What Does Israel Fear from Palestine? - by Raja Shehadeh (Paperback)

About the Book

"A poignant, incisive meditation on Israel's longstanding rejection of peace, and what the war on Gaza means for Palestinian and Israeli futures. When apartheid in South Africa ended in 1994, dismantled by internal activism and global pressure, why did Israel continue to pursue its own apartheid policies against Palestinians? In keeping with a history of antagonism, the Israeli state accelerated the establishment of settlements in the Occupied Territories as extreme right-wing voices gained prominence in government, with comparatively little international backlash. Condensing this complex history into a lucid essay, Raja Shehadeh examines the many lost opportunities to promote a lasting peace and equality between Israelis and Palestinians. Since the creation of Israel in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe, each side's perception of events has strongly diverged. What can this discrepancy tell us about Israel's undermining of a two-state solution? And will the current genocide in Gaza finally mark a shift in the world's response? With graceful, haunting prose, Shehadeh offers insights into a defining conflict that could yet be resolved"--

Book Synopsis

A poignant, incisive meditation on Israel's longstanding rejection of peace, and what the war on Gaza means for Palestinian and Israeli futures.

When apartheid in South Africa ended in 1994, dismantled by internal activism and global pressure, why did Israel continue to pursue its own apartheid policies against Palestinians? In keeping with a history of antagonism, the Israeli state accelerated the establishment of settlements in the Occupied Territories as extreme right-wing voices gained prominence in government, with comparatively little international backlash.

Condensing this complex history into a lucid essay, Raja Shehadeh examines the many lost opportunities to promote a lasting peace and equality between Israelis and Palestinians. Since the creation of Israel in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe, each side's perception of events has strongly diverged. What can this discrepancy tell us about Israel's undermining of a two-state solution? And will the current genocide in Gaza finally mark a shift in the world's response?

With graceful, haunting prose, Shehadeh offers insights into a defining conflict that could yet be resolved.

Review Quotes

"[Shehadeh's] searching analysis offers insights for readers coming new to the situation and others who wish to face it afresh." --The Guardian

"A brief history of a long tragedy. Shehadeh, a lawyer, a human rights campaigner, and Palestine's best writer, was born in Ramallah in 1951 and is still there, watching the ever-diminishing land, security, freedom, connection to the ancient past, and hope of his people. This measured, desperate account of what led to the horrors that have unfolded since October 7, 2023, explains, as it mourns, a great deal." --Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year

"Shehadeh's clarity of thought, conversational voice, and sharp analysis render this book a quick, fascinating read, and his passion for his people and their plight infuse the book with exactly the right pace and tone. A concise, essential history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Elegantly written...suffused with anger without descending into bitterness." --Irish Times

"This short, personal volume gives historical and political context to Israeli and Palestinian relations...A hard-hitting and necessary conversation." --Library Journal

"Shehadeh's insightful writing provides a deep understanding of a conflict that, despite its long and painful history, still holds the potential for resolution...essential reading for those seeking to understand the enduring complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shehadeh's articulate essay not only illuminates the past but also offers hope for a future where peace and equality might prevail." --EuropeNow

Praise for Raja Shehadeh:

"Palestine's greatest prose writer." --The Observer

"In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, his self-questioning and insistence on focusing on the experience of the individual within the storms of nationalist myth and hubris, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi." --New York Times Book Review

"Shehadeh is a great inquiring spirit with a tone that is vivid, ironic, melancholy, and wise." --Colm Tóibín

"Shehadeh is a buoy in a sea of bleakness." --Rachel Kushner

About the Author

Raja Shehadeh is one of Palestine's leading writers. He is also a lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books including Strangers in the House, Occupation Diaries, Palestinian Walks, which won the prestigious Orwell Prize, and We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Other Press, 2023), which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.