Debbie Jacob

THE ISRAELI/HAMAS war is complicated, and it is about more than terrorism and the Gaza Strip. No story about Israel and Palestine can be told without examining ancient world history in the Middle East, the effects of colonialism on the region, the creation of the Jewish state, and key Middle Eastern leaders who have shaped the politics of the region.

Below are the books I have read over the years to understand the history and politics of the region.

1. A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion by Tom Segev - Journalist/historian Segev combines his expertise in both fields, sifting through archives and interviewing sources to create a complex portrait of Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. This is essential reading to understand the roots of Zionism's extreme nationalism with no place for Palestinians in Israel.

2. Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel by Francine Klagsbrun - Meir's biography is a story of political consciousness forged from being a persecuted Jew in Czarist Russia, where she was born in 1898, and an early life in the US shaped by socialism. When she moved to Israel to live on a kibbutz, David Ben-Gurion quickly noted her leadership qualities. Klagbrun creates a well-rounded picture of Israel's first woman prime minister.

3. Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman - This multiple award-winning book tells the chilling history of Mossad and Israel's assassination programme, justified by Israel's politicians as necessary for the country's survival. This book has haunted me since I read it years ago. Bergman presents detailed descriptions of Mossad's political assassinations.

4. Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel by Dan Ephron - Weaving together the stories of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's life - particularly his last days - with the life of Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist, Ephron presents a chilling account of Rabin's assassination and its impact on Israel. Superb writing makes readers feel they are present in these events.

5. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe - Renowned Israeli historian Pappe tells the horrific story of 400 Palestinian villages destroyed by Israel. This Palestinian genocide, often called "ethnic cleansing," presents important historical and political background information for all Israeli/Palestinian conflicts.

6. The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories by Ilan Pappe - This follow-up to The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine has much of the same information as the previous book, but concentrates more on the confinement of Palestinians in designated areas.

6. The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty - Here, historian Ilan Pappe presents the story of the Husaynis who ruled Palestine from 1700 to 1948. Covering Napoleon's invasion, the occupation by the Ottoman Empire, World War I, colonialism, and the effects of Zionism on the region, Pappe gives today's problems a historical context.

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