From the Publisher
"I believe that discussions of whether a one-state or a two-state solution to this conflict is preferable have a slightly surreal quality in the current critical environment. What has to be done is not to debate how many states can dance on the head of a pin, but rather to devise how to reverse& mdash;very rapidly& mdash;the powerful current dynamic and get the Palestinian people out of the state they are in. The highly inequitable de facto one-state 'solution' now in effect looks more and more entrenched, but, paradoxically, I predict it will become more and more untenable and more violently unstable as time goes on."-From the new introduction
The foundational text on everyone's reading list, Palestinian Identity now features a new introduction by the author that reflecting on the significance of his work over the past decade and its relationship to the struggle for Palestinian nationhood. Khalidi also considers the future, expressing cautious optimism toward Israel's recognition of a Palestinian political entity yet wondering whether such acknowledgement will lead to Palestinian statehood and independence.
Edward Said
Khalidi's massive study of the construction of Palestinian national identity is a pathbreaking work of major importance. It is the first book to work from the premise that such an identity does in fact exist, and then proceeds to uncover its overlapping layers, historical phases, and tragic setbacks with a complete mastery of the relevant literature in Arabic, Hebrew and Western sources.
Foreign Affairs
A major contribution to historical Palestinian nationalism.
Booknews
Describes the origins and development of Palestinian nationalism, addressing both the ongoing questions and prevailing misconceptions. Khalidi (history, U. of Chicago) suggests that the growth of Palestinian nationalism was not merely a response to Zionism. He illuminates the sources of collective Palestinian identity from the late Ottoman Empire onward, examining factors such as religious beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, local loyalties, education, Palestinian scholars, the Arab press, and British colonization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Kirkus Reviews
An impressively thoughtful, layered, and well documented study of key aspects of the evolution of modern Palestinian nationalism.
Those expecting either a comprehensive history of the modern Palestinian movement or a polemic against Zionism and Israel should look elsewhere. Khalidi, who teaches history and directs the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago, and who was a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Mideast peace negotiations, focuses almost entirely on the late Ottoman and early Mandate period (1880s through 1920s). He sees Palestinian nationalism emerging far earlier than is generally thought—in the preWW I period, when absentee landlords in Beirut and elsewhere sold large tracts of Palestinian land to the Jewish Colonization Association. Yet while modern Palestinian history is inextricably intertwined with that of Zionism, Khalidi focuses as much on other constituents of modern Palestinian identity, which include "patriotic feelings, local loyalties, Arabism, religious sentiments, [and] higher levels of education and literacy." He demonstrates how the long-term influence of modernization, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and concomitant European incursion in the preWW I era, followed by the betrayal of promises made by both the British and French, contributed as much to Palestinian nationalism as the 1917 Balfour Declaration and Zionist immigration. The only flaw here is that Khalidi races through the last 70 years of the development of Palestinian identity. Even here, however, he offers a fascinating analysis of why Palestinian nationalism seemingly became "submerged" after the first Arab- Israeli War (194749) and until the PLO's founding in 1964.
At a time when the end of the hundred years' war between Zionism/Israel and the Palestinians appears on the horizon, this illuminating study will help readers gain a sophisticated understanding of how the Palestinians came to be who they are.
loading...