘counter-jihad’ movement. His website, ‘Jihad Watch,’ reports on purported ‘Islamic extremism.’ (He is also a Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and has written several politically conservative books.)
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2019 book, “Are the Palestinians really the indigenous people of the area that the State of Israel now occupies, and were they really displaced by the Israelis? There is no trace of support for such an idea in history. No archaeological evidence, or evidence of any other kind, has ever been found to substantiate a link between the ancient Canaanites or Jebusites and the modern-day Palestinians. The land that is now the State of Israel corresponds roughly to the lands known in ancient times as Judea, Samaria, Idumea, and Galilee, and was inhabited by Jews. In A.D. 134, the Romans expelled the Jews from the area in retaliation for a revolt against their rule… as an insult to the Jews and to efface any traces of their connection to the land, they renamed … the region Palestine, a name they plucked from the Bible, as it was the name of the Israelites’ ancient enemies, the Philistines. Subsequently, Palestine was the name of a region but never of a people or of a political entity.” (Pg. 3)
He adds, “Throughout all this time, even as invaders overwhelmed the land, a Jewish presence remained, particularly in Galilee… some Jews remained in the Holy Land, and Jews continues to emigrate to it, including … renowned philosopher Maimonides, in the thirteenth century… These communities faced continual oppression… The Turks taxed the Jews on the basis of the Qur’anic command that the ‘People of the Book’ (primarily Jews and Christians) must be made to ‘pay the jizya [tax]…’ So the Jews were always in the land they supposedly returned to only after two thousand years of absence as a result of the Zionist project. But the Palestinian Arabs were always there also, no? No. Instead, travelers to the area over many centuries agree: the land was desolate and largely depopulated.” (Pg. 4-7)
He continues, “Nevertheless, as they had throughout history, Jews continued to come to the land… Arabs began to come as well, although their presence in the land remained generally sparse… Around the same time, the French conquest of Algeria led to an exodus of North African Muslims who refused to live under infidel rule. They came in large numbers to Palestine. Once there, they followed the patter of the Turks and other Arab Muslims in making life as difficult as they possibly could for the Jews.” (Pg. 17-18)
He recounts, “The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine paved the way for the Balfour Declaration’s ‘national home for the Jewish people’ to become a reality. However… the same document took away 77 percent of the land that had been originally intended for this purpose: all of the land east of the Jordan River…. So from whom was the land stolen? Not from the Ottomans, who had ceded it to the League of Nations. Not from the league, which had granted administrative powers over it to the British. Not from the British, who supported the creation of Israel, at least at this point. The only land that was actually stolen was from the Jews themselves, when the British arbitrarily reduced the size of the area that was to be opened for the Jewish national home.” (Pg. 25-26)
He asserts, “hatred of Jews… is embedded in the Islamic holy texts… the Jews … are scheming, treacherous liars and the most dangerous enemies of the Muslims… Muslims are taught in their holiest books not just to despise and mistrust Jews, but that Muslims are doing a good and virtuous deed if they kill them…” (Pg. 35, 40)
He notes, “the two-state solution and the one-state solution, both of the options being bruited about today as the only sensible possibilities ahead, were proposed in 1947 and before that. They have never had the effects that their modern-day proponents insist they can and will have, and that is because, proponents maintain, they have never been properly implemented.” (Pg. 76)
He states, “the Israelis did not actually drive the Arab Muslims out. This fact is ultimately immaterial to the Palestinian jihad, but it is true. In reality, the Arabs for the most part left Israel because they were ordered to do so by the Muslim Arab leaders. Contrary to the contention of the Palestinians and their allies today, the Arab Higher Committee actually exhorted Arabs to leave the new State of Israel, and they obeyed in large numbers.” (Pg. 81-82)
He argues, “The imperatives that led the Muslim Arabs to reject a two-state solution in 1947, and to go to war to destroy the nascent Jewish state in 1948, still exist, and are still believed by millions f Muslims worldwide. It is only by ignoring this, or by remaining in blissful willful ignorance of it, that diplomats and presidents and kings could ever have thought that a negotiated agreement could be hit upon that would enable Israelis and Palestinians to lay down their arms and live side by side in peace. This is a distasteful conclusion for many people, which is one reason why so few policymakers from any country … have ever acknowledged it… That is not to say that the Israeli-Palestinian problem cannot be managed such that there is a minimum of bloodshed on both sides. But to think that a peace accord can be hit upon that will induce Muslims in the Middle East and around the world to give up Islam’s doctrines of jihad, its deeply rooted anti-Semitism, and its supremacist political ideology, is a position that could only be held by the willfully ignorant and historically uninformed.” (Pg. 85-86)
He contends, “The ‘Palestinian people’ were a propaganda invention. In the 1960s, to counter the image of the tiny Jewish state standing virtually alone against the massive Muslim Arab nations surrounding it, the KGB … invented the ‘Palestinians,’ an even smaller people who were, the propaganda insisted, oppressed by a powerful and ruthless Israel… A nation and a people need a distinct identity, and so one was constructed for the Palestinians. For a national flag, the new Palestinians appropriated the banner of the ill-fated Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan, the short-lived 1958 union between those two nations. But a nation and a people also need a founding father. There being no Palestinian history, and thus no great Palestinian historical figures, someone more contemporary would have to serve this purpose. That would be Yasser Arafat, who was even less of a Palestinian than his people…” (Pg. 91)
He says, “There most certainly were ‘Israelis’ before 1948… and they had lived continuously in Eretz Israel for several thousand years. There is, in contrast, no evidence of Arabs in the area before the seventh century of the common era. Nonetheless, the myth has taken hold… that the Palestinians are a genuine nationality and are the indigenous people of the land that Israel illegally occupies. This is a propaganda success that Josef Goebbels … would have envied… Having established the Palestinians as a tiny indigenous people whose land had been stolen by rapacious … foreigners, it was time to return to the negotiating table---not in order to achieve any genuine accord with Israel, but to exploit the victimhood status of the new tiny people they had invented in order to win valuable concessions from the Israelis.” (Pg. 98)
Of the 2018 Oslo Accords, he states, “Ini return for all its concessions, Israel got a renunciation of terrorism from the PLO. And while it had entered into the entire negotiating process in the first place in order to strengthen the PLO against Hamas, the Oslo Accords were so unpopular among the Palestinians that is Israel had hoped that they would lead the Palestinian people to rally around the PLO and forsake Hamas, those hopes would come to naught.” (Pg. 153) Later, he adds, “It should have been clear to both [President] Clinton and [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Barak that Arafat was never going to accept a negotiated settlement that would require Palestinians to live in peace with the Israelis, no matter how favorable it was… For him to have accepted Barak’s offer would have … resulted in his being toppled from power or even assassinated… And so the jihad would continue.” (Pg 162)
He notes, “The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza … always had been a sticking point. They were on land that had been dedicated to a Jewish national home in the Balfour Declaration, and that belonged to the State of Israel by the right of conquest that had been universally recognized as a law of war except in regard to Israel. The land in question was, moreover, part of the ancient land of Israel. But it was a staple of the two-state solution that the West Bank and Gaza were lands that belonged by right to the Palestinians, and consequently that Israeli settlements were not just an obstacle to peace but illegal in and of themselves.” (Pg. 173)
He asserts, “For years, the Palestinian Authority has been rewarding terrorism with its infamous ‘Pay for Slay’ program, paying the families of jihad terrorists who have been imprisoned or killed, This a massive program… [In 2019] the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) came into effect, allowing families of terror attacks in foreign countries to sue foreign governments… Palestinian leaders had been encouraging and rewarding terrorism for years, and world leaders would condemn Israel and pressure it to make more concessions to the Palestinians. There had never been any cost to the Palestinians for their jihad activity. Now there was.” (Pg. 201-202)
He concludes, “So what is the solution? The reality is that there is no solution, at least not one that will bring about genuine amity and a situation in which Israelis and Palestinians live peacefully as neighbors. This is not something that people today… want to hear… Borders have been adjusted, troops have bene withdrawn, settlements have been dismantled, yet the Palestinian media still daily seethes with rage and hate against Israel, and calls for its destruction. For talks to succeed, both sides have to be willing to make compromises and abide by agreements; the Palestinians have repeatedly shown that they are willing to do neither… Going forward, therefore, there should be no negotiations at all, or if there are, they must be conducted on a more realistic basis… Palestinian leaders must arrest and prosecute the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other terror groups, and … end all terror activities against Israel… young Muslims [should be taught] that the doctrine of jihad … must be rejected now and for all time… Is that likely ever to happen? No. But future participants in the ‘peace process’ will be foolish… if they continue to negotiate with the Palestinians while the Palestinians continue to incite hatred and violence against Israel.” (Pg. 217-218)
This book will appeal to strong supporters of Israel (particularly Evangelicals), but will be strongly rejected by others.
Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962) is an American author and one of the key figures of the ‘counter-jihad’ movement. His website, ‘Jihad Watch,’ reports on purported ‘Islamic extremism.’ (He is also a Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and has written several politically conservative books.)
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2019 book, “Are the Palestinians really the indigenous people of the area that the State of Israel now occupies, and were they really displaced by the Israelis? There is no trace of support for such an idea in history. No archaeological evidence, or evidence of any other kind, has ever been found to substantiate a link between the ancient Canaanites or Jebusites and the modern-day Palestinians. The land that is now the State of Israel corresponds roughly to the lands known in ancient times as Judea, Samaria, Idumea, and Galilee, and was inhabited by Jews. In A.D. 134, the Romans expelled the Jews from the area in retaliation for a revolt against their rule… as an insult to the Jews and to efface any traces of their connection to the land, they renamed … the region Palestine, a name they plucked from the Bible, as it was the name of the Israelites’ ancient enemies, the Philistines. Subsequently, Palestine was the name of a region but never of a people or of a political entity.” (Pg. 3)
He adds, “Throughout all this time, even as invaders overwhelmed the land, a Jewish presence remained, particularly in Galilee… some Jews remained in the Holy Land, and Jews continues to emigrate to it, including … renowned philosopher Maimonides, in the thirteenth century… These communities faced continual oppression… The Turks taxed the Jews on the basis of the Qur’anic command that the ‘People of the Book’ (primarily Jews and Christians) must be made to ‘pay the jizya [tax]…’ So the Jews were always in the land they supposedly returned to only after two thousand years of absence as a result of the Zionist project. But the Palestinian Arabs were always there also, no? No. Instead, travelers to the area over many centuries agree: the land was desolate and largely depopulated.” (Pg. 4-7)
He continues, “Nevertheless, as they had throughout history, Jews continued to come to the land… Arabs began to come as well, although their presence in the land remained generally sparse… Around the same time, the French conquest of Algeria led to an exodus of North African Muslims who refused to live under infidel rule. They came in large numbers to Palestine. Once there, they followed the patter of the Turks and other Arab Muslims in making life as difficult as they possibly could for the Jews.” (Pg. 17-18)
He recounts, “The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine paved the way for the Balfour Declaration’s ‘national home for the Jewish people’ to become a reality. However… the same document took away 77 percent of the land that had been originally intended for this purpose: all of the land east of the Jordan River…. So from whom was the land stolen? Not from the Ottomans, who had ceded it to the League of Nations. Not from the league, which had granted administrative powers over it to the British. Not from the British, who supported the creation of Israel, at least at this point. The only land that was actually stolen was from the Jews themselves, when the British arbitrarily reduced the size of the area that was to be opened for the Jewish national home.” (Pg. 25-26)
He asserts, “hatred of Jews… is embedded in the Islamic holy texts… the Jews … are scheming, treacherous liars and the most dangerous enemies of the Muslims… Muslims are taught in their holiest books not just to despise and mistrust Jews, but that Muslims are doing a good and virtuous deed if they kill them…” (Pg. 35, 40)
He notes, “the two-state solution and the one-state solution, both of the options being bruited about today as the only sensible possibilities ahead, were proposed in 1947 and before that. They have never had the effects that their modern-day proponents insist they can and will have, and that is because, proponents maintain, they have never been properly implemented.” (Pg. 76)
He states, “the Israelis did not actually drive the Arab Muslims out. This fact is ultimately immaterial to the Palestinian jihad, but it is true. In reality, the Arabs for the most part left Israel because they were ordered to do so by the Muslim Arab leaders. Contrary to the contention of the Palestinians and their allies today, the Arab Higher Committee actually exhorted Arabs to leave the new State of Israel, and they obeyed in large numbers.” (Pg. 81-82)
He argues, “The imperatives that led the Muslim Arabs to reject a two-state solution in 1947, and to go to war to destroy the nascent Jewish state in 1948, still exist, and are still believed by millions f Muslims worldwide. It is only by ignoring this, or by remaining in blissful willful ignorance of it, that diplomats and presidents and kings could ever have thought that a negotiated agreement could be hit upon that would enable Israelis and Palestinians to lay down their arms and live side by side in peace. This is a distasteful conclusion for many people, which is one reason why so few policymakers from any country … have ever acknowledged it… That is not to say that the Israeli-Palestinian problem cannot be managed such that there is a minimum of bloodshed on both sides. But to think that a peace accord can be hit upon that will induce Muslims in the Middle East and around the world to give up Islam’s doctrines of jihad, its deeply rooted anti-Semitism, and its supremacist political ideology, is a position that could only be held by the willfully ignorant and historically uninformed.” (Pg. 85-86)
He contends, “The ‘Palestinian people’ were a propaganda invention. In the 1960s, to counter the image of the tiny Jewish state standing virtually alone against the massive Muslim Arab nations surrounding it, the KGB … invented the ‘Palestinians,’ an even smaller people who were, the propaganda insisted, oppressed by a powerful and ruthless Israel… A nation and a people need a distinct identity, and so one was constructed for the Palestinians. For a national flag, the new Palestinians appropriated the banner of the ill-fated Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan, the short-lived 1958 union between those two nations. But a nation and a people also need a founding father. There being no Palestinian history, and thus no great Palestinian historical figures, someone more contemporary would have to serve this purpose. That would be Yasser Arafat, who was even less of a Palestinian than his people…” (Pg. 91)
He says, “There most certainly were ‘Israelis’ before 1948… and they had lived continuously in Eretz Israel for several thousand years. There is, in contrast, no evidence of Arabs in the area before the seventh century of the common era. Nonetheless, the myth has taken hold… that the Palestinians are a genuine nationality and are the indigenous people of the land that Israel illegally occupies. This is a propaganda success that Josef Goebbels … would have envied… Having established the Palestinians as a tiny indigenous people whose land had been stolen by rapacious … foreigners, it was time to return to the negotiating table---not in order to achieve any genuine accord with Israel, but to exploit the victimhood status of the new tiny people they had invented in order to win valuable concessions from the Israelis.” (Pg. 98)
Of the 2018 Oslo Accords, he states, “Ini return for all its concessions, Israel got a renunciation of terrorism from the PLO. And while it had entered into the entire negotiating process in the first place in order to strengthen the PLO against Hamas, the Oslo Accords were so unpopular among the Palestinians that is Israel had hoped that they would lead the Palestinian people to rally around the PLO and forsake Hamas, those hopes would come to naught.” (Pg. 153) Later, he adds, “It should have been clear to both [President] Clinton and [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Barak that Arafat was never going to accept a negotiated settlement that would require Palestinians to live in peace with the Israelis, no matter how favorable it was… For him to have accepted Barak’s offer would have … resulted in his being toppled from power or even assassinated… And so the jihad would continue.” (Pg 162)
He notes, “The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza … always had been a sticking point. They were on land that had been dedicated to a Jewish national home in the Balfour Declaration, and that belonged to the State of Israel by the right of conquest that had been universally recognized as a law of war except in regard to Israel. The land in question was, moreover, part of the ancient land of Israel. But it was a staple of the two-state solution that the West Bank and Gaza were lands that belonged by right to the Palestinians, and consequently that Israeli settlements were not just an obstacle to peace but illegal in and of themselves.” (Pg. 173)
He asserts, “For years, the Palestinian Authority has been rewarding terrorism with its infamous ‘Pay for Slay’ program, paying the families of jihad terrorists who have been imprisoned or killed, This a massive program… [In 2019] the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) came into effect, allowing families of terror attacks in foreign countries to sue foreign governments… Palestinian leaders had been encouraging and rewarding terrorism for years, and world leaders would condemn Israel and pressure it to make more concessions to the Palestinians. There had never been any cost to the Palestinians for their jihad activity. Now there was.” (Pg. 201-202)
He concludes, “So what is the solution? The reality is that there is no solution, at least not one that will bring about genuine amity and a situation in which Israelis and Palestinians live peacefully as neighbors. This is not something that people today… want to hear… Borders have been adjusted, troops have bene withdrawn, settlements have been dismantled, yet the Palestinian media still daily seethes with rage and hate against Israel, and calls for its destruction. For talks to succeed, both sides have to be willing to make compromises and abide by agreements; the Palestinians have repeatedly shown that they are willing to do neither… Going forward, therefore, there should be no negotiations at all, or if there are, they must be conducted on a more realistic basis… Palestinian leaders must arrest and prosecute the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other terror groups, and … end all terror activities against Israel… young Muslims [should be taught] that the doctrine of jihad … must be rejected now and for all time… Is that likely ever to happen? No. But future participants in the ‘peace process’ will be foolish… if they continue to negotiate with the Palestinians while the Palestinians continue to incite hatred and violence against Israel.” (Pg. 217-218)
This book will appeal to strong supporters of Israel (particularly Evangelicals), but will be strongly rejected by others.
November 2, 2023
(4-star tentative rating)
As with any historical account, facts are carefully chosen, sometimes cherry-picked, to tell a particular narrative. Never in any of my endeavors to study a historical conflict have I come across two so radically different narratives told by opposing sides; this is the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their respective histories. What must be true is that one side, or both sides to varying extents, are fabricating their own history to support their claims and justify their aspirations.
Robert Spencer is entirely unambiguous in the titling of his book, 'The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process'. His primary claim is that the current pro-Palestinian narrative, and more so, the history of middle-east peace negotiations surrounding this conflict, are founded on fabricated, distorted and selective history. His other main thesis is that the players involved in the peace process have almost entirely ignored the reality of the Islamic Jihad imperative in the Middle East, and the statistical prevalence of Jihadist support within the Palestinian territories and the Arab nations surrounding Israel. Again, to reiterate, Spencer is not saying that all Muslims support the Jihadist cause and claim to the land of Israel (formerly British-Mandate Palestine, and previously a region ruled by Islamic empires and groups), but only claiming that statistically, the support for Islamic Jihad in the Middle East is far more prevalent than the Israelis and Western vested interests (peace negotiators, media, general public, etc.) are aware of, or willing to recognize, and that various widely accepted Muslim sources (Quran and mainstream Hadiths) clearly encourage antisemitism and violent jihad. (I am aware that this may come as a shock to many readers, but after vetting these claims, they are most-definitely founded and based on historically accurate and presently prevalent interpretations of Islamic sources. Readers and dissenters are encouraged to vet all claims).
Spencer covers the history of the land, the Zionist enterprise, the wars, intifadas, peace accords and most things relevant to understanding the ongoing conflict. He also mentions many unpalatable and oft-ignored facts, both concerning the history of the land and the present reality of the conflict.
I have chosen to give this book a temporary and tentative 4-star rating until I thoroughly vet the facts enumerated within this volume. Furthermore, I plan on reading more books on this conflict, particularly from the other side, and continually researching the ongoing reality of the recent war between Israel and Hamas (and how the PLO, PA, surrounding Arab nations and western media react to and paint the ongoing conflict).
A more certain rating and expanded review will follow further research. If Spencer's historical account is indeed vindicated, a 5-star rating will be most-appropriate.
As with any historical account, facts are carefully chosen, sometimes cherry-picked, to tell a particular narrative. Never in any of my endeavors to study a historical conflict have I come across two so radically different narratives told by opposing sides; this is the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their respective histories. What must be true is that one side, or both sides to varying extents, are fabricating their own history to support their claims and justify their aspirations.
Robert Spencer is entirely unambiguous in the titling of his book, 'The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process'. His primary claim is that the current pro-Palestinian narrative, and more so, the history of middle-east peace negotiations surrounding this conflict, are founded on fabricated, distorted and selective history. His other main thesis is that the players involved in the peace process have almost entirely ignored the reality of the Islamic Jihad imperative in the Middle East, and the statistical prevalence of Jihadist support within the Palestinian territories and the Arab nations surrounding Israel. Again, to reiterate, Spencer is not saying that all Muslims support the Jihadist cause and claim to the land of Israel (formerly British-Mandate Palestine, and previously a region ruled by Islamic empires and groups), but only claiming that statistically, the support for Islamic Jihad in the Middle East is far more prevalent than the Israelis and Western vested interests (peace negotiators, media, general public, etc.) are aware of, or willing to recognize, and that various widely accepted Muslim sources (Quran and mainstream Hadiths) clearly encourage antisemitism and violent jihad. (I am aware that this may come as a shock to many readers, but after vetting these claims, they are most-definitely founded and based on historically accurate and presently prevalent interpretations of Islamic sources. Readers and dissenters are encouraged to vet all claims).
Spencer covers the history of the land, the Zionist enterprise, the wars, intifadas, peace accords and most things relevant to understanding the ongoing conflict. He also mentions many unpalatable and oft-ignored facts, both concerning the history of the land and the present reality of the conflict.
I have chosen to give this book a temporary and tentative 4-star rating until I thoroughly vet the facts enumerated within this volume. Furthermore, I plan on reading more books on this conflict, particularly from the other side, and continually researching the ongoing reality of the recent war between Israel and Hamas (and how the PLO, PA, surrounding Arab nations and western media react to and paint the ongoing conflict).
A more certain rating and expanded review will follow further research. If Spencer's historical account is indeed vindicated, a 5-star rating will be most-appropriate.
December 17, 2023
¿Cómo combatir la maldad?
Con Amor y Verdad.
De esto, en estos tiempos, Amor y Verdad, ya no se sabe a profundidad sólo se escoge la fachada que mejor "apunta" o "hacen su sombra" pero que para nada son Ellos. Se hace esto aprovechando que tan fácil se puede manipular a un individuo adulto (mucho más fácil a la niñez y juventud (perpetuamente distraídas)), ya sea para vender, incitar, desviar, distraer, adoctrinar, mentir abiertamente, abusar, mentir por los 5 segundos necesarios para causar movimientos negativos (algunos llevan milenios), etc, etc, etc... en sí, podemos seguir esta lista evidenciando todo aquello que esta lejos de ser Amor o Verdad pero no tiene caso pues hay ejemplos (al por mayor) que recaen sobre el individuo y de ahí, hasta los estados e instituciones que nos rigen, organizan y van estableciendo, en el desarrollo mental del individuo, estructuras de pensamiento complejas para actuar "correctamente" en el tiempo y medio ambiente donde se desenvuelve. Puede que esto se reconozca como maldad o no, depende de la perspectiva, pero en sí, nunca estamos exentos de La Maldad una vez que, de verdad, tenemos nuestras burbujas de orden común o estándares relativamente buenos para la mayoría en determinado grupo y tiempo, o sea, que no actúen, dichas estructuras y dichos individuos, en contra de La Humanidad (percibida) y cada uno de sus individuos, al menos en principios morales. Regresando a La Maldad, si no estamos atentos a ella incluso en tiempos de "paz" (lo cual es casi imposible), sólo se debe de escoger un año del mundo, conocer su historia, casi en cualquier zona, y esta maldad es evidente, pareciera que esta viva "viva".
Bueno... después de reconocer esto de "la maldad" (y el dolor que causa), consecuentemente, se puede observar, aveces claramente, aveces velado por medio de la acción que causan sus efectos sobre nosotros sus fines últimos (reflexionando hacia el pasado después de una catástrofe malvada), aquí es justamente, como ejemplo, como la Kinetic Military Action (KMA) se puede siempre observar como el resultado de la maldad en operación actuando sobre unos haciéndolos encarnar una de sus perores formas de acción sobre la realidad, en donde si nada esta basado en Amor y Verdad (lo puesto al dolor y la mentira) previo a que sucedan cualquier tipo de eventos malvados, entonces siempre tendremos roces muy dolorosos para todos en todos lados del tiempo, en donde, si, por algún milagro, no se da paso a la KMA, o agresión persona vs persona (qué en principio, es idéntico) de una manera consciente, entonces, tal vez se abra un espacio casi milagroso en el cual lleguemos a dialogar (sin mentiras o dogmas erróneos), perdonar y tal vez construir algo duradero gracias a todo aquello que es verdadero universal, recordando que la maldad por siempre estará rondando entre las sombras (esto me recuerda al Paraíso Perdido de John Milton y como el mal encuentra siempre una forma torcida de re-interpretar lo bueno, correcto, verdadero) y nos hará actuar como ella deseé si se le olvida mientras no se le de un lugar "en la mesa donde comemos" para tenerla no controlada pero, al menos, parcialmente a la vista.
Uffff... qué difíciles temas, situaciones y conceptos, muy grandes para cualquiera, al menos, demasiado enormes para mi.
------------------
No porque algo este mal practicado, de hecho este mal, desde principios del siglo VII, y sea lo que en esta zona este creando todo un problema malvado, pareciera que eterno, debemos de abandonar el Amor y la Verdad hacia los que lo practican, no debemos de olvidarlo, y se debe de actuar cada que se pueda mientras haya estos espacios milagrosos para poder escuchar y dialogar.
------------------
Tal vez si todos son tus enemigos, de cualquier cultura (antigua o nueva) u orden regente, y repito TODOS, por los siglos de los siglos... tal vez, los principios que te rigen no son los "totalmente correctos".
------------------
LOVE and Truth.
Citas, no del libro, pero que me ayudan:
1.
“A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that.”
-Kingdom of Heaven-
2.
"In reality, the “information society” is thus an “entropy society”—a society of ignorance and disorder."
-The User Illusion-
NOTA: En donde la distracción, y mil cosas más, en una sociedad con estas características sobre saturada de información, es terreno fértil para que entre el mal tanto en la sociedad como en un individuo... es tan "permisible" y "correcto" que es la norma en donde muchos aprovechan para causar acciones con el espíritu "vivo" de la maldad.
3.
“Muchas veces me imagino que hay un montón de niños jugando en un campo de centeno. Miles de niños, y están solos, quiero decir que no hay nadie mayor vigilándolos. Sólo yo. Estoy al borde del precipicio y mi trabajo consiste en evitar que los niños caigan en él. En cuanto empiezan a correr sin mirar adónde van, yo salgo de donde esté y los cojo. Eso es lo que me gustaría hacer todo el tiempo. Yo sería el guardián entre el centeno.”
-El guardián entre el centeno-
4.
"Una vez que los dejes atrás, comenzarás a acercarte -si ése es tu deseo y tu esperanza- a un tipo de conocimiento muy querido de tu corazón. Entre otras cosas, verás que no eres la primera persona a quien la conducta humana ha confundido, asustado, y hasta asqueado. Te alegrará y te animará saber que no estás solo en ese sentido. Son muchos los hombres que han sufrido moral y espiritualmente del mismo modo que tú."
-El guardián entre el centeno-
5.
“When we forget how close the wilderness is in the night, my grandpa said, someday it will come in and get us, for we will have forgotten how terrible and real it can be”
-Fahrenheit 451-
6.
"... Farewel happy Fields
Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail
Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell
Receive thy new Possessor: One who brings
A mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time.
The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n. "
-Paradise Lost-
NOTA: Quien piensa así, quien actúa así debido a la maldad actuada observable claramente desde su formulación, acción, hasta sus consecuencias finales, sintiendo, todo el tiempo el status quo torcido al que somete a todos o los influye a creer para generar un comportamiento oportuno (al dueño) "estándar", es necesario ser confrontado.
Con Amor y Verdad.
De esto, en estos tiempos, Amor y Verdad, ya no se sabe a profundidad sólo se escoge la fachada que mejor "apunta" o "hacen su sombra" pero que para nada son Ellos. Se hace esto aprovechando que tan fácil se puede manipular a un individuo adulto (mucho más fácil a la niñez y juventud (perpetuamente distraídas)), ya sea para vender, incitar, desviar, distraer, adoctrinar, mentir abiertamente, abusar, mentir por los 5 segundos necesarios para causar movimientos negativos (algunos llevan milenios), etc, etc, etc... en sí, podemos seguir esta lista evidenciando todo aquello que esta lejos de ser Amor o Verdad pero no tiene caso pues hay ejemplos (al por mayor) que recaen sobre el individuo y de ahí, hasta los estados e instituciones que nos rigen, organizan y van estableciendo, en el desarrollo mental del individuo, estructuras de pensamiento complejas para actuar "correctamente" en el tiempo y medio ambiente donde se desenvuelve. Puede que esto se reconozca como maldad o no, depende de la perspectiva, pero en sí, nunca estamos exentos de La Maldad una vez que, de verdad, tenemos nuestras burbujas de orden común o estándares relativamente buenos para la mayoría en determinado grupo y tiempo, o sea, que no actúen, dichas estructuras y dichos individuos, en contra de La Humanidad (percibida) y cada uno de sus individuos, al menos en principios morales. Regresando a La Maldad, si no estamos atentos a ella incluso en tiempos de "paz" (lo cual es casi imposible), sólo se debe de escoger un año del mundo, conocer su historia, casi en cualquier zona, y esta maldad es evidente, pareciera que esta viva "viva".
Bueno... después de reconocer esto de "la maldad" (y el dolor que causa), consecuentemente, se puede observar, aveces claramente, aveces velado por medio de la acción que causan sus efectos sobre nosotros sus fines últimos (reflexionando hacia el pasado después de una catástrofe malvada), aquí es justamente, como ejemplo, como la Kinetic Military Action (KMA) se puede siempre observar como el resultado de la maldad en operación actuando sobre unos haciéndolos encarnar una de sus perores formas de acción sobre la realidad, en donde si nada esta basado en Amor y Verdad (lo puesto al dolor y la mentira) previo a que sucedan cualquier tipo de eventos malvados, entonces siempre tendremos roces muy dolorosos para todos en todos lados del tiempo, en donde, si, por algún milagro, no se da paso a la KMA, o agresión persona vs persona (qué en principio, es idéntico) de una manera consciente, entonces, tal vez se abra un espacio casi milagroso en el cual lleguemos a dialogar (sin mentiras o dogmas erróneos), perdonar y tal vez construir algo duradero gracias a todo aquello que es verdadero universal, recordando que la maldad por siempre estará rondando entre las sombras (esto me recuerda al Paraíso Perdido de John Milton y como el mal encuentra siempre una forma torcida de re-interpretar lo bueno, correcto, verdadero) y nos hará actuar como ella deseé si se le olvida mientras no se le de un lugar "en la mesa donde comemos" para tenerla no controlada pero, al menos, parcialmente a la vista.
Uffff... qué difíciles temas, situaciones y conceptos, muy grandes para cualquiera, al menos, demasiado enormes para mi.
------------------
No porque algo este mal practicado, de hecho este mal, desde principios del siglo VII, y sea lo que en esta zona este creando todo un problema malvado, pareciera que eterno, debemos de abandonar el Amor y la Verdad hacia los que lo practican, no debemos de olvidarlo, y se debe de actuar cada que se pueda mientras haya estos espacios milagrosos para poder escuchar y dialogar.
------------------
Tal vez si todos son tus enemigos, de cualquier cultura (antigua o nueva) u orden regente, y repito TODOS, por los siglos de los siglos... tal vez, los principios que te rigen no son los "totalmente correctos".
------------------
LOVE and Truth.
Citas, no del libro, pero que me ayudan:
1.
“A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that.”
-Kingdom of Heaven-
2.
"In reality, the “information society” is thus an “entropy society”—a society of ignorance and disorder."
-The User Illusion-
NOTA: En donde la distracción, y mil cosas más, en una sociedad con estas características sobre saturada de información, es terreno fértil para que entre el mal tanto en la sociedad como en un individuo... es tan "permisible" y "correcto" que es la norma en donde muchos aprovechan para causar acciones con el espíritu "vivo" de la maldad.
3.
“Muchas veces me imagino que hay un montón de niños jugando en un campo de centeno. Miles de niños, y están solos, quiero decir que no hay nadie mayor vigilándolos. Sólo yo. Estoy al borde del precipicio y mi trabajo consiste en evitar que los niños caigan en él. En cuanto empiezan a correr sin mirar adónde van, yo salgo de donde esté y los cojo. Eso es lo que me gustaría hacer todo el tiempo. Yo sería el guardián entre el centeno.”
-El guardián entre el centeno-
4.
"Una vez que los dejes atrás, comenzarás a acercarte -si ése es tu deseo y tu esperanza- a un tipo de conocimiento muy querido de tu corazón. Entre otras cosas, verás que no eres la primera persona a quien la conducta humana ha confundido, asustado, y hasta asqueado. Te alegrará y te animará saber que no estás solo en ese sentido. Son muchos los hombres que han sufrido moral y espiritualmente del mismo modo que tú."
-El guardián entre el centeno-
5.
“When we forget how close the wilderness is in the night, my grandpa said, someday it will come in and get us, for we will have forgotten how terrible and real it can be”
-Fahrenheit 451-
6.
"... Farewel happy Fields
Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail
Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell
Receive thy new Possessor: One who brings
A mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time.
The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n. "
-Paradise Lost-
NOTA: Quien piensa así, quien actúa así debido a la maldad actuada observable claramente desde su formulación, acción, hasta sus consecuencias finales, sintiendo, todo el tiempo el status quo torcido al que somete a todos o los influye a creer para generar un comportamiento oportuno (al dueño) "estándar", es necesario ser confrontado.
October 16, 2023
This had a very distinct point of view, and a strong authorial voice. It contradicted a lot of the narrative I've been fed with by the international media for a long time. By the end of the book, I found myself agreeing with the author's conclusion. When seeking a two-state solution (which I strongly believe in), we should rid ourselves of our naivete when understanding the nature of Hamas and the history of Palestine. The author, though admittedly biased in his overall narrative and theories (not all of which I bought into - this book only represents one side of the issue), truthful in citing the facts. I would definitely appreciate a critique of Israel's approach in its dealings with the PLO and Hamas over the years.
A lot of left-leaning and liberal individuals would probably hate this, despise this, yell Islamophobe / Zionist shill, whatever. That said, a lot of things in this book are cold, hard, fact. I definitely do believe that Islam is woefully mischaracterised (and foolishly so) by the progressive West. Certain things speak for themselves, when you look at the sources. Some parts of this book should be recommended reading for anyone who has recently gained some interest in the Hamas - Israel conflict. Social media slogans and unverified tweets are insufficient. Ultimately, it is the duty of the reader to take this book in with a grain of salt, and do the same with the superficial narratives the international, mainstream media provides.
A lot of left-leaning and liberal individuals would probably hate this, despise this, yell Islamophobe / Zionist shill, whatever. That said, a lot of things in this book are cold, hard, fact. I definitely do believe that Islam is woefully mischaracterised (and foolishly so) by the progressive West. Certain things speak for themselves, when you look at the sources. Some parts of this book should be recommended reading for anyone who has recently gained some interest in the Hamas - Israel conflict. Social media slogans and unverified tweets are insufficient. Ultimately, it is the duty of the reader to take this book in with a grain of salt, and do the same with the superficial narratives the international, mainstream media provides.
March 26, 2024
In the world filled with tendentious news, we can be easily swayed into believing a propaganda without much fact-checking. Spencer offers a whole perspective of the Palestinian conflict that is rarely heard in the social media. Many countries has proposed a two-state solution for this complex conflict, and Israel has been pressured by the UN to make multiple concessions over the last 60 years, yet the dream to have two countries to live side by side peacefully is still far from completion. Why is there rarely any progress?
Robert pointed out the key issues which are the concept of Jihad, the core teachings of Islam which belittles Jews, the victimhood propaganda and the ignorance of the many nations. Unless we realise that this ongoing conflict is of religious origin, driven by the anti-semitic chants of "Drive them out from where they drove you out", "from the river to the sea", there would be hardly any progress. Roundtable discussion will not solve the fundamental issues. All people of goodwill need to be realistic and speak truth in love, rather than blinded by the fanatic dreams.
Robert pointed out the key issues which are the concept of Jihad, the core teachings of Islam which belittles Jews, the victimhood propaganda and the ignorance of the many nations. Unless we realise that this ongoing conflict is of religious origin, driven by the anti-semitic chants of "Drive them out from where they drove you out", "from the river to the sea", there would be hardly any progress. Roundtable discussion will not solve the fundamental issues. All people of goodwill need to be realistic and speak truth in love, rather than blinded by the fanatic dreams.
August 29, 2024
A powerful treatise that shines the bright light of truth on deeply entrenched darkness!
One would think the truths in this magnificent book are obvious. History is history. Right? Not if opponents have a vested interest in rewriting it. But how is this possible in such a time when information is so easily accessible? No doubt, there are some who prefer darkness. But there are others who simply don’t know any better.
They hear the common lies of revisionists and mainstream media parrot on behalf of militant Islam and haters of Jews and Israel and think it must be true by its sheer volume. What is needed is for information such as is found in this wonderful book to be spread far and wide with the same energy as those who hate Israel.
Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for the truth.
One would think the truths in this magnificent book are obvious. History is history. Right? Not if opponents have a vested interest in rewriting it. But how is this possible in such a time when information is so easily accessible? No doubt, there are some who prefer darkness. But there are others who simply don’t know any better.
They hear the common lies of revisionists and mainstream media parrot on behalf of militant Islam and haters of Jews and Israel and think it must be true by its sheer volume. What is needed is for information such as is found in this wonderful book to be spread far and wide with the same energy as those who hate Israel.
Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for the truth.
February 14, 2024
A well documented book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The idea that a land dispute rather than antisemitism motivates the Palestinians ignores history argues Robert Spencer. He points out that “no one who has ever been involved with the Middle East “peace process” has ever admitted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in reality a war of religion and faith”. Hizbollah, HAMAS, and Islamic Jihad Palestine have characterized war with Israel as a jihad. Robert Spencer quotes several Muslim clerics and texts from the Qur’an to prove that the Palestinian armed conflict with Israel, the massacre of Israelis, and global terrorist attacks on Jews is a religious obligation mandated by Islam. Recommended for a documented overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The idea that a land dispute rather than antisemitism motivates the Palestinians ignores history argues Robert Spencer. He points out that “no one who has ever been involved with the Middle East “peace process” has ever admitted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in reality a war of religion and faith”. Hizbollah, HAMAS, and Islamic Jihad Palestine have characterized war with Israel as a jihad. Robert Spencer quotes several Muslim clerics and texts from the Qur’an to prove that the Palestinian armed conflict with Israel, the massacre of Israelis, and global terrorist attacks on Jews is a religious obligation mandated by Islam. Recommended for a documented overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
July 10, 2022
With a title like “The Palestinian Delusion”, readers should expect the contents of the book to have a heavy lenience towards Israel. This is especially visible in the book’s early chapters, where the author seems to cherry-pick information from trivial sources and obscure Palestinian historical figures who barely have any legitimacy whatsoever. The author also maintains the position of “Islam bad” throughout his book, choosing to ignore moderate standpoints that have existed throughout the conflict. Regardless, the book can be used as a good comparative tool against other books with blatant pro-Palestinian biases.
October 9, 2024
Reasonable Perspective on Middle East
I found this book reasonable on a topic that usually reflects unenlightened enthusiasm on the one hand, and ignorance fuelled hatred and pure unadulterated bias, on the other. Spencer lays out the history and facts so that the reader can make their own
conclusions. An excellent, well-informed read from an author who has done their homework and clearly understands the history behind his subject. I highly recommend this book.
I found this book reasonable on a topic that usually reflects unenlightened enthusiasm on the one hand, and ignorance fuelled hatred and pure unadulterated bias, on the other. Spencer lays out the history and facts so that the reader can make their own
conclusions. An excellent, well-informed read from an author who has done their homework and clearly understands the history behind his subject. I highly recommend this book.
November 24, 2023
This is a very interesting and informative book by an expert on the politics of the Middle East. Spencer gives a compelling account of just why negotiating for a lasting peace, in a two state solution, will never work.
Spencer is controversial because of his stance, but he is very knowledgeable on the history of the region and the religions he's discussing. He himself is a Greek Catholic.
Spencer is controversial because of his stance, but he is very knowledgeable on the history of the region and the religions he's discussing. He himself is a Greek Catholic.
October 17, 2023
Though I would’ve liked more attention devoted to the Christian history of the land comprising modern Palestine, the author makes a clear and compelling case based on documented history for the repudiation of popular narratives concerning Palestinians, Jews and how we got to where we are today.
November 24, 2023
Written by an Islamophobe with the express motive of promoting Israel as the victim and Palestine as the oppressor.
Not sure if the claims made here are true or not as they seem cherry picked to show the 'truth' which is that Palestine is a myth.
Not sure if the claims made here are true or not as they seem cherry picked to show the 'truth' which is that Palestine is a myth.
January 4, 2024
In depth analysis of the issues in the Levant from beginning to end. However, there’s implicit bias and a very favorable view of one party with a complete hatred for another. Does a good job of laying out a timeline in an understandable fashion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews