Introductory Books

(click for larger photo)	Arabs & Israel for Beginners
	by Ron David, Susan David (Illustrator)
A true pleasure to read! Accurate and Informative by a Reader from Maryland, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 Thinking myself an "expert" on the Middle East, I hesitated buying this book for a long time, thinking it won't be of any use to me. When I got it, however, I couldn't let go of the book until I finished it from cover to cover - reading the entire thing in one night. Whereas most history books tend to be a drudge, the drawings and cartoons make this book so interesting and engrossing. The humor, which is typical for the "for beginners" series, also helps lighten up this rather heavy topic of blood and conflict. My main surprise with this book is that I actually learned a lot from it, and I am no beginner! It contains almost an encyclopedia of facts about the Arab-Israeli conflicts, and most are backed up by a well-selected bibliography for the curious reader who wishes to embark on his or her own research. Make no mistake. Some of the facts presented are hard to believe at first sight. They stand in stark contrast to the picture painted by the mainstream American media. However upon conducting my own research, I was able to verify most of the facts that shocked me. For example, the facts about the 1948 war can be verified from the scholarly studies by Benny Morris, "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem," and "1948 and After: Israel and the Palestinians". The information in "Arabs and Israel for Beginners" about the (1st) Palestinian Intifada can be corroborated in the classic Israeli treatment of it "Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising", by Don Peretz. Among the shocking facts this book reveals, for example, is the International treatment of Jewish refugees from Europe during the Holocaust, and how every port in the world, including New York City, was closed to their ships, forcing them to go unwillingly to Palestine. In a way then, the whole world participated in creating the Arab-Israeli conflict, but now, fortunately, the world has in this book a great resource from which to learn about this complicated issue. My only regret about this book is that it has not been brought up to date on the latest developments. As it stands, the book ends somewhere near the end of the Oslo Peace Process. The author's prediction on the last page that the peace process is doomed for failure cannot be closer to the truth. Makes an excellent gift for your friends and family. I bought two copies and ended up giving them both away. If you liked this book, you'll also enjoy reading "the UN for beginners", by Ian Williams.

(click for larger photo)	Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
	by Norman G. Finkelstein

(click for larger photo)	Gaza Strip
	by James Longley
Superb Documentary: shows it like it is by a Reader from Washington, DC, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 This is an outstanding documentary movie that shows what life is like for Palestinians in Gaza during the first few months of the second Intifada. James Longley, a young American filmmaker spent 3 1/2 months in the Gaza strip filming 75 hours of footage for this documentary, and the product reflects an accurate picture of what life is like under occupation. This film is remarkable on many counts. First, unlike many documentaries I have seen, there is no narration whatsoever during the whole length of the documentary. I was anticipating Longley would interject a few words here and there to explain the background, but instead, he allows the characters filmed to speak for themselves. Thus "Gaza Strip" looks less like a documentary, without sacrificing the clarity of the work. Another remarkable accomplishment is that Longley filmed and put together the entire feature without knowing a word of Arabic. For editing the 74 minute documentary, he had to rely on a written translation of the 75 hours of original footage. This is an enormous accomplishment, considering the superb quality of the final movie. It is interesting to note also that the music was created by Longley himself, and the artistic quality of some of the scenes also deserve mention. "Gaza Strip" captures many significant features of Gazan life under occupation: the beach being used as a highway when the Israeli army closes the main road; daily Israeli shooting sprees in Rafah; the damage to the buildings from gunfire; home demolitions; the disastrous economic effects, etc.. In one of the most moving scenes, Longley captures an Israeli missile attack on Gaza city, showing how it feels like from the streets. "Gaza Strip" also captures on tape the victims of a strange Israeli chemical attack. The central feature of the movie, however, is young child roaming the streets selling cakes to make a living, who is not shy of the camera and voluntarily acts as a tour guide of his world. James Longley should be commended for making this fine documentary which deserves the highest of awards. I recommend this to anyone wanting to know what really is happening. This is reporting at its best. Welcome to Gaza, fasten your seatbelts, and thank your God that bullets don't go through the TV screen. For a unique experience of the first day of the Intifada in Jerusalem, I recommend you also get Hazim Bitar's "Jerusalem's High Cost of Living". A similar travelogue from the first Intifada can be found in the unique comic documentary "Palestine" by Joe Sacco.

(click for larger photo)	Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle
	by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh
An Opportunity Not to Be Missed by a Reader from Washington, DC, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 If you want to read one book about Palestine/Israel that will profoundly affect you and challenge your perspective, check out "Sharing the Land of Canaan". Mazin Qumsiyeh is one of the brave yet growing few who refuse to succumb to the media portrayal of Canaan as a land forever at war. He dares to see a workable peace between all the region's inhabitants, a peace he so convincingly and eloquently paints before our eyes. Dr. Qumsiyeh searches deep within the confines of history, going back from ancient times to the brink of this century, and extracts a wealth of little-known yet important facts about the history of the region and its conflicts. Even while considering myself a well-read expert on the region, I had learned many things for the first time from the pages of this little book. Though concise, "Sharing the Land of Canaan" is very comprehensive in its coverage, with chapters on ancient Canaan, Genetics, Palestinian Refugees, Zionism, Israeli Laws, Jerusalem, Human Rights, Terrorism, Economics, and more. Dr. Qumsiyeh succeeds where no other writer has: condensing all the complex facets of this human conflict into so few pages, without missing anything of importance. The great thing about this book is its wealth of quotes from primary sources, some of them often hard to find. A wealth of notes and a suggested reading section after every chapter make it an excellent starting point for learning more about this Biblical land. While common wisdom deems peace impossible or beyond the horizon, Dr. Qumsiyeh demonstrates how the current peace processes and visions of peace are in themselves the obstacle towards achieving a lasting peace. He outlines a step-by-step in which you, dear reader, can play a part if you choose to miss this opportunity and stay on the sidelines, listening to the media pundits making the conflict sound unintelligible.

(click for larger photo)	Palestine
	by Joe Sacco
Very Good Art, Accurate, Inspired, Like TinTin by a Reader from Maryland, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 I totally enjoyed reading "Palestine". At first, I didn't know what to expect from a cartoon book like this. However Sacco brilliantly displays his mastery of the cartoon medium, using it to convey very complex ideas and make it understandable and tangible. His characters look so realistic they are almost ready to jump out of the page. I have one Palestinian friend and from what I know the characters and setting are very accurate representations of the people and landscape. The events that take place are also an accurate portrayal of the events in the early 1990s, towards the end of the first Palestinian uprising (or Intifada) against Israeli domination. One particularly memorable sketch is of that old man on p. 62 who describes how the Israelis destroyed his farm, kicked him out of his land, and uprooted his olive trees in order to make room for additional Jewish-only "settlements". "It was like watching my children being killed in front of my eyes" he says about the Olive trees, while in Sacco's sketch you can see the tear-ducts frozen in wrinkles on the man's face. I never appreciated the misery of Palestinians until I read this book. I enjoyed this book so much I absolutely HAD to get Sacco's other books. Notes From a Defeatist represents his earlier works and as thus his skills as a cartoonist are not as well developed as here. The works contained there are generally shorter, too, preventing him from fully developing a topic. Still, it is an interesting and exciting reading, the part on the first war with Iraq is just as applicable today as 12 years ago. The other major Sacco work "Safe Area Gorazde" is truly another masterpiece. I never thought I would ever be able to understand the complexities of the Bosnian conflict until I read Sacco's book which not only told me with words but showed me with pictures what had happened. The same is true with "Palestine", which takes perhaps a more important role now as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is STILL going on. If you like to understand what is happening there, and like to read a good enjoyable book, get it. It is money and time well-spent.
What is it like being a Palestinian? Why should you care? by a Reader from Washington, DC, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 Starting with a typical attitude of "Who cares?" Sacco shows us how his visit to the West Bank and Gaza in the early 1990s transformed him completely. Palestinians have much against them in today's world, not least the stereotypes of "supporting terror" etc, etc that the Israeli propaganda machine heaps on them every day. These stereotypes create a formidable barrier between the Palestinian people and Americans. Americans do not feel like they should even pay attention to these "insignificant terrorists" - and that is precisely the goal of the propagandists in the first place: to silence the Palestinians and prevent their very humanity (let alone their message) from being recognized. Enter Joe Sacco! With master strokes of a cartoonist's pencil, he succeeds Single-handedly in shattering those barriers. For the first time in an American publication, you actually see Palestinians as people, you enter their households, you talk to them, you listen to their problems, and you think about it. Well, so what? If you always thought that the middle east problem is "too complicated" or "has been going on for too long" to be able to understand it, it is time to get out your credit card and buy this book now. In the most enjoyable cartoon style that makes it hard for you to let go of the book, you will see things like you've never witnessed them before. This is the raw human story, not the clinically sterilized CNN version of events, or the dry history book polemics. I guarantee that after reading Sacco's Palestine, something will click and you will finally understand what's been going on, more clearly than you ever have before. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart!

(click for larger photo)	Portraits of Israelis and Palestinians, for my parents
	by Seth Tobocman
"Is She an Arab, or a Jew"? by a Reader from Washington, DC, posted on Tuesday, Sep 30, 2003 Written by an American Jewish artist, this collection of sketches and portraits begins with a challenge. A question is scribbled next to the portrait of an attractive, smiling woman: "Is she an Arab, or a Jew?" Very often the conflict in the middle east is portrayed to us in media snippets as an irresolvable conflict between extremists that has been going on and will go on for centuries. Unsatisfied with this shallow depiction, Tobocman resolved to go to Israel/Palestine and penetrate the layers of journalistic obfuscation to get to the heart of the conflict: the people behind the news. We get to see images of people, on both sides. We get to see what they look like, hear what they say, and understand their fears. Before I bought this book, I browsed through a few pages. It starts with a scene of Israelis boarding a plane going to Israel, then reading the "reports of the latest bombings", and then the Teddy Bear Incident: "El Al Security Checking the Bear". Considering I have actually, believe or not, experienced that incident myself, I decided immediately to buy the book. I'm glad I did. Artistically, the book is visually appearing and an enjoyment to read. The sketches are much more raw and unfinished than, e.g., Joe Sacco's masterpiece "Palestine". Yet this book is somewhat easier to read and perhaps contains a more positive, hopeful, message about the spirit of humanity. Factual and accurate, it is written with a good purpose. To quote the author's introduction: "I don't claim to be an expert on the Middle East. I am neither an Israeli nor a Palestinian. But in many ways, the fate of that region has been in the hands of Americans who aren't experts. Americans like you and me. That's why it's important for us to come to a better understanding of the situation. I hope we make the right decisions.

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