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A Wall in Palestine
The West Bank Barrier is expected to be completed in 2010. Declared illegal by the United Nations International Court of Justice, this network of concrete walls, trenches, and barbed-wire fences could permanently redraw one of the most disputed property lines in the Middle East--the Green Line that separates Israel and the West Bank. To Israel the "security fence" is intended to keep Palestinian terrorists from entering its territory. But to Palestinians the "apartheid wall" that sliced through orchards and houses, and cuts off family members from one another, is a land grab.
In this comprehensive book, Backmann not only addresses the barrier's impact on ordinary citizens, but how it will shape the future of the Middle East. Though it promises security to an Israeli population weary of terrorism, it also is responsible for the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and farmland; with its Byzantine checkpoint regulations, it has also severely crippled the Palestinian economy; and, most urgent, the barrier often deviates from the Green Line, appropriating thousands of acres of land, effectively redrawing the boundary between the West Bank and Israel.
Backmann interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank, telling the stories not only of the barrier's architects, but also of those who must reckon with it on a day-to-day basis on the ground.
With bold, brilliant, and often impassioned reportage, A Wall in Palestine renders the West Bank Barrier--its purpose, its efficacy, its consequences--as no book before.
In this comprehensive book, Backmann not only addresses the barrier's impact on ordinary citizens, but how it will shape the future of the Middle East. Though it promises security to an Israeli population weary of terrorism, it also is responsible for the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and farmland; with its Byzantine checkpoint regulations, it has also severely crippled the Palestinian economy; and, most urgent, the barrier often deviates from the Green Line, appropriating thousands of acres of land, effectively redrawing the boundary between the West Bank and Israel.
Backmann interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank, telling the stories not only of the barrier's architects, but also of those who must reckon with it on a day-to-day basis on the ground.
With bold, brilliant, and often impassioned reportage, A Wall in Palestine renders the West Bank Barrier--its purpose, its efficacy, its consequences--as no book before.
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
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About the author
René Backmann
6 booksRené Backmann est un journaliste et humanitaire français. Après avoir longtemps travaillé à l'hebdomadaire Le Nouvel Observateur, dont il a été chef du service « Monde » pendant plus de dix ans, il écrit maintenant pour le site web d'information Mediapart.
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Rene Backmann is an international affairs columnist at Le Nouvel Observateur foreign desk. In 1991 he was awarded the Prix Mumm, France's highest honor for journalism.
~~~
Rene Backmann is an international affairs columnist at Le Nouvel Observateur foreign desk. In 1991 he was awarded the Prix Mumm, France's highest honor for journalism.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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April 29, 2012I've opposed the titular wall since its planning stages, so it's no surprise that I sympathized with Mr. Backmann's journalism and with the disenfranchised Palestinians he interviewed. Every story that Backmann relates is certainly moving, but he's totally preaching to the choir. If you're reading this, chances are that you know how fucked the situation is, and you're only reading it for the anecdotes. It got me real riled up though... I suppose that's something?
March 14, 2023
The book goes into detail about the tragic, inhumane, and discriminatory apartheid wall in Palestine. It talks about how the livelihood of Palestinians get demolished and atrophied by the wall and inhumane policies. It goes into detail about how the path of the wall is the way it is. The wall is simply a reality it should not be.
”Contrary to what one may assume about a people living under occupation, the Palestinians are infinitely patient. Waiting at checkpoints, at vehicle pull-overs and verifications, at barrier doors; waiting at the Civil Administration office for travel permits; waiting for the release of prisoners; waiting for the creation of a Palestinian State. Their lives consist of endless waiting.”
“"The problem for a lot of Israelis who were aligned with Sharon, including those from the 'peace camp,'" says Menachem Klein, professor of political science at the University of Bar-Ilan, "is that they have never tried to put themselves in the shoes of the Palestinians. In the and, they are not ready to pay the price of peace, which is to say, to give up land. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have already paid this price with their blood." In other words, the Israelis are cloistered in a kind of moral superiority, living in a "walled" society in which the aspirations of other peoples are cropped out of view, and in which they can live in peaceful denial of their role as oppressors."”
“"To be strong and to perceive oneself as weak is an enormous temptation," remarks the writer David Grossman. "We have dozens of atomic bombs, tanks, and planes. We confront people possessing none of these arms, and yet, in our minds, we remain victims. This inability to perceive ourselves as we are in relation to others is our principal weakness."”
“This begs the question: What if today's security threat to Israel came not only from the surrounding region, but also from the misguided decisions of its own leaders? Does Israel imperil its chances at peace and security by showing indifference to Palestinian human rights; by refusing to acknowledge or at least entertain the possibility that Palestinian anger springs from a legitimate desire for liberty … And doesn't the generally accepted mode of solving political dilemmas with military action carry significant risks as well? "Have we not learned yet that in the relationship between us and our neighbors," wrote Akiva Eldar, an editorialist with Haaretz, during the Gaza crisis of summer 2006, "force is the problem. Not the solution."”
”Contrary to what one may assume about a people living under occupation, the Palestinians are infinitely patient. Waiting at checkpoints, at vehicle pull-overs and verifications, at barrier doors; waiting at the Civil Administration office for travel permits; waiting for the release of prisoners; waiting for the creation of a Palestinian State. Their lives consist of endless waiting.”
“"The problem for a lot of Israelis who were aligned with Sharon, including those from the 'peace camp,'" says Menachem Klein, professor of political science at the University of Bar-Ilan, "is that they have never tried to put themselves in the shoes of the Palestinians. In the and, they are not ready to pay the price of peace, which is to say, to give up land. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have already paid this price with their blood." In other words, the Israelis are cloistered in a kind of moral superiority, living in a "walled" society in which the aspirations of other peoples are cropped out of view, and in which they can live in peaceful denial of their role as oppressors."”
“"To be strong and to perceive oneself as weak is an enormous temptation," remarks the writer David Grossman. "We have dozens of atomic bombs, tanks, and planes. We confront people possessing none of these arms, and yet, in our minds, we remain victims. This inability to perceive ourselves as we are in relation to others is our principal weakness."”
“This begs the question: What if today's security threat to Israel came not only from the surrounding region, but also from the misguided decisions of its own leaders? Does Israel imperil its chances at peace and security by showing indifference to Palestinian human rights; by refusing to acknowledge or at least entertain the possibility that Palestinian anger springs from a legitimate desire for liberty … And doesn't the generally accepted mode of solving political dilemmas with military action carry significant risks as well? "Have we not learned yet that in the relationship between us and our neighbors," wrote Akiva Eldar, an editorialist with Haaretz, during the Gaza crisis of summer 2006, "force is the problem. Not the solution."”
December 14, 2009
French journalist Rene Backmann’s oh-so subtly titled “A Wall In Palestine” purports to carefully examine Israel’s construction of the barrier of the title. Sadly, Backmann plainly worries that someone might finish this polemical tract and come to the “wrong” conclusion. Not that this is a grave risk. He sheds any whiff of impartiality to ensure you come to share his world view with Palestinians as hapless, powerless, and above all blameless, and Israeli Jews are venal, paranoid, and duplicitous.
Backmann scours his thesaurus describing the hardships wrought on Palestinians, sparing neither verbiage nor ink. Unable to get to work? You’ll get pages. Lost land to its construction? Chapters. As for Israelis murdered by terrorists in restaurants and markets, for them he can’t risk eliciting any sympathy, and therefore leaves these victims as cold statistics denied either names or narratives. How can one explore the complex realities of the barrier without giving voice to the blood shed that prefigured its existence?
Writers on both sides of this conflict have produced illuminating works. Infantilizing to Palestinians and indifferent to Israelis, Backmann will doubtless earn ovations from his partisans. But for readers burning to for understand, “A Wall in Palestine” generates much heat, but little light.
Backmann scours his thesaurus describing the hardships wrought on Palestinians, sparing neither verbiage nor ink. Unable to get to work? You’ll get pages. Lost land to its construction? Chapters. As for Israelis murdered by terrorists in restaurants and markets, for them he can’t risk eliciting any sympathy, and therefore leaves these victims as cold statistics denied either names or narratives. How can one explore the complex realities of the barrier without giving voice to the blood shed that prefigured its existence?
Writers on both sides of this conflict have produced illuminating works. Infantilizing to Palestinians and indifferent to Israelis, Backmann will doubtless earn ovations from his partisans. But for readers burning to for understand, “A Wall in Palestine” generates much heat, but little light.
January 5, 2011
The writer obviously has an agenda. Lots of research went into this book. It was a chore to finish it. The barriers have worked in protecting Israelis from terrorists but at what cost? Barriers might have some initial success but that is illusory-Great Wall of China. Long term they have created more terrorists by alienating an entire population. Most people would concede a barrier on the Green Line but the Israelis under the guise of security have basically stolen Palestinian land and created a meandering security barrier that precludes any attempt at peace in this region any time soon. Backmann not only talks with Israelis on the left and the right but also the Palestinians. The Israeli Supreme Court has even sided with Palestinians in their law suits against Israel over the barrier. Yet the Israeli army refuses to abide by the decisions of their own supreme court! So much for the myth of democracy of our partner in the ME. Even in South Africa the blacks could use the same roads as whites. Although the book ends with hope that Obama will be able to do something, you are left thinking the situation is really hopeless.
January 20, 2017
It's hard to say I "liked" this book because it's quite depressing. But it's interesting and educational and enlightening and pretty easy to read. If you haven't got time to read it, a very brief summary would be that the Israelis built a wall saying that it was for security purposes ( that is, to stop terrorism) but have in fact used it to requisition large chunks of the West Bank and to make the lives of West Bank citizens particularly awkward.
January 12, 2011
Israel, your wall is making you look apartheid-y.
August 25, 2011
Good information on a subject everybody should know something about, just poorly communicated and dreary writing. I think the entire book was easily summarized on the book jacket flap.
January 12, 2023
Muito bem baseado, repleto de informações indecoráveis mas necessárias (em caso de pesquisa, anotar e consultar resolve o problema) e uma perspectiva de impacto real com entrevistas que conectam o leitor à realidade do muro de apartheid e colonização israelense.
April 22, 2020
Detailed technicalities about the Wall of shame
April 6, 2013
Abjjad, 9/9/2012
I highly recommend reading "a wall in palestine" for the rich details and statistics it provided throughout the book. We as palestinians living outside Palestine don't know how exactly building the wall affected our families in the west bank.
The author of the book is a french journalist with a long experience on the middle east issues and palestinian-israeli crisis. The book is well-written, you might feel in some sections that it talks like an article but the facts provided are very essentials for understanding the complications of the wall. Detailed description for the wall, its route and design to contain not only israeli settlements inside what is called"Israel" but also how it adds more palestinian lands from the west bank for the major settlements in Jerausalem and the west bank.
"Why the decision for building the wall was made" is reviewed and tracked in a chronological and logical order, implications of building the wall on palestinians, economical, agricultural and social lose for palestinians are discussed, the role of jewish human rights organizations and lawyers for helping palestinians protest and file allegations against the wall in the israeli supreme court, political reasons and how building the wall might be part of the peace process negotiations and building the future palestinian country since the wall deviates in some parts from the green line inside the occupied west bank taking more and more from the palestinian's land.
At the end of the book, an index for all important dates that affects palestine is included that is an edge in this book.
I highly recommend reading "a wall in palestine" for the rich details and statistics it provided throughout the book. We as palestinians living outside Palestine don't know how exactly building the wall affected our families in the west bank.
The author of the book is a french journalist with a long experience on the middle east issues and palestinian-israeli crisis. The book is well-written, you might feel in some sections that it talks like an article but the facts provided are very essentials for understanding the complications of the wall. Detailed description for the wall, its route and design to contain not only israeli settlements inside what is called"Israel" but also how it adds more palestinian lands from the west bank for the major settlements in Jerausalem and the west bank.
"Why the decision for building the wall was made" is reviewed and tracked in a chronological and logical order, implications of building the wall on palestinians, economical, agricultural and social lose for palestinians are discussed, the role of jewish human rights organizations and lawyers for helping palestinians protest and file allegations against the wall in the israeli supreme court, political reasons and how building the wall might be part of the peace process negotiations and building the future palestinian country since the wall deviates in some parts from the green line inside the occupied west bank taking more and more from the palestinian's land.
At the end of the book, an index for all important dates that affects palestine is included that is an edge in this book.
March 15, 2012
Wow - I learned a lot that I'd rather not know by reading this book. Backmann delivers a seemingly comprehensive history of the wall being built to separate Israel and Palestine. The process has been torturous for many - loss of livelihood, loss of connection between family and friends, loss of tradition. The wall itself is incredibly circuitous and it's physical location highly political. One village is completely encircled such that no cars can go in or out of the village. The main point of the book is that the wall was supposed to be built on the Green Line separating the two peoples but it in fact has diverged from that line hundreds of times to make sure that Israeli West Bank settlements are included in Israel and have room to expand. According to the book, security is the argument for the wall but annexation of territory is a real, but unstated, goal. The book was a bit of a challenge to read for those of us not familiar with names and places, but if one reads over those things for the main idea, it was an interesting and disturbing read.
September 8, 2012
This is possibly the most insightful thing I've ever read on the Israel/Palestine conflict.
It deals with the conflict from a spacial/architectural view, at the way the conflict has changed the landscape and how people get from point A to point B. It humanizes things in a way I've never really seen, in terms of things like convenience stores that were on a busy street, but now face a blockade and can't survive anymore, or farmers suddenly finding a military presence between them and their crops, and have to travel 5 hours through security checkpoints to get there.
It's a sad book, offering no real answers. But it does a great job of presenting the problem with the complexity it deserves.
It deals with the conflict from a spacial/architectural view, at the way the conflict has changed the landscape and how people get from point A to point B. It humanizes things in a way I've never really seen, in terms of things like convenience stores that were on a busy street, but now face a blockade and can't survive anymore, or farmers suddenly finding a military presence between them and their crops, and have to travel 5 hours through security checkpoints to get there.
It's a sad book, offering no real answers. But it does a great job of presenting the problem with the complexity it deserves.
June 15, 2010
The impact of the Green Line that separates Israel and the West Bank. It interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank. It tells the stories not only of the barrier’s architects, but also of those who must recon with it on a day-to-day basis on the
ground. Very dense and intense. I think you'd have to be really curious about the situation to read this book.
ground. Very dense and intense. I think you'd have to be really curious about the situation to read this book.
November 9, 2013
I think I can agree with all of the reviews below. What I will add is this book makes you really appreciate living in the US. I couldn't image not seeing family, couldn't get to work, my kids not being able to go to school or even loosing my home or land. Even though this was to stop terrorism which it did but it ruined million of innocent people's live on both sides.
Overall I say read this book.
Overall I say read this book.
December 8, 2010
I've only just started this book and I find myself seething with anger over this apartheid barrier. How could a country seemingly born from a holocaust go on to perpertrate yet another holocaust on another group of people? I suspect this will be a fast and passionate read.
May 24, 2013
The human impact of the wall and the thinking behind it (such as it is). Not exactly uplifting reading, but very informative. Backmann does not really address the effects of the wall on Israelis (psychological, economic), which might have been interesting to explore.
May 2, 2012
Reviews to follow for all these, when I manage to set up internet in my new house.
October 26, 2013
Rather frightening to see what is happening.....
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews