Home :: Books :: Nonfiction  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction

Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid

The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid

List Price: $20.00
Your Price: $13.60
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: an extremely valuable work
Review: (...) This book is specifically designed to address very topical issues, such as: the causes of the latest uprising against Israeli occupation, what the situation in Palestinian land has been since the uprising began, whether or not the American media has been objective in its reporting of events, what actually happened during the negotiations between Barak and Arafat at Camp David, etc. Detailed maps of what exactly was offered at Camp David are provided - something that you never see in the general, mainstream media.

Why do I give this book five stars? Because it reveals many things that it is simply not possible to learn from reading the NY Times, Washington Post, etc., and because it is very well presented - both well argued and complete. The descriptions of what life is like in the occupied territories is quite stunning, not at all what I was expecting. It is also quite shocking to see what it is that was offered by Barak at Camp David - and what the media so gratiously refer to as a "generous offer." It may very well have been the best offer ever, but it was still a far cry from adequate - a literal swiss cheese, full of holes. And on that point, there are some very objective and scientific studies that explain why it is that so many people refer to the American media as biased.

The arguments made are very strong and very convincing. The book brings together writers of varied backgrounds - Jews, Arabs, and westerners. It may not as some people have correctly pointed out be a complete account of what the entire history of this very old conflict, but that wasn't the point of this book. Its purpose is to address the New Intifada, and it does it extremely well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eye-Awakening
Review: ... A book which is so heavily biased in favour of the Palestinian side and which presents such a vast amount of selective omission in relation to so many vital issues that the book lacks any credibility.

The dictionary definition of the term "apartheid", purposely chosen for the title of this book, is in fact "racial segregation". Yet, whilst the book selectively pursues chosen examples to pursue further hostility against the Jewish state along such lines of racial discrimination, the book simultaneously fails to address the official Palestinian policy supporting the eviction of Jews from the autonomous Palestinian territories. A policy whereby the Palestinians selectively referred to here convict themselves by their own words of the alleged self-same actions.

The book presents no context of the unprovoked terrorism and violence against Israeli civilians which has forced the Israelis' hand to prevent Palestinian access to certain areas. A policy deliberately described in the book as "apartheid". Indeed no explanation is made in this book as to why Jews are forbidden similar access to Palestinian controlled areas without any reason other than that pertaining to their Jewish race.

No acknowledgement is made of the fact that Israel has shown itself prepared to accommodate the habitation of Palestinians and Arabs within their midst and within the boundaries of the Jewish state. A fact not reciprocated when the roles are reversed. Also ignored is the fact that the Arabs concerned possess far more rights in Israel than in any surrounding Arab country.

The sworn agenda of the PLO to eradicate the Jewish state, which has not been rescinded, is another matter not referred to. There is indeed too much selective omission here to list every issue.

... Even the selective use of photographs portrays only the Palestinian side of the story. The Israeli victims of this ongoing conflict are again conspicuous by their absence.

The book fails to present any Jewish/Israeli view of the situation that is not in parallel with the tone of the whole presented work. The book is instead full of allegations and anti-Israeli hostility although it does contain some examples whereby even the Palestinian leadership under Yasser Arafat is criticised. The responsibility and policies of the Palestinian/Arab world for the plight of the Palestinian people are mostly ignored.

Regrettably, however, if you want a truthful account of this subject and one that portrays both sides of this conflict, you will have to look elsewhere. Might I respectfully suggest to those who wish to discover how innocent Jewish civilians are suffering that they read "Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times" by Judy Lash Balint.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a voice in the wilderness
Review: Finally a voice of reason in the wilderness. A brilliant collection of intellgent, educated and reasoned accounts of the deplorable situation in the occupied terrorities. Having read this it has become clear to me that most media accounts of what is actually happening in the terrorities are distorted and unfortunately fail to 'inform' their audiences about the inhumane situation that Palestinians are living in. Chomsky, Said and others have produced a book that is a step in the right direction of setting things straight.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A-must-read and a-must-share for those interested in peace
Review: In The New Intifada editor Roane Carey has brought together an exemplary collection of essays from twenty-one writers on the uprising launched September 2000 in the occupied lands of Palestine. The effects of the Israeli repression and violence against the Palestinians (economic and military violence) are revealed, as is the mainstream media's (mis)representation of the issue. Most powerfully presented is the deconstruction of the myths of the Oslo Accords, revealing that the 'peace process' never was a process towards peace, but rather, as Mouin Rabbani proves, "a process that necessarily leads to separation within the occupied territories under continued Israeli hegemony, as opposed to the partition of Palestine through a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In doing so it formalizes arrangements tantamount to apartheid."

The strength of the book is not only in the well-researched studies, but in the inclusion of the voices of the people most affected in this struggle. We hear from "the forgotten people of the camps in Lebanon who do not allow themselves to forget about Palestine," from those in refugee camps in the occupied territories, from students enduring constant bombing in a Palestinian town, and from Palestinians within Israel. And, we hear about one of the critical, though all too often ignored, crux issues: the right of return of the 5 million Palestinian refugees. We also hear from the Israeli peace movement (though there is no mention of how many of those Israeli peace activists support the right of return of Palestinians).

The book ends with a powerful - though all too short - appeal for organized and sustained activism to liberate Palestinians from occupation and apartheid. ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eye-Awakening
Review: No other book on the whole subject of Palestine/Israel has been so efficacious on my opinion as this book. Although it is a collection of articles by various authors, the articles themselves are well-chosen, well-organized. The maps are the very important, yet the most useful part, I think, was the section talking about the US media bias and the final section about the refugees. This book just has a massive amount of information and sources, yet its great legacy is that it successfully addresses the researcher as well as the basic reader with limited information on the subject.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Anti-Semitic lie
Review: The book is typical example of Geobbels anti-Semitic propaganda which objective is promoting anti-Semitism around the world. Similar propaganda was popular between poor educated German burgers in 1930s and Soviet alcoholics in 1960s-70s.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Should Jews have human rights?
Review: There's an issue here, all right. Should Jews have human rights? And the answer provided by the authors in this volume is, in effect, no. If you agree, then this book is for you!

There's no doubt that there's been plenty of Arab violence since the breakdown of peace talks at the end of the Clinton administration. Well, this book doesn't apologize for it. It merely boasts about it!

What about apartheid and racism? There's plenty of it in this book. And making sure there are no Jews in the West Bank is, of course, ethnic cleansing.

This is truly one-sided propaganda against human rights.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: fantastic book to the root causes of Palestinian issue
Review: This book is actually 20 papers (chapters) written by as many different authors including Jennifer Loewenstein, Robert Fisk, and Edward Said to name a few. These chapters are organized under 4 sections, the first dealing with issues of repression and resistance, the second on media facts and propaganda, the third on refugees and right of return, the last on activism.

References are found at the end of most chapters (with the exception of interview transcripts and such). This book makes no qualms about exposing Arafat as an irresponsible leader, and definitely points the finger at the PLO as not having the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart.

Politics and money have corrupted the Palestinian leadership, and these points are what make the book altruistic in its interpretation of the conflict. Far from painting a rosey picture of Arafat and his croneys, the book succinctly distinguishes government from the people, and fundamentalists from that population such that no blanketing statements are made for or against either side.

The book's purpose is to give a Palestinian point-of-view and does not hide this fact, but it is this openess and frankness that readers will find refreshing. This book makes a great supplement to your further readings on the issue.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read this book if you want the Palestinian view.
Review: This is an excellent introduction to the Palestinian point of view regarding their situation vis-a-vis Israel. It reads well, covering a lot of different territory ranging from personal experience, to Oslo, and to the Palestinian question under international law. It is also disturbing, telling a story that Americans are largely unfamiliar with and don't want to acknowledge. At first I was dumbfounded then amused to read the reviews referring to the book as an example of "Goebbels anti-semitic propaganda," and the "Should Jews have human rights... the answer...in effect no." Nothing could be farther from the truth. I'm left guessing that the reviewers didn't actually read the book, or if they did, their own bias and sense of Jewish victim hood left them incapable of recognizing that an equally valid Palestinian narrative exists.


<< 1 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates