What books would you recommend someone to learn about the I/P conflict that try to remain as objective as possible (obviously everyone has their biases but)
Iām probably the worst person to ask about intro-level books because I tend to jump head-first into subjects, but I think the first books I read on this topic were Yitzhak Rabinās memoirs and Son of Hamas by Mosab Yousef Hussein (ironically, I found the Palestinian writer to be more sympathetic to Israelis, and the Israeli writer to be more sympathetic to Palestinians). Palestine 1936 is probably the best starting place; it paints a really clear picture of what the political landscape looked like post-Ottomans and immediately pre-Holocaust, and I donāt think itās possible to understand the conflict today without understanding the connection from the Arab Revolt -> White Paper -> Evian Conference -> Holocaust -> DP camps -> 1948. In that vein, I recommend not a book, but a series of lectures given by Haviv Rettig Gur at Shalem College, on how Israelis and Palestinians understand themselves and each other, as probably the best stepping-off place into this quagmire of history:
I donāt agree with Haviv on everything, but I respect him a lot because he is very fair and very honest, and cares deeply about understanding Palestinian history to the point where heās able to argue quite strongly from their perspective.
Hope thatās helpful to you! If thereās one thing Iāve learned while studying, itās that thereās always so much more to learn and the reading never truly stops, to the point where many professors of this history say that you could study it several lifetimes and never fully understand it.
Getting to this a couple days late (apologies, I was in a hurry before) but I want to add a few more sources and this disclaimer:
Youāre not going to find an unbiased source on this topic, and the best sources are first-hand accounts that are deeply biased. Youāre going to have to wade through those to the best of your ability and decide for yourself how much weight to give to each account. I generally tend to give more credence to Israeli sources, because they more freely acknowledge nuance, causation, and the Jewish experience. I canāt speak to the Palestinian experience, and I openly admit that many parts of it confuse me; I find it frustrating that Palestinian historians tend to assume that for their history to be meaningful and righteous, they need to supersede, deny, or rewrite Jewish history, whereas Israeli historians generally are able to grapple with both experiences at the same time. The top three books that show up when you google Palestinian History, the books that have been front and centre at libraries for the past two years, engage in Holocaust revisionism, Temple denial, reject the existence of an ancient Israel/Judaea, and, moreover, revise Palestinian history to ignore the largest massacre of Palestinians in the 20th century. These ideas, and the conspiracy theories that accompany them, are mainstream in Palestinian scholarship, and it undermines much of their writing.
I do recommend reading Khalidiās Hundred Years War on Palestine, not because I find it to be good history or an accurate reflection of what Palestinians actually believe, but because itās a fantastic representation of how English-speaking antizionists understand Palestinian history, and I think it puts a lot of our current politician climate into context. This is the most popular book on the conflict right now.
In that same thread, I recommend Edward Saidās Orientalism; itās considered a foundational text of postmodern decolonial thought, and offers important insight into the ways that Europeans have historically viewed themselves in opposition to the Eastern Other (though Saidās personal story, as many have pointed out, is less than honest, and he neglects that for most of European history, the Eastern Other was represented by the Jews and the Romani).
Musa Alamiās The Lesson of Palestine is an invaluable account from a Palestinian who served in government during the British Mandate, witnessed the Arab Revolt and 1948 firsthand, and spent most of the rest of his life building a farm and an orphanage in the West Bank; heās a strong humanitarian, and I appreciate that he doesnāt omit Palestinian agency in his work. Parts of it do read like something straight out of the Protocols, but unfortunately the Protocols are going to be background noise in almost all Palestinian writing.
Constantine Zuraykās The Meaning of the Nakba (1948) is a foundational text in Palestinian history. His arguments on the basis of justice and self-determination are strong and compelling, and they reflect what Palestinian delegates to the UN were saying throughout the 40s. Unfortunately, he also goes fully into the Protocols in the last third of it, but the first sixty pages are absolutely worth reading; they actually reminded me a lot of Thomas Paineās writing during the American War of Independence.
I also highly recommend In Ishmaelās House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands. Itās difficult to find English-language sources for Mizrahi history, but this book has a really good overview from Khaybar to the dhimmi laws to the expulsions of the 20th century.
Ghosts of a Holy War began as a history of the Hebron pogrom of 1929 ā that oneās actually quite near to my heart; I had a family friend growing up whose family fled to Egypt after the pogrom. Yardena Schwartz doesnāt stop in 1929, though; she chronicles the aftermath all the way to 2024. This one is really well written, and she interviews the Israeli and Palestinian descendants of the victims and participants in a way that both humanizes them and makes very clear their understanding of their place on the land.
For post-10/7 books, I recommend Hostage by Eli Sharabi and especially recommend When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin. Sharabi has a unique perspective on the inner-workings of Hamas throughout the past two years, and Rachel Goldberg-Polin ā I have no words for her. Sheās remarkable, and someone I have the utmost respect for. I have yet to read any books here that I feel do justice to the Palestinian experience ā most are written by non-Palestinians using Gaza as set dressing for their own American grievances ā though theyāve obviously had more pressing concerns than writing and publishing over the past couple years. If anyone has any recommendations, Iād be grateful.
Lastly, I recommend Hamasā charter (both versions), the Palestinian Basic Law, and Israelās Declaration of Independence. Having written several constitutions myself, I believe that theyāre an invaluable source of a communityās values and beliefs, and that you should always balance your understanding of their beliefs on both their ideals and their actions, and I was surprised and impressed by some of the social ideals laid out by the PA in the Palestinian Basic Law.
EDIT: Adding Simon Sebag Montefioreās Jerusalem: A Biography to the list. He quotes Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi in saying that where Jerusalem is concerned, the stories matter as much as the truth, and he does justice to both; this is as exhaustive and balanced a history as youāre going to get, and I really enjoyed it ā though I will dock points for careless use of the Tetragrammaton.
Also adding I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctorās Journey by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. I cannot recommend this book enough; Iām tempted to call it required reading. His rachmones and humanitarian philosophy remind me deeply of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, and he lays out very clearly how there is no solution other than peace and coexistence. I have a great respect for people who have been through the worst imaginable circumstances and double down on their commitment to peace; strategically, it is the only possible way forward.
Thank you so much for the ask! I hope you find this helpful.
