Selected Readings on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Selected Readings on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
October 26, 2015
Some of you who attended Professor Joel Beinin’s talk at Havurah on Friday, Oct. 23, asked for recommended readings about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Below is a list of selected readings from Professor Beinin, who will be teaching a class on the topic at Stanford University this winter:
- Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness. The canonical account of the origins of Palestinian nationalism.
- Amos Elon, The Israelis: Founders and Sons. A classical version of Zionist and Israeli history from a labor Zionist perspective. A similar, but more recent, account (highly celebrated in the US as Elon was) is Ari Shavit, My Promised Land. One significant difference is that Shavit acknowledges Israeli atrocities in 1948 but justifies them. Elon doesn’t mention them.
- Jonathan Schneer, The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Readable and appropriately critical of the British.
- Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem. There are two editions: 1987 and the longer and more detailed 2004. The argument is summarized in Benny Morris, “The Origins of the Palestinian Refugee Problem,” in Laurence Silberstein (ed.), New Perspectives on Israeli History: The Early Years of the State, 42-56. For critiques of Morris see: Norman Finkelstein, “Born of War, Not By Design,” in Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, 51-87 and Joel Beinin, “Forgetfulness for Memory: The Limits of the New Israeli History,” Journal of Palestine Studies 35 (no. 2, winter 2005):6-23
- Abba Eban, “The Six Days War,” (speech to the UN) in Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin (eds.), The Israeli-Arab Reader, pp. 207-29. The classical standard Israeli version of 1967. For a point by point refutation see Norman Finkelstein, “To Live or Perish: Abba Eban Reconstructs the June 1967 War,” in Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, 123-49
- Tom Segev, 1967: Israel, the War, and the Year that Transformed the Middle East. A very different story than the one we are used to hearing. Can be read with the review by Yitzhak Laor, “Orchestrated Panic,” London Review of Books, Nov. 1, 2007
- Gershom Gorenberg, Occupied Territories: The Untold Story of Israel’s Settlements. Can be read with my review: Joel Beinin, “When Doves Cry,” The Nation, April 17, 2006
- Neve Gordon, Israel’s Occupation. A more fundamental critique than Gorenberg.
- Rashid Khalidi, Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East. The title says it all.
Sat, July 27 2024
21 Tammuz 5784
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Saturday ,
JulJuly 27 , 2024
Shabbat, Jul 27th 10:00a to 12:00p
Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. For Zoom link (Zoom Room Aleph), email info@havurahshalom.org. -
Monday ,
JulJuly 29 , 2024
Monday, Jul 29th 6:00p to 7:30p
We will resume our monthly letter writing on the last Monday of each month to write letters to our lawmakers for Israel/Palestine justice. Questions? Contact David Lewis. Havurah members and non-members welcome. RSVP for Zoom info. -
Thursday ,
AugAugust 1 , 2024
Thursday, Aug 1st 5:30p to 7:00p
The Havurah Ma’avar Committee is offering a six-week grief process-support group for Havurah members. Each group session will be held virtually Thursday evenings, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm, beginning July 11 through August 15. Chaplain Candi Wuhrman will facilitate the group with a focus on the dying experience, the impact of the relationship, the things unsaid, making peace within ourselves, forgiveness, and continuing the relationship after death. -
Saturday ,
AugAugust 3 , 2024
Shabbat, Aug 3rd 10:00a to 12:00p
Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. For Zoom link (Zoom Room Aleph), email info@havurahshalom.org. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 5 , 2024
Monday, Aug 5th 1:00p to 4:00p
We are excited to bring mahjong back to Havurah. It is a fun, social activity that builds community, encouraging new friendships and cementing old ones. And while some of us may play elsewhere as well, we all agreed that restoring its place as an ongoing congregational activity will be a good fit for Havurah and those of us who play or want to learn the game. So please don't hesitate to join us! For Havurah members and prospective members. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 5 , 2024
Monday, Aug 5th 7:00p to 8:15p
A gender-inclusive New Moon group, learning and celebrating each Rosh Ḥodesh with ancient and contemporary ritual. Open to any and all genders, inviting each to connect with our closest heavenly body, the Moon. An introductory meeting will happen on the full moon of Elul on Wednesday, Aug. 30 outdoors—weather permitting—in North Portland. Subsequent meetings will be on or near the new moon of each month either in person in North Portland or on Zoom, depending on seasonal shifts in the weather. Attend any or all sessions. RSVP to be updated on location and other details throughout the year. -
Thursday ,
AugAugust 8 , 2024
Thursday, Aug 8th 5:30p to 7:00p
The Havurah Ma’avar Committee is offering a six-week grief process-support group for Havurah members. Each group session will be held virtually Thursday evenings, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm, beginning July 11 through August 15. Chaplain Candi Wuhrman will facilitate the group with a focus on the dying experience, the impact of the relationship, the things unsaid, making peace within ourselves, forgiveness, and continuing the relationship after death. -
Friday ,
AugAugust 9 , 2024
Friday, Aug 9th 10:00a to 12:00p
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Saturday ,
AugAugust 10 , 2024
Shabbat, Aug 10th 10:00a to 12:00p
Please join us in welcoming Sebastian Mellman as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 12 , 2024
Monday, Aug 12th 8:00p to 9:30p
Tisha B’Av is a powerful holy day in our cycle of Jewish time. Yet, it is often overlooked, considered as just a day of mourning for the destruction of the temples. We will look at how Tisha B’Av came to be the collecting point of Jewish loss, grief, and displacement as well as what Alan Lew calls “the moment of turning, the moment when we turn away from denial and begin to face exile and alienation as they manifest themselves in our own lives...Teshuvah – turning is the essential gesture of the entire High Holiday season.” We will also commemorate Tisha B’av with a short ritual that helps us being the process of Teshuvah. All are welcome. Stay tuned for an update on the location/medium of delivery: This event will be at Havurah Shalom and/or on Zoom. Havurahniks, please contact Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, deborah@havurahshalom.org if you would like to help plan this ritual.
Sat, July 27 2024 21 Tammuz 5784