I'm not sure why, but I was expecting this book to be less military heavy. I understand the role of the military, but it felt like the vast majority of this book was a play by play of every military action from Israel. 

That being said, I did learn a lot about the history of Israel and Palestine and I took away a lot from this book. However, it was definitely like a textbook. I think I will look for more succinct summaries that focuses more on the lives of people impacted than a military playbook. 

So much important information that is shared pretty quickly. It was clear to follow how the ethnic cleansing began and cited many sources. I found some of the people and cities sometimes difficult to keep track of but a great resource to hold accountable the atrocities 

“Neither Palestinians, nor Jews, will be saved from one another or from themselves if the ideology that still drives the Israeli policy toward the Palestinians is not correctly identified. The problem with Israel was never its Jewish-ness. Judaism has many faces and many of them provide a solid basis for peace and cohabitation. It is its ethnic Zionist character. Zionism does not have the same margins of pluralism that Judaism offers, especially not for the Palestinians.”
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé

A very detailed, comprehensive history of the Nakba in which Pappé holds nothing back to make sure readers know exactly what happened and just how insidious it was. Pappé dug through archives, recorded conversations, the journal of David Ben-Gurion, and more to lay out the atrocities of the Nakba and how they were allowed to happen.

When I say there's nothing really held back, I mean it. Pappé really goes for the shock factor to make us understand how brutal this was. Hiding mines in destroyed buildings to prevent Palestinians from returning. Conversations where they discuss how to present this to the West so they'll accept the war as “necessary.” Documented name changes in higher-up government officials so they sound more indigenous to the region.

Parts of the book also delve closer to the modern day to show the remnants of the Nakba on Israeli policy toward Palestinians. Although the vast majority is on the years of the Nakba.

“This book is written with the deep conviction that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine must become rooted in our memory and consciousness as a crime against humanity and that it should be excluded from the list of alleged crimes.”

First published almost 20 years ago but is as relevant as it would be if it was published 2 months ago. Just would have had even more insight into recent events leading up to the current genocide.

This is a book I've been meaning to read for years, but present events have pushed it to the top of the pile. This is an invaluable piece of historical analysis that will continue to inform my commitment to decolonization and anti-apartheid movements.

If you’re like me, and you didn’t know a whole lot about the *actual* history between Israel and Palestine, I highly recommend picking up this informative, dark, and yet strangely hopeful book.

It is written by Ilan Pappé, an Israeli Historian who writes with cutting truth about the situation that has been unfolding since 1917. It exposes the hidden darkness behind the Zionist belief system, and analyses the multiple different battles (though battles makes it seem as though there was a fair playing field) with a blinding floodlight, laying it the facts in an incredibly accessible way.

In addition to all that, the narrator for the audiobook was excellent. they were extremely engaging, and kept me hooked for the audiobook’s entirety!

I highly recommend this one for anyone seeking to know more about Palestine. 

#FreePalestine

Not rating non fiction especially something that talks about the genocide of Palestinians.
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