As the Israel-Palestine war enters its fourth day today and Telegram and Twitter are outpacing TV coverage of the current events, many authors and experts have taken to social media to recommend books on Gaza and the Palestine-Israel conflict.
On October 9, Marie-Claire Chappet, a London-based writer and journalist, shared five books in Harper's Bazaar that aim to elucidate the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Her recommendations include "My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel" by Ari Shavit. Chappet calls it an "extraordinary bestselling book" from 2013 which thoroughly examines the profound meaning of Israel to Jews, married with the nation's problematic reality.
Her second recommendation is "In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story" by Ghada Karmi. She says, "This widely acclaimed memoir draws you into the life of Ghada Karmi, a childhood spent in Palestine and a life of displacement and struggle in Britain. She says the book talks about the human cost of losing one's home and reshaping one's identity, written with wit, humor, and often heart-breaking insight."
Her third recommendation is "Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East" by Abdel Monem Said Aly, Shai Feldman, and Khalil Shikaki. Written by a collection of Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian scholars, this is a broad and brilliantly executed discussion. It provides a wider context to the situation in Gaza, situating it within the complex and ever-shifting world of Middle Eastern politics. Views are well-balanced and considered, making this an essential read for anyone new to the subject.
Her fourth book recommendation is "Six Days of War" by historian and former Israeli ambassador Michael B. Oren. This is a comprehensive guide to one of the most pivotal battles between Israel and Palestine.
Chappet's fifth recommendation is "On Palestine" by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé. This seminal book, co-authored by the great American thinker Noam Chomsky and Israeli historian and political activist Ilan Pappé, is an erudite and nuanced account of Palestine's history. First published in 2015, it is billed as an essential guide to understanding the shifting situation and is itself a sequel to their acclaimed book, "Gaza in Crisis."
Nihal Arthanayake, an English radio and TV presenter who broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Live, tweeted, "To understand the context of the horrors currently taking place in Gaza and Southern Israel, watch a documentary called "The Human Factor" by the filmmaker Dror Moreh on @NetflixUK and read @NathanThrall's book "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama."
In his tweet, the writer Nathan Thrall says, "This war did not start this morning. It has been going on for decades. Today's bloodshed is the tip of an iceberg: an iceberg of state violence and ethnic subjugation. Blood will continue to be spilled as long as we ignore the root causes."
Amar Mustafa, a Beirut-based researcher, in a series of tweets, has recommended several books, including "Palestine's Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories" and "Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories" by Ghassan Kanafani.
Mustafa's other recommendation is "The Palestine Communist Party 1919-1948: Arab and Jew in the Struggle for Internationalism" by Musa Budeiri. "I believe this book shatters some myths," she adds.
Mustafa has also recommended "Hundred Years' War on Palestine" by Rashid Khalidi.
Mustafa has previously presented her academic research on the impact of 9/11 on the everyday lives of Arab Muslim women in the Middle East and the diaspora, coining the term "Fusion Feminism," which blends aspects of feminism, local culture, and tradition, and the environment to shape the modern Arab woman.
Norman Finkelstein, author and Jewish poet, in his official Twitter handle, has recommended his own book, "GAZA: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom."
On Facebook, many handles sympathetic to Palestine are recommending books of Israeli-British historian, Avi Shalim. Avi Shlaim is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy. He is one of Israel's New Historians, a group of Israeli scholars who put forward critical interpretations of the history of Zionism and Israel. While Verso-books in its latest Facebook post has recommended, “Ten Myths About Israel.” In this book, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe examines the most contested ideas concerning the origins and identity of the contemporary state of Israel.
