BOOKS
Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 – Tanya Reinhardt: This Israeli historian offers the best and most-recent analysis of the peace process and the Oslo Accords. Reinhardt is critical of all parties and provides insightful ideas for the resolution of the conflict.
Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict – Norman Finklestein: A compelling and thorough critique of existing historical narratives for the conflict and its origins. Finklestein takes on the issues of the refugee problem, the Six Days War, and Zionist ideology. One of the most important works regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World – Avi Shlaim: One of the so-called Revisionist Israeli historians, Shlaim covers the majority of Israel’s history from pre-statehood to the 1990’s. A good introduction to the history of the conflict.
The End of the Peace Process – Edward Said: A series of essays that form an excellent and highly introspective critique of the “peace process.” Said is unflinching in his criticism of Israeli and American policy, but the recurrent theme is a criticism of Arab leadership and society and how both have dealt with Israel.
Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians – Noam Chomsky: A thorough, well-documented political analysis of the history of Zionism and the US-Israeli relationship. Intensely critical; not light-hearted reading.
A Peace to End all Peace: the Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East – David Fromkin: Fromkin provides an interesting and insightful view into the history of World War I and how Great Britain came to impose an arbitrary and short-sighted peace settlement on the Middle-East which eventually gave rise to many of the modern problems and conflicts.
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid – Jimmy Carter: “Following his #1 New York Times bestseller, Our Endangered Values, the former president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel with dignity and justice to Palestine.” For more info on this provocative new book by our former president, please follow the link above.
ONLINE
Electronic Intifada
This is the premier site for coverage of on-the-ground events in the Occupied Territories. Electronic Intifada provides analysis of international media coverage of the conflict, focusing on coverage within the United States, and also provides a voice for Palestinians on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. With the recent outbreaks of violence in Iraq and Lebanon, the EI webmasters have also opened Electronic Iraq and Electronic Lebanon.Middle East Children’s Alliance
This Berkeley-based humanitarian organization is one of PSC’s closest allies. MECA raises money for direct-aid for Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel, hosts guest speakers on the conflict in the Bay Area, coordinates delegation trips so that Americans can witness events in the West Bank and Gaza first-hand, among numerous other activities. Students from the UT PSC have participated in MECA’s delegations and in 2005 PSC worked with MECA to bring twenty Palestinian children to Austin to perform debka dance and raise money for the Ibdaa cultural center in Dehaisha refugee camp.Website of Norman Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein is a professor of political theory at the University of DePaul and he received his doctorate from Princeton in 1988. He is an ardent supporter of the Palestinian cause and an uncompromising critic of Israel and its apologists, whom he accuses of creating the illusion of controversy where no controversy actually exists in order to obfuscate the issues and make the conflict seem impenetrable, while Israel continues its policies of expansionism and “creating facts on the ground.” Finkelstein has twice lectured at the University of Texas and is one of our most popular invited speakers.International Solidarity Movement
The ISM is the global movement which brings internationals to the Occupied Territories to work with Palestinians on the ground and assist in non-violent resistance to the occupation.B’Tselem
An Israeli human rights organization that documents human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza.
