I will start by saying I am a Jew with deep historical, recent historical, and  current ties to the land of Israel. On top of this, I was a student of Middle East studies in undergrad and wrote a thesis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So to properly review the book I need to acknowledge that my politics are a little bit further left than Yossi Klein Halevi’s.

This said, I appreciate what he was trying to do here. In an era where so much antisemitism is driven under the guise of anti-Zionism, and the dismantling and denial of Jewish history, peoplehood, and indigeneity, is unfortunately baked in not only to western activism, but polling has shown, Palestinian society as well, laying out our history and connection openly and graciously is an important task. Halevi does it well.

My one gripe with the book is that it is often framed as two equal sides. I understand the impulse. The power dynamic in this conflict was the reverse only a century ago. And while Israel certainly has greater power now, it still exists in a world and region hostile to it where Arabs are the clear majority. But to ignore the power dynamic and that Israel currently has more power to change the status quo, is a problem.

All this said, I appreciated the inclusion of Palestinian responses at the end, and I would encourage folks to read editions of the book that include them.