Please recommend a book on the history of the conflict.

[HvalaALot]

One that looks at both sides of the conflict.

I need to understand the complexities of it all!

And thanks god you don’t live in the USA where the universities are getting a bashing

Bible

Most Jews agree that other Jews can be antisemitic.

Listened to the latest The Rest is Politics podcast this morning on my run. Rory Stewart recommended a few books on the conflict to listeners (he’s pretty much a Middle East expert). I can’t remember the titles but one was written by the King of Jordan (Jordan has a very high % of population of Palestinian descent) and another by a New York Times journalist. If you listen to the podcast you will be able to get the full details. It was about 5 or 10 minutes into the podcast, they started out talking about the recent by-elections then moved on to the conflict.

In the meantime, Rory Stewart did an excellent explainer on the situation shortly after the attack on 7 October which is worth watching on YouTube

If you have the time it’s also well worth listening to/watching the (separate) interviews they did with Yuval Noah Harari (Israeli writer) and Husam Zomlot (Palestinian ambassador to the UK). Having a longer interview rather than 5 minutes on the news channels means they can get into more depth and they do a good job of trying to see things from both sides whilst also asking challenging questions.

I'm not sure if he's already been recommended but Ilan Pappé is an academic at the University of Exeter. He's written several books with sources cited throughout but still very accessible. Take a look, I'm currently reading one on the experiences on Palestinians living in Israel. You'll hear many people on mumsnet argue that Arabs in Israel have equal rights to Jewish Israeli citizens. This is the book to read on that subject.

I think Jeremy Bowen also has a podcast if you prefer to comsume that way.

They are against Israel not Jews. It's laughable how some people want to stifle any criticism of Israel by branding anyone who does as antisemitic, even Jews themselves!

Yes, I think the author of the first book I suggested (Ahron Bergman) was accused of being a “self-hating Jew” or something like that for daring to write a book that was critical of Israel’s actions.

Tom Segev has written a range of books looking at different periods (e.g. British Mandate, 1949, 1968).

'Israel' by Martin Gilbert.

'The Arabs' by Eugene Rogan has a chapter on Palestine.

'The Lemon Tree' by Sandy Tolan and 'My Promised Land' by Ari Shavit.

'The Other Side of Israel' by Susan Nathan is about a Jewish woman who moves to an Arab village.

Recent podcasts on BBC Sounds: 'The Mandates' with Tom Bateman and 'Understand' with Katya Adler.

Not a book, but I think some of the older Adam Curtis documentaries cover the origins in a really interesting way. I rewatched Hypernormalisation the other day; it isn’t all about Israel and Palestine, but it does cover some of the origins and the 70s/ 80s.

I take it this is the same person?

https://twitter.com/YasMohammedxx/status/1715257331724763195

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
Book by Izzeldin Abuelaish

Not Yasmine whose X account it is, but the clip of Mosab is the author and the film The Green Prince was based on his book.

Second "Orientalism" by Edward Said - it's really heavy reading and definitely not only about the conflict - but it's also a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand especially so-called "Western" attitudes towards Middle Easterners in particular!

In terms of coming to a hopefully at least somewhat holistic picture on the conflict itself, I would actually recommend reading books from various authors with conflicting points of view! Parroting one person's opinion on an incredibly complex situation hardly makes you informed.

As for the person who called Noam Chomsky an anti-semite: that is not only ridiculous and insulting, it's also a demonstration of utter cluelessness! Chomsky is, broadly speaking, an anarcho-syndicalist or libertarian socialist, i.e. a type of leftwing anarchist and a prominent supporter of a one state solution on I/P. Anarchists tend not to be supportive of the concept of ethnostates in principle - that is not even remotely anti-semitic!

Actually, while we're on Chomsky: "Manufacturing Consent" is another great, albeit not updated for the digital age, work that explains quite a few of the dynamics of the relentless propaganda onslaught we are seeing!

I totally agree with what you said on everything. Manufacturing Consent is a must read indeed! The Propaganda Model is especially relevant.

Something else that has been used a lot in the recent events is the Atrocity Propaganda.

I just wish people could educate themselves so that they could see how the mass media has been/ is playing mind games and spreading misinformation.

This quote sums up quite well what's happening:

If You Don’t Read the Newspaper You Are Uninformed, If You Do Read the Newspaper You Are Misinformed

*would educate not could.