soosoyi's review against another edition
4.0
"We are many. We will prevail".
"European settlers coming to a foreign land, settling there, and either committing genocide against or expelling the indigenous people".
"This particular new discourse is likely to be branded by the Israelis as anti-Semitic. But nowaydays any criticism, even a soft one, of Israel is regarded by the state a akin to anti-Semitism, so it seems this potential accusation should not dissuade us from using the terminology of colonization. Anyone who does not subscribe to the Israeli version of a two-state solution is suspected of being an anti-Semite".
"...in the aftermath of the Second World War, as a hideous crime and moreover one that can lead to genocide - since both crimes you have to dehumanise your victim in order to implement your vision of ethnic purity. Whether you expel or massacre people, including children, they have to be objectified as military targets, not as human beings".
"More important, when once has such a term in the activist's dictionary, he or she realises that ethnic cleansing does not end because it peters out. It ends when the job is completed or is stopped by a more powerful force".
"Heading toward 2020, we will all most probably face a racist, ultra-capitalist, and more expanded Israel still busy ethnically cleansing Palestine".
"Because most of what is interpreted today as Zionism violates, and contradicts, basic human rights and civil rights for anyone who is not a Jew in Israel".
"So the concept of Zionism changed. Everyone had to accept the 'right to exist' of Israel. States do not have the right to exist. Mexico does not accept the rigth of the USA to exist sitting on half of Mexico. States recognize each other but not their right to exist. There is no such thing".
"Nobody should recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Just a we do not recognize the USA as a Christian state".
"...Zionism became a settler-colonialist project and still is one today".
"That's why I think the power of connecting the past to the future comes through the paradigm of settler colonialism. Because settler colonialism is not only about the act of settling and colonising but what happens afterwards". - "Driving out indigenous peoples".
"That's why Europe was the most violent place in the world for centuries. Once a state is established, any citizen is a citizen of the state. No matter who you are, if you are a French citizen, you're French. If you live in Israel, (and) you are an Israeli citizen, you are not a Jew. So the Jewish state concept is a complete anomaly".
"There's a distinction between citizenship and nationality. There is no Israeli nationality. You cannot be an Israelit national. This came up in the courts back in the sixties and came back up recently. A group of Israelis wanted to have their papers identify them as Israelis, not as Jews. It went all the way to the high court, which rejected it".
"'The world hates us because they are all anti-Semitic so we will do what we want.' Nothing is their fault; everything is somebody else's fault, a lot of brutality".
"Europe can also take a position here too. Europe is pretty timid, it doesn't want to bother or interfere with the bosses' [U.S.A] priorities".
"Wait a minute, I understand where this violence comes from, I understand the source of violence. Actually settling [in] my house by force is an act of violence. Maybe they were wrong, maybe they were right to resist by violence, but it begins by the very invasion of my space, the place where I live. This invasion is accompanied by a wish to get rid of me...what else can I do?".
"I invaded your house, but I am generous enough to let you come back and take the sofa with you to the new place".
"European settlers coming to a foreign land, settling there, and either committing genocide against or expelling the indigenous people".
"This particular new discourse is likely to be branded by the Israelis as anti-Semitic. But nowaydays any criticism, even a soft one, of Israel is regarded by the state a akin to anti-Semitism, so it seems this potential accusation should not dissuade us from using the terminology of colonization. Anyone who does not subscribe to the Israeli version of a two-state solution is suspected of being an anti-Semite".
"...in the aftermath of the Second World War, as a hideous crime and moreover one that can lead to genocide - since both crimes you have to dehumanise your victim in order to implement your vision of ethnic purity. Whether you expel or massacre people, including children, they have to be objectified as military targets, not as human beings".
"More important, when once has such a term in the activist's dictionary, he or she realises that ethnic cleansing does not end because it peters out. It ends when the job is completed or is stopped by a more powerful force".
"Heading toward 2020, we will all most probably face a racist, ultra-capitalist, and more expanded Israel still busy ethnically cleansing Palestine".
"Because most of what is interpreted today as Zionism violates, and contradicts, basic human rights and civil rights for anyone who is not a Jew in Israel".
"So the concept of Zionism changed. Everyone had to accept the 'right to exist' of Israel. States do not have the right to exist. Mexico does not accept the rigth of the USA to exist sitting on half of Mexico. States recognize each other but not their right to exist. There is no such thing".
"Nobody should recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Just a we do not recognize the USA as a Christian state".
"...Zionism became a settler-colonialist project and still is one today".
"That's why I think the power of connecting the past to the future comes through the paradigm of settler colonialism. Because settler colonialism is not only about the act of settling and colonising but what happens afterwards". - "Driving out indigenous peoples".
"That's why Europe was the most violent place in the world for centuries. Once a state is established, any citizen is a citizen of the state. No matter who you are, if you are a French citizen, you're French. If you live in Israel, (and) you are an Israeli citizen, you are not a Jew. So the Jewish state concept is a complete anomaly".
"There's a distinction between citizenship and nationality. There is no Israeli nationality. You cannot be an Israelit national. This came up in the courts back in the sixties and came back up recently. A group of Israelis wanted to have their papers identify them as Israelis, not as Jews. It went all the way to the high court, which rejected it".
"'The world hates us because they are all anti-Semitic so we will do what we want.' Nothing is their fault; everything is somebody else's fault, a lot of brutality".
"Europe can also take a position here too. Europe is pretty timid, it doesn't want to bother or interfere with the bosses' [U.S.A] priorities".
"Wait a minute, I understand where this violence comes from, I understand the source of violence. Actually settling [in] my house by force is an act of violence. Maybe they were wrong, maybe they were right to resist by violence, but it begins by the very invasion of my space, the place where I live. This invasion is accompanied by a wish to get rid of me...what else can I do?".
"I invaded your house, but I am generous enough to let you come back and take the sofa with you to the new place".
misspalah's review against another edition
5.0
What an insightful reading! The format might be different than usual normal non fiction book but i didn't care much. Instead, you can see how both prominent writers and activists has different POV but the end target is similar, to end the suffering of Palestinians and to end the Israel Occupation. I gave it 5 stars without hesitation.
aizataffendi's review against another edition
4.0
This book gives a great insight of the Zionist movement, from its inception in the 19th century. About its founders, enablers (most notably the anti-Semitic Christian Zionists), its initial objectives and how that has translated to the many vile and inhumane Israeli policies and atrocities that we see today. The scholars gave an analogy that likened the Zionist regime with the apartheid regime of South Africa in the past and how this has made Israel a pariah state, although the regime is unfazed by this so long as they can piggyback on the support of the US and much of Europe. However, I am agreeable with a number of the reviews here, which mentioned that some bits are repetitive and that the incoherent formats used, whilst unconventional, is a bit annoying.
harinid's review against another edition
4.0
On Palestine was an extremely uncomfortable read for me, for it challenged my current perception of the conflict and handed me new lenses with which I should look at the situation. Chomsky and Peppe through their conversation bring about a view of Israel the coloniser and of Israelis the perpetrators of an apartheid regime. Being an Indian citizen, a country that has suffered at the hands of colonialists and has seen Anglosphere narratives shaping a lot of opinions about her by the outside world- these perspectives surely speak to me emotionally.
Whether you agree with their perspective or not, the book clearly illustrates the role of the west and media in letting certain things go unnoticed, in adopting a certain language and key phrases in describing the situation and conveniently blocking out a lot of the stories that need to be told from this part of the world. Whatever your take may be on the situation, you will be left richer after reading this conversation On Palestine by two Israelis.
Whether you agree with their perspective or not, the book clearly illustrates the role of the west and media in letting certain things go unnoticed, in adopting a certain language and key phrases in describing the situation and conveniently blocking out a lot of the stories that need to be told from this part of the world. Whatever your take may be on the situation, you will be left richer after reading this conversation On Palestine by two Israelis.