Norman G. Finkelstein » The Israel-Palestine Conflict

IMAGE AND REALITY OF THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT (Second edition)

		First published in 1995, this highly acclaimed study scrutinizes popular and scholarly representations of the Israel-Palestine conflict. It begins with a novel theoretical inter-pretation of Zionism, and then moves on to critically engage the influential studies of Joan Peters, Benny Morris, and Anita Shapira. Carefully rehearsing the documentary record, Finkelstein also challenges the dominant images of the June 1967 and October 1973 Arab-Israeli wars. In a comprehensive new introduction, he provides the most succinct overview available in the English language of the Israel-Palestine conflict, while in several new chapters he juxtaposes Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories against South African apartheid, and demolishes the scholarly pretensions of Michael Oren's recent bestseller on the June 1967 war.

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Click here to view bookjacket Click here to view table of contents		Click here to read first 10 pages of introduction Click here to read first 3 pages of appendix

Praise For The 2nd Edition

"Norman Finkelstein is one of the most radical and hard-hitting critics of the official Zionist version of the Arab-Israeli conflict and of the historians who support this version. ... The book makes a major contribution to the study of the Arab-Israeli conflict and deserves to be widely read, especially in the United States."

Avi Shlaim,
St Antony's College, Oxford University

"Anyone interested in seeing justice brought to the Middle East must read 'Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict'."

Charles Glass,
former ABC News Middle East correspondent.

"...this thoroughly documented book is guaranteed to stimulate and provoke. It will be required reading in the continuing war of the historians."

William Quandt,
FOREIGN AFFAIRS

"...the most revealing study of the historical background of the conflict and the current peace agreement."

Noam Chomsky,
The GUARDIAN

"... a thought-provoking work which calls into question many of the accepted 'truths' associated with the Israel-Palestine conflict."

THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

"...both an impressive analysis of Zionist ideology and a searing but scholarly indictment of Israel's treatment of the Arabs since 1948."

THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS

THE RISE AND FALL OF PALESTINE: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE INTIFADA YEARS

		This gripping account chronicles an extraordinary chapter in modern Palestinian history - the revolt against the Israeli occupation known as the Intifada - from euphoric inception to bitter defeat. In it, Norman G. Finkelstein an American Jew whose parents were survivors of the Nazi death camps, focuses on the daily lives of the Palestinians to whom he became close during his time in the Middle East. Finkelstein discusses two very different Palestinian families - one from the Christian Palestinian village of Beit Sahour outside Bethlehem, the other from Fawwar refugee camp outside Hebron. Throughout, Finkelstein provides unique insight into the names and faces behind the conflict, and the human toll of the negotiated peace

Praise For The Book

"In the best sense of the old term, Norman Finkelstein has fulfilled an obligation to 'witness.'"

Christopher Hitchens
Columnist for Vanity Fair

"This book is that very rare thing, a book of human experience informed by massive historical scholarship, prodigiously detailed political analysis, and exceptional wisdom. I do not know any book like it that deals so intimately and yet so clearly with the tragic quandaries of the Palestinian situation."

Edward W. Said
Columbia University

"Critical and very well informed... The Rise and Fall of Palestine is also quite unusual, virtually unique, because of the rich framework of past and current history that Finkelstein brings to bear in a most illuminating way, because of the interweaving of very thoughtful (and often moving) personal experiences, and because of the singular nature of Finkelstein's perspective, which is sharply different from those that dominate discussions of the situation in Palestine."

Noam Chomsky
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Articles and reviews related to "The Israel-Palestine Conflict":

03.11.10 ::

Biden inaugurates new Disneyworld in Jerusalem

03.11.10 ::

It’s come to this

03.11.10 ::

Dutch prostitutes anticipate brisk business on Tuesday

03.11.10 ::

Imagine if there were an International Jewish Conspiracy…

03.11.10 ::

Gaza Graffiti

03.11.10 ::

Hannah Rosenthal poised to win Totie Fields Lifetime Achievement Award. (If she really doesn’t want Jews to be held collectively responsible for Israel’s actions, then shouldn’t she tell Israel to stop calling itself the State of the Jewish People? What a preposterous cow.)

03.09.10 ::

There’s something happening here

03.09.10 ::

Peace Now Never Was

03.09.10 ::

HRW condemns Israeli repression of nonviolent protests

03.09.10 ::

Doctors of death

03.07.10 ::

Shouldn’t we be preparing now for this eventuality; without our support, Israel will not hesitate to ground them to dust

03.07.10 ::

For what it’s worth, I agree with this

03.07.10 ::

The Other Germany

03.07.10 ::

Finkelstein Interview (German)

03.06.10 ::

Comrade Musa, a saint!

03.06.10 ::

The Truth from Gaza

03.05.10 ::

Haiti and Gaza

03.05.10 ::

Shaykh Nasrallah Speaks!

03.04.10 ::

Worth reading

03.04.10 ::

Finkelstein in Prague

03.04.10 ::

Deutschland Uber Alles

03.04.10 ::

Judeo-Nazi humor

03.03.10 ::

When Irish eyes are smiling…

03.03.10 ::

Germans criticize Israel: Has the Messiah come?

03.03.10 ::

NEW YORKERS: WHAT WE CAN DO

03.01.10 ::

Why Spanish should be our second language

02.27.10 ::

Look at the blood-curdling terrorists. Look at the crazy fundamentalists. Look at the “superfluous” people who Michael Kramer of Harvard wants to starve to death.

02.27.10 ::

Worth reading

02.27.10 ::

Finkelstein in the Czech Republic

02.25.10 ::

“What struck me most was the innocence of these people, over half of them children, and the indecency and criminality of their continued punishment.”

What we can do:

Publicize the factual record:

Vanity Fair: "U.S. officials... backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza" (April 2008);
Henry Siegman, London Review of Books:
Israel's Lies (01.29.2009)
The Irish Times: One-sided reality of combat in Israeli-Palestinian conflict (01.07.2009 );
Ynet: The Dahiya strategy (10.06.2008)
Haaretz: "The IDF, which planned to attack buildings and sites populated by hundreds of people..." (10.06.2008)
Ynet: "there is not too much glory and valor involved in flying over a giant prison and firing at its people using helicopters and fighter jets" (12.29.2008)...
Finkelstein on organizing:
Audio: How can we help the Palestinian cause? (01.23.2008)
Video: Finkelstein: "Be reasonable. Even when your fury seems to gain control of you... Stick to those basic standards of justice." 01.22.2009
Video: "Towards a Just Peace in Israel-Palestine" (10.18.2008)
Finkelstein: "We have to set goals which are realistic..."
Jewish Voice for Peace: Lift the Gaza Blockade: Call on Congress to Speak Up and Join Us in the Streets! (01.24.2008)
The Free Gaza Movement
GazaSiege.org
Adalah-NY
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
ISM
Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions

On Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem & the Occupation:

Mouin Rabbani on Human Rights Watch and the Gaza Massacre. (02.03.2009)
Finkelstein: Foiling Another Palestinian "Peace Offensive": Behind the bloodbath in Gaza (January 2009)
Palestinian human rights organizations: "When Human Rights Watch equates aggressor with the aggrieved". (12.03.2006)
Finkelstein: Human Rights Watch Must Retract Its Shameful Press Release. (11.29.2006)
Video: Finkelstein on Gandhi and Palestine (November 2008)
The Free Gaza Movement (2008 - 2009)
Haaretz: Hezbollah chief calls on Arab, Muslim world to help lift Gaza blockade. (12.15.2008)
The Guardian: Tutu calls for end to blockade of Gaza (05.30.2008)
The Financial Times: Gaza's misery has to be stopped (01.24.2008)
The Guardian: Carter urges 'supine' Europe to break with US over Gaza blockade (05.26.2008)
Unpublished op-ed on Gaza withdrawal. (September 2005)
Video: Breaking Down The Wall (02.02.2008)
"In the case of the Occupied Territories, I think there are other options.... 'implementing the World Court decision.'"

On the Lobby & "the New anti-Semitism"

Ynet: Report: Gaza war reverses drop in anti-Semitism (01.15.2009)
Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism (09.12.2006)
The Lobby: It's Not Either / Or. (05.01.2006)
Chronicle of Higher Education: At Hillel Summit, Some See a 'Golden Age' for Jews on Campuses, Not an Era of Anti-Semitism (05.23.2006)
The Jewish Advocate: Fighting Jewish anti-Semitism (12.22.2006)
Video/Mp3: Democracy Now! Debate: Part II
National Catholic Reporter: Neve Gordon: Review of Finkelstein's Beyond Chutzpah (10.14.2005)
"...quietly fill the hall with those who cannot be influenced by Finkelstein's rhetoric" (03.12.2005)
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Calif. Press Will Publish Controversial Book on Israel. Legal wrangling and disputes over the author's claims plagued 'Beyond Chutzpah' (2005)
The Chronicle of Higher Education: "U. of California Press to Publish Book That Alan Dershowitz Has Criticized as Anti-Semitic" (2005)
Thought Police At Work (2003)

On Hezbollah & Hamas:

The Guardian: Hamas acted on a very real fear of a US-sponsored coup. (06.22.2007)
Haaretz: Haniyeh: Hamas willing to accept Palestinian state with 1967 borders. (11.09.2008)
Henry Siegman, International Herald Tribune: Bring in Hamas. (03.04.2008)
The Washington Post: No Peace Without Hamas. (04.17.2008)
Al Jazeera English: Talk to Jazeera - Khaled Meshaal. (03.05.2008)
International Herald Tribune: Bring in Hamas. (03.04.2008)
"the Hezbollah model"
and
"There is this claim that the obstacle [to peace] is that Hamas won't recognize Israel..." (09.30.2006)
"Israel always depended on the fact that its adversaries were stupid, incompetent... and, in fact, they were right... That when they were dealing with a Nasser, he was a blowhard; a Saddam Hussein, he was a windbag; when they were dealing with Yasser Arafat, he was a hot air ballon. They were nothing of any substance... [inaudible]... That was Israel's ace in the hole. Now comes along an Arab leader who says we have to use "reason." It's a very remarkable thing to read. We have to use "reason." We have to think, plan, organize."
Hamas: A reasonable statement. (Los Angeles Times, 07.10.2007)
The Guardian: Hamas condemns the Holocaust. (05.12.2008)
Salon.com: The "hiding among civilians" myth. (07.28.2006)
AIPAC v. Norman Finkelstein: A Debate on Israel's Assault on Gaza. (06.29.2006)
Foreign Policy: Habitat for Hezbollah. (08.2006)
The Irish Times: Hizbullah rockets cannot be fired from buildings. (07.31.2006)

Finkelstein on Israel:

Why an Economic Boycott of Israel is Justified. (01.14.2006)
Video: Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?
An Introduction to the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Update: September 2002)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Video: On the place of civility
in academic life (10.18.2007)
Finkelstein's talk at the academic freedom conference

Tenure Denial Letters
(June - November, 2007)

On How Actual Survivors Were Cheated by
Jewish Organizations:

Haaretz: "The Claims Conference intentionally defrauded Holocaust survivors." (09.25.2008)
Ynet: Where did the Shoah money go? (12.11.2006)
'First Class flights around the world, accommodation at deluxe hotels, dining at fancy restaurants and a series of credit cards, this is how the Claims Conference, which deals with restitution of stolen Jewish property from the Holocaust, operates.'
Haaretz: Survivors' protest makes foreign journalists gasp, security vanish (08.06.2007)
"I want the Germans to know where the money they gave Israel went," he said angrily. "I want the Germans to know that Israel took the money we should have received. I want them to answer one question: Where did our money go?"
AP: Holocaust survivors blast $20 stipend (07.31.2007)
'Survivors have long claimed that European countries treat them far better than Israel, where many elderly survivors live in poverty.'
Jewish Week: Holocaust Cash Went To Shadowy Pal Of Ousted WJC Leader (05.04.2007)
'Israeli finance minister, now being probed for corruption, urged death camp tour group to hire little-known N.Y. consultant; Singer friend Curtis Hoxter can't explain what he did for $709,000.'
Jewish Week: "Survivors Balking At Lawyer's Fee" (03.02.2006)
Shocking revelation in the London Jewish Chronicle. ("The man on the left earns $437,811 a year handling Shoah claims. So why are so many survivors pleading poverty?"; 05.30.2006)
Survivors Protest Holocaust Industry Shakedown (08.29.2000)
Finkelstein: Will The Holocaust Industry Incite Anti-Semitism? (08.11.2000)
Finkelstein: Lessons of Holocaust Compensation (2001)

Finkelstein on Jimmy Carter:

Carter, the Media & Dershowitz (12.08.2006)
The Media Lynching of Jimmy Carter (12.07.2006)
On Jimmy Carter's Peace Not Apartheid (New York: 2006) (11.12.2006)

Israeli civil libertarian's introduction to German edition of Beyond Chutzpah. (03.27.2006)

Communication for Middle East Journal. (02.19.2006)

Alleged Errors in Beyond Chutzpah. (2005)

MEMRI NAZIS (again) (10.23.2006)

New evidence of old lies (2005)
Under the heading DIABOLICAL PLOTS, I stated in Beyond Chutzpah...

Articles and Reviews Related to The Holocaust Industry

Preface to German edition of The Rise and Fall of Palestine

Postscript to German edition of The Rise and Fall of Palestine

The Dershowitz File:

In Praise of Smoking Guns (10.26.2007)
"Dershowitz and his attorneys entered into a protracted correspondence with my publisher... and other interested parties such as California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.... Readers can now judge for themselves whether the famed civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz sought to suppress publication of Beyond Chutzpah."
Dershowitz berates National Catholic Reporter (w/Neve Gordon's & Finkelstein's response) (2005)
Liar, liar, Pants on fire.
(w/ full English translation of orginal article from Israeli press + image from Israeli newspaper (2005))
The Glove Does Fit (2003)
Middle East Studies Association Salutes University of California Press for Publishing Beyond Chutzpah (MESA ACADEMIC FREEDOM AWARDS 2005)
Dershowitz Exposed Yet Again: The Critique of Pure Cant
(includes title page image of the one and only item of Kant in Yiddish in Harvard's collection (2003))
The Dershowitz Hoax: A Chronology (2003, 2005, 2006)
The Harvard Crimson: Crimson Cuts Columnist for Lifting Material (2006)
Alan Dershowitz Exposed: What if a Harvard Student Did This?