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Description of Israel and Palestine

In this new edition of the classic work on the historical and contemporary realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bernard Wasserstein challenges the conventional view of the struggle as driven primarily by irrational, nationalist and religious ideologies. Instead he focuses on hitherto relatively neglected dimensions - population, land, labour and the social dynamics of political change. He maintains that Israelis and Palestinians live today in 'Siamese twin societies'. However much they may wish to, neither side can escape the impinging presence and influence of the other. He argues that demographic, economic and social imperatives are driving the two sides willy-nilly towards some form of symbiosis and accommodation.

Title Information

ISBN:

9781846680922

Pages:

240 pages

Format:

Paperback

Product Code:

254238

Publisher:

Profile Books

Published:

03/04/2008

Edition:

New edition

Press and Industry Reviews

"Nowhere else are [arguments] set out so clearly, both on the map and against the passage of time."
- Guardian

"In this short and elegant essay...the rationality of the argument is impressive."
- Sunday Times

"Nowhere else is such a multi - analysis set out so clearly. For those wishing to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian war this is a mandatory book."
- International Affairs

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About Bernard Wasserstein

Bernard Wasserstein has been a historian of the Israeli-Arab conflict for the past thirty years. He taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1982 to 1996 he was Professor of History at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and from 1996 to 2000 he served as President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He was Professor of History at the University of Glasgow and is now Professor of History at Chicago. Divided Jerusalem (also published by Profile Books) aroused widespread comment and was particularly praised for its lucidity and objectivity.