Pappe begins with some historical myths. He explains that Palestine was not an "empty land", rather it was a "rich and fertile eastern Mediterranean world that in the nineteenth century underwent processes of modernization and nationalisation. It was not a desert waiting to come into bloom; it was a pastoral country on the verge of enterting the twentieth century as a modern society... Its colonization by the Zionist movement turned this process into a disaster for the majority of the native people living there."
The argument that Palestine was empty before colonisation is one that is remarkably similar to the descriptions of North America, Australia and New Zealand as empty spaces, and the legal concept of "Terra nullius" to argue that there were no claims on land in Australia by the indigneous people. It is one reason why Pappe argues that Israel is a Settler Colonial state.
The question of "what Zionism is" is a key theme of the book. Pappe makes it very clear that Zionism is not the same as Judaism, rather Zionism began in a particular historical context: "only one, inessential, expression of Jewish cultural life" at its birth. Pappe's history of Zionism is essential reading - he shows how it arose out of the "Jewish enlightenment movement" but was frequently critiqued by Jewish people themselves, particularly on the left. "Socialists and Orthodox Jews began to voice their criticisms of Zionism only in the 1890s, when Zionism became a more recognised political force very late in the decade." It was the "diligent" work of Theodore Herzl who repeatedly put the argument for a "modern Jewish state in Palestine" which began to get traction among Western political leaders, who saw in it a way of strengthening their own imperalist power in the Middle East.
A great strength of the book is that Pappe explores the historical and political context, but he does not ignore religious debate, particularly about whether the Bible contains a case for a Jewish state in Palstine. He writes:
The final reason offered for the ZIonist reclamation of the HOly Land as determined by the Bible, was the need of Jews around the world to find a safe haven, especially after the Holocaust. However, even if this as true, it might have bee possible to find a solution that was not restricted to the biblical map and that did not dispossess the Palestinians. This position was voiced by quite a few well-known personalitiies, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. These commentators tried to asuggest that the Palestinians should be asked to provide a safe haven for persecuted Jews alongside the native population, not in place of it. But the Zionist movement regarded such proposals as heresy.
The importance of Pappe's work is the place contemporary events in a historical context. As Pappe himself writes, and apologies for another extended quote, but hearing his arguments is important:
As long as the full implications of Israel's past and present ethnic cleansing policies are not recognised and tackled by the international community, there will be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ignoring the issue of the Palestinian refugees will repeatedly undermine any attempt to reconcile the two conflicting parties. This is why it is so important to recognise the 1948 events as an ethnic cleansing operation, so as to ensure that a political solution will not evade the root of the conflict; namely, the expulsion of the Palestinians. Such evasions in the past are the main reason for the collapse of all previous peace accords.
The conclusion of Pappe's book, which argues that Israel is a Settler Colonial state is important. He makes no easy promises about how conflict can be avoided. But he does offer hope:
This barbarization of human relations in the Middle East can only be stopped by the poeple of the region themselves. However, they should be aided by the outside world. Together the region should return to its not so distant past, when th eguiding principle was "live and let live." No serious discussion about ending human rights abuses in the region as a whole can bypass a conversation abotu the 100 years of human rights abuses in Palestine.... Any discussion of the abuse of the Palestinians' human rights needs to include an understanding of the inevitable outcome of settler colonial projects such as Zionism. The Jewish settlers are now an organic and integral part of the land. They cannot, and will not, be removed. They should be part of the future, but not on the basis of the constant oppression and dispossession of the local Palestinians.
How we get to this future is not explored by Pappe in this work, but his reference to the "people of the region" offers us a glimpse. I would argue that it is the power of the working class, particularly the mass working class of Egypt that offers the strength to overturn social relations in the region and break the power of Imperialism. I don't know whether Pappe would agree with that specific argument. However his Ten Myths About Israel is an important, and very accessible contribution to understanding the history of Palestine and Israel. Readers will learn a great deal that puts current tragic events in context.
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