The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction

What was behind the Arab - Israel conflict? I had a vague idea about Zionism and that Israel is a few months older than I am but was otherwise ignorant. Reading a biography of Einstein, Zionism came up again - as a Jew and a very public figure in the first half of the 20th century how could it not? So I decided to find out more and bought this Kindle edition. Martin Bunton has, in my opinion, provided a thorough and well written guide to the historical causes behind the conflict. The post first world war dividing up of the Ottoman empire, the British wish to protect the security of its trade routes. The disregard for native Arabs who formed 90% of the population with Jews making up the remaining 10% living on what was effectively and unnamed land provide some of the ingredients. The whole population never having experienced self determination being passed from one empire to another. The buying up of the most fertile land by Jews, usually from rich absentee Arab, dare we say Islamic, landowners providing the embryo of the state of Israel are described without criticism. I could go on but recommend you read the book. If you are put off by the title which suggests brevity don't be. The book is not as short as the title suggests. One, perhaps at least one, reviewer complained about the small size of the graphics in the Kindle edition. On Android tablets, and I think on Kindle devices but my battery is flat and I can't check this until later. These can be viewed full screen by holding the finger on the image until the menu appears and selecting the magnify symbol.

As a so-called specialist on the topic I read this with a degree of hesitation as I wanted something balanced and accurate for my under graduate and post graduate students. This is the best 'introduction' I have found. It is succinct, accessible and balanced. All you could ask. It is very good and for any one who wants a fair idea (it can do no more than that) this is as good a starting point as any.

The book covers the the history from 1897 to when the book was published in 2013. Each chapter covers a decade of the conflict so it's easy to read short portions at a time. There are good, relevant maps covering different periods of the conflict. All in all its a very readable and informative book.

This is a fair description and assessment of the history of the conflict. Recommended as a good place to start.

Bought this book as a first "comprehensive" overview of this conflict, knowing full well that such an overview would be difficult to write given the complexities of the topic. Overall, this is a useful first overview of some key dates and developments - however, it is clearly not an unbiased account. I do find it questionable that this is sold as academic neutrality (which probably says more about the myth of "academic neutrality" than the author, to be fair). So yes, I found this useful to get a first idea of major happenings, but please don't take the presented evaluations and commentaries at face value, as they are biased. Where the narrative ought to shift towards criticism of "the other side" as well, the narrative tends to stop. Some quotes especially at the end seem added mainly to avoid the accusation of bias. So, yes, do read it - but do so with caution.

I am 76 and have been following this car crash for a lifetime. Martin Brunton has described the whole affair in a manner that is succinct and highly readable. It should be a set book for every school and every aspiring politician in UK, read this and give copies to your friends. Then at least all of us will have a grasp of the background as we urge leaders to grapple with the search for progress.

A very good short introduction A balanced survey from the beginnings to the present day. The Israeli government should read it and understand what an extraordinarily generous offer the Palestinians are making when they take the 67 borders in negotiating a two state settlement.

Its a very complex issue but this book breaks this down concisely

With the Palestine-Israel conflict in the news for the last few months, and the polarization it produce, I wanted to have a better background of the topic to form my own opinion. Is Israel really a setter colonial state? Is Hamas justified in it's actions? Who really is the attacker and who is defending themselves? This book does not answer those questions. At least, not explicitly. And that is a good thing, because that is exactly what I was looking for. The author simply narrates the events without giving his opinions. True objectivity is impossible, the author can shift the narrative based on which events he decided to include and what he decided to exclude. But this book looks pretty balanced, and I feel it was written with the genuine intent to be as objective as possible. And that is appreciated in this polarizing climate. This book was written in 2013, so it obviously does not have the developments of the last 10 years (I think this book is a prime candidate to release a second edition). But the historical development of the conflict is there. It's also relatively short and easy to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the current political climate.

Llegó extraordinariamente rápido y en unas condiciones fabulosas, parecía nuevo. El contenido del libro es tal y como aparece descrito en la página web y es bastante útil para conocer la realidad del conflicto, con mapas interesantes.

This book does an excellent job of giving a clear and comprehensive overview of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a compact format. It covers the history, politics, and key events without overwhelming the reader, making it approachable for someone new to the subject. Despite being part of the “Very Short Introduction” series, it doesn’t feel shallow. The explanations are balanced and thoughtful, providing enough depth to understand the complexity of the conflict while still being easy to follow. A great starting point for anyone wanting to learn about this topic, and a solid reference to keep on the shelf.

A perceptive and accessible introduction to a seemingly intractable topic which has been made so by unjust policies of powerful states. The author has explained in a lucid way the different periods since Theodor Herzl's publication of Der Judenstaat in 1896 and the word Zionist Congress in the next year through the creation of Israel in 1948 to the Arab-Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973 and the Palestinian intifadas, failure of peace efforts and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The author's palpable sympathy towards Palestinian cause is understandable as this is no longer a "neutral" conflict. The timeline given at the end of the book adds to its lucidity. All in all, a must read for those who're interested to sift through the deluge of opinions about the conflict from various quarters in India (mostly prejudiced one way or the other).

Succinct summary of a complicated situation.