For most of the twentieth century, considered opinion in the United States regarding Palestine has favored the inherent right of Jews to exist in the Holy Land. That Palestinians, as a native population, could claim the same right has been largely ignored. Kathleen Christison's controversial new book shows how the endurance of such assumptions, along with America's singular focus on Israel and general ignorance of the Palestinian point of view, has impeded a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Christison begins with the derogatory images of Arabs purveyed by Western travelers to the Middle East in the nineteenth century, including Mark Twain, who wrote that Palestine's inhabitants were "abject beggars by nature, instinct, and education." She demonstrates other elements that have influenced U.S. policymakers: American religious attitudes toward the Holy Land that legitimize the Jewish presence; sympathy for Jews derived from the Holocaust; a sense of cultural identity wherein Israelis are "like us" and Arabs distant aliens. She makes a forceful case that decades of negative portrayals of Palestinians have distorted U.S. policy, making it virtually impossible to promote resolutions based on equality and reciprocity between Palestinians and Israelis. Christison also challenges prevalent media images and emphasizes the importance of terminology: Two examples are the designation of who is a "terrorist" and the imposition of place names (which can pass judgment on ownership). Christison's thoughtful book raises a final disturbing question: If a broader frame of reference on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been employed, allowing a less warped public discourse, might not years of warfare have been avoided and steps toward peace achieved much earlier?

Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy

History

Christison, Kathleen

Middle East

University of California Press

Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy (Updated Edition with a New Afterword)

Ramzy Baroud is a veteran journalist and former producer for Al-Jazeera TV. This is his comprehensive account of the momentous events of the last five years which shaped the political landscape not only of Palestine and Israel but of the entire Middle East region. Addressing the most controversial issues, including the alarming escalation in suicide bombings, and the construction of the Separation Wall, he reports on the huge rate of unemployment and hunger in the Occupied Territories -- statistics so critical that NGOs compare their magnitude to African nations such as the Congo. From the brutality of the Israeli army to the ever-compromising nature of the Palestinian Authority, few are spared Baroud’s thoughtful critique. The book is clear and concise, with one chapter dedicated to the major events of each year, and includes a comprehensive timeline.

The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People's Struggle

Baroud, Ramzy

Christison, Bill

Loewenstein, Jennifer

Pluto Press

Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation

Palestine in Pieces brings personal and pictorial perspectives to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Former CIA political analysts Kathleen and Bill Christison give a comprehensive description of the occupation and the ways in which Israel dominates the Palestinians: Settlements, the Separation Wall, roads restricted to cars with Israeli license plates, home demolitions on a massive scale, imprisonment and mass killings. With more than 50 photographs vividly demonstrating the impact of the occupation on the Palestinian people, the authors argue that Israel's long-term intention is to so fragment the occupied territories that any sustainable presence in the land by Palestinians as a nation will be negated.

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

The views and experiences of 124 Palestinians who live in the United States give remarkable insights and perspective on the profound challenge now facing us in the Middle East. These rarely-heard voices are essential to understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Wound of Dispossession: Telling the Palestinian Story

Sunlit Hills Pr

Justice on the Cross: Palestinian Liberation Theology, the Struggle against Israeli Oppression, and the Church

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Wipf and Stock

Justice on the Cross: Palestinian Liberation Theology, the Struggle Against Israeli Oppression, and the Church

Wipf & Stock Publishers

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