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Title: The Question of Palestine by Edward W. Said ISBN: 0-679-73988-2 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 April, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Taking Sides
Comment: Does the fact that I am an Israeli Jew living in Israel mean that I should reject this book ? Does the fact that I think the book is crucially important mean that I am "taking sides" ?
I believe otherwise. I found this book to be very important, as it is an account of a Palestinian - an admittedly interested party in the conflict. Said knows about the Jews and Zionism much more than most Israeli Jews know about the Palestinians. But of course - Said is never "objective" - he himself is a refugee, who describes the side of Zionism as he and many others like him experienced.
Said shows surprising understanding of Zionism - he even says that one cannot compare the situation in Israel to that which existed in South Africa. He says that things here are more complicated. Said acknowledges the achievements of Zionism as far as Jews are concerned, another surprise.
I felt a deep passion for peace and compromise in this book - I believe that the author accepts the reality of a Jewish state in Israel. However, Said points out that no such peace can be achieved as long as Palestinian dreams are constantly shattered or ignored.
There are two sides to this story - I am on one and Said is on the other. Still, this book is important because it acknowledges the existance of two sides, and thus provides a road to conciliation that is so important to all of us.
I think every Jew and every Paelstinian should read this book, and so should evreybody with a serious interest in our troubled piece of land.
Rating: 5
Summary: Ignored or Denied
Comment: In this book Edward Said presents an argument for the right of Palestinians to the land known as Palestine. Since the 7th century Palestine had been predominantly Arab. For example a 1922 census showed that 78% of the population was Arab. With the creation of Israel in 1948 by the UN, these Arabs were dispersed quite often by force. Ironically 1948 is the same year that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared that everyone has the right to return to his own country. The right of the Palestinians has been ignored or denied. Not even a plebiscite represents their point of view.
His argument is compeling. Edward Said writes logically and with insight. If finally the reader does not agree with him, the reader will surely think long and hard about it.
Rating: 1
Summary: Overcharged with ideology
Comment: The good thing about the book is that it is very well written and in a clear fashion. This renders such a diffucult topic understandable.
But the content is completely ideological and does not present the facts. It blames the corruption in arab's leadership for the suffering of the palestinians, but suggests this corrpution exists and was encouraged as a reaction to european orientalsm and zionist "occupation".
So at first the book starts with somewhat of a critic to arab leadership, but ends up suggesting zionism and related ideologies as "sources of arab corrpution".
This point is not new. It rather the norm in Edward Said's works. And the people who know the goodwill of jews know that the point he tries to make falls by its own contradictions.
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Title: Orientalism by Edward W. Said ISBN: 039474067X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 October, 1979 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians by Noam Chomsky, Edward W. Said ISBN: 0896086011 Publisher: South End Press Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: Culture and Imperialism by Edward W. Said ISBN: 0679750541 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 31 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Covering Islam : How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World by Edward W. Said ISBN: 0679758909 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Politics of Dispossession : The Struggle for Palestinian Self-Determination, 1969-1994 by Edward W. Said ISBN: 0679761454 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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