Palestine and the Palestinians - Review

Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Spring, 1999 by Husam A. Mohamad

Samih K. Farsoun with Christina E. Zacharia. Boulder: Westview Press, 1997. 375 pages, hardcover, $34.00

Reviewed by Husam A. Mohamad

Professor Samih Farsoun with Ph.D. candidate Christina Zacharia have written a valuable, well-documented text on Palestine and the Palestinian people. Much has been written on this subject, but few address the comprehensive socioeconomic, political, cultural and ideological dimension of the topic over such a lengthy period of time. This book sets forth an impressive analysis that details the Palestinian tragedy and its varied consequences on the people of Palestine on the one hand, and on Palestine's search for national self-determination and statehood, on the other. The authors have investigated the demographic, rural-urban, territorial, administrative and socioeconomic changes that influenced the Palestinian society since the start of the century. They thoroughly investigated British-Zionist responsibility in the creation of what became known as the Palestinian Question. Relying on carefully documented accounts, they demonstrated that Jewish immigration, accompanied by land confiscation since the early 1920s, the devastating effects of the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and their subsequent refugee problems, and current misery of the Palestinian people were largely caused by Zionist and British policies. Colonialism, in this respect fueled Palestinian nationalism against Zionism and the West.

Although the book says relatively little that is new, the comprehensive approach and perspective of its authors have made the book a valuable contribution. It is a scholarly addition to the already available literature. The book's main focus is on the social and economic history of the Palestinian people and their national movement both inside historic Palestine and in the diaspora, their shattered politics and society, as well as new challenges to their present and future existence, all from an interdisciplinary perspective. In the words of the authors, the book examines the social, economic and political development of the people of Palestine from the nineteenth century to the present. Particularly appealing are: the authors insights on Palestinian political trends and tendencies, as well as the explorations of various crisis situations that have challenged and continue to confront the Palestinian people with regard to their general strategies, relations with others and future goals.

Through a well-researched presentation, the authors refute most unfounded Zionist perceptions about Palestine and the Palestinian people. The Zionist and Western media have largely presented the people of Palestine as nonexistent, disposable, homeless refugees or terrorists and rebels. However, by relying on well-documented accounts, the authors argue that the Palestinians were and remain remarkable productive people. As a nation, Palestinians still posses a clear and distinct political identity, and as a community they have historically enjoyed unity with respect to political, economic, social and cultural terms. Indeed, Israels creation led to the destruction, dispersion and dislocation of the socioeconomic and political unity of the Palestinians. However, Palestinians national identity and consciousness remains strong and continues to be alive and well. Unlike other books, the text serves as a counterbalance to the literature influenced by biased Zionist views of the Palestinian people.

From a Palestinian viewpoint, the authors give an impressive and intellectually credible presentation of major historical and current changes in Palestinian politics, emphasizing the relationships between outside political interference and internal Palestinian political and organizational crisis. In addition to the review of Israeli and Arab states' challenges to the Palestinians, the authors examine the uneasy alliance that has existed within and among the ranks of the Palestinian movement over the course of its history. They also look at the recent internal and external challenges in Palestinian politics. They reveal underlying causes regarding the weaknesses of the current disorganized opposition in Palestinian politics, and assess the changes of the failure and success of that opposition. Above all, the authors give accounts of historical and present injustices made against the Palestinian people, and new challenges for them resulting from the current fragile peace process that has failed to satisfy all parties. In this context, the authors criticize the Oslo Accord, and present the peace process and its subsequent results as a PLO sellout to Israel and the United States. In addition, the authors criticize the rising authoritarian character of the Palestinian national authority in the occupied territories.

While addressing the changing nature of the Palestinian national identity, since its inception in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the authors rely on contemporary conceptualization and analysis that goes beyond summarizing the kinds of transformations that took place. Drawing extensively upon recent Arab and English literature, the authors examined the reasons behind forces and events contributing to historical and recent transformations in Palestinian identity, society and politics.