Introduction to any complex international conflict is enriched when the voices of the adversaries are heard. The Israel/Palestine Reader is an innovative collection, focused on the human dimension of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. Its vivid and illuminating readings present the voices of the diverse parties through personal testimonies and analyses. Key leaders, literary figures, prominent analysts, and simply close observers of different phases of this protracted conflict are all represented - in their own words.
From Mark Twain to Theodor Herzl, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Ezer Weizman, Ehud Barak, Marwan Barghouti, Mahmoud Abbas, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, and dozens of others, the firsthand narratives brought together in this Reader bring the conflict to life as seen by those closest to it. Though structured to complement Alan Dowty's introductory text Israel/Palestine (4th edition, Polity 2017), this Reader also stands on its own as a survey of "voices" in the conflict. Each of the ten chapters is framed by an editorial introduction that sets the pieces in context. By juxtaposing contrasting viewpoints both between and within the opposed parties, these pieces underline the drama of the conflict, while final judgment is left to the reader. This lively volume will add color and texture to any study of Arab-Israeli issues or of the Middle East generally.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Preface x
Chapter 1 Two Worlds Collide 1
1 "What Is a Nation?" Ernest Renan 3
2 Innocents Abroad Mark Twain 9
3 "Nu'man al-Qasatli's Travels in Palestine" Abdul-Karim Rafeq 17
Chapter 2 The Jewish Story 20
4 Two Poems by Yehuda Halevi 22
5 The Bilu Manifesto, 1882 24
6 The Jewish State Theodor Herzl 26
7 "On the Slaughter" Chaim Nachman Bialik 31
8 "A Hidden Question" Yitzhak Epstein 33
9 "Open Questions" Nehama Pukhachewsky 39
Chapter 3 The Arab Story 43
10 References to Jews in the Quran 45
11 "On the Franks" Usamah ibn Munqidh 49
12 The Arab Awakening George Antonius 52
13 The Awakening of the Arab Nation Najib Azuri 56
14 "My View of Zionism" Khalil as-Sakakini 59
Chapter 4 The Emergence of Israel 63
15 "The Iron Wall" Vladimir Jabotinsky 65
16 "The Arab Case for Palestine" Hamid Frangieh 69
17 "We Have Our State" Golda Meir 73
18 "Memoirs of the First Palestine War" Gamal Abdul Nasser 76
19 "War Is Inevitable: Why?" Gamal Abdul Nasser 80
20 Central Intelligence Agency, Memorandum, May 26, 1967 84
Chapter 5 The Reemergence of the Palestinians 88
21 "Identity Card" Mahmoud Darwish 90
22 "An Olive Branch and a Gun" Yasir Arafat 92
23 "The Road to Peace" Anwar Sadat 98
24 "The 1978 Negotiations at Camp David" Ezer Weizman 102
25 "The Road to Oslo" Mahmoud Abbas 107
Chapter 6 The First Pass at Peace 111
26 "The Palestinians' Fourteen Demands" Sari Nusseibeh 113
27 "The Oslo Accord" Yossi Beilin 116
28 "The Oslo Accord" Mahmoud Abbas 120
29 "Collapse at Camp David" (Interview with Ehud Barak) Benny Morris 124
30 "Collapse at Camp David" Robert Malley Hussein Agha 128
Chapter 7 The Fourth Stage 132
31 Hamas Covenant (1988) 134
32 "The Second Intifada" (Interview with Marwan Barghouti) Toufic Haddad 138
33 The Intifada: Israel Government White Paper 142
34 Palestine Papers: Olmert's Offer to Abu Mazen 146
35 "My Offer to Abbas" Ehud Olmert 148
36 "Conditions for a Two-State Solution" Benjamin Netanyahu 149
Chapter 8 The Downward Spiral 155
37 "Recognize Palestine as a UN Member State" Mahmoud Abbas 157
38 "Collapse of Kern/Initiative" Martin Indyk 162
39 "2014 Gaza War: Palestinian View" Diana Buttu 168
40 "2014 Gaza War: Israeli View" Benjamin Netanyahu 173
41 "Saving the Two-State Solution" John Kerry 176
Chapter 9 The Impasse that Remains 180
42 "Territorial Issues" Michael Herzog 182
43 "West Bank Settlements: A Palestinian View" Walid Salem 188
44 "West Bank Settlements: An Israeli View" Hillel Halkin 192
45 "The Refugee Issue: A Palestinian View" Rashid Khalidi 197
46 "The Refugee Issue: An Israeli View" Efraim Karsh 201
Chapter 10 The Perfect Conflict 205
47 "The One-State Solution: A Palestinian Version" Ghada Karmi 207
48 "The One-State Solution: An Israeli Version" Naftali Bennett 212
49 "The Two-State Solution" David C. Unger 216
50 "Linking Justice to Peace" Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov 220
Index 228
