Palestine Bookshelf

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/they-told-me-back-home-would-be-beautifull

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.wwoi9vyz7iwa

MAIN THESIS

The expulsion and ongoing dispossession of Palestinians create a durable inheritance of memory and exile that second- and third-generation diaspora members cannot fully escape, even through assimilation.  

Dudum argues that reclaiming and narrating this history — against erasures in U.S. education, media, and everyday life — is an act of survival and resi...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/israels-lobby-america-in-the-grip

Copy of the summary: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.300iwxi1y48g

MAIN THESIS

The Israel lobby channels extreme Israeli political impulses into U.S. decision-making, subordinating American national interests, security, and democratic norms to those of a foreign power.  

This influence is more dangerous today than in earlier periods because of changes such as the evisceration of campaign-finance rules, Israel's rightward shift, and the...

#EndTheOccupation

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/october-7th-three-years-on

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.54452r23av6i

MAIN THESIS

The conflict and the scale of death and displacement since October 7 are the continuation of a long-planned process of ethnic cleansing that began with political Zionism in the late 19th century.  

Framing everything as a response to October 7 ignores prior history (especially the Balfour Declaration, the Mand...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/requiem-for-gaza-by-chris-hedges

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.w21irq3o66ov

MAIN THESIS

Hedges and Sacco present Israel's post-October 7 military campaign as the culmination of a long colonial project of ethnic cleansing and erasure of Palestinian presence and identity, enabled by U.S. and Western support.  

The book argues that the violence exposes a series of Israeli "lies" (about the two-state solution, adherence to l...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/no-land-to-stand-on-notes-from-detention

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.53iwk88thyz0

MAIN THESIS

Khalil's detention was not based on any crime or evidence but on his advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israeli policies and Columbia's ties to Israel. He argues that Palestinians are treated as an exception to standard legal and human rights norms—"innocent until proven guilty, unless you are Palestinian"—and that accusa...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/what-price-israel-by-alfred-m-lilienthal

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.gws9mcgs6xrs

MAIN THESIS

If Israel is "the Jewish state," Jews who are citizens of other countries are exposed to a charge of dual loyalty.

Lilienthal argues that what is called rising antisemitism is largely anti-Israelism, produced by occupation, settlements, and the oppression of Palestinians.

Lilienthal considered Judaism  a religion, not...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-biggest-prison-on-earth-a-history

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.n2f2aqj3vf1j

MAIN THESIS

Pappé is uneasy with the word "occupation." He argues it falsely separates "democratic Israel" from the territories and indirectly legitimizes Israeli rule over the rest of former Mandatory Palestine.

He also rejects the legal idea of occupation as temporary. By 1987 it was already described as the lon...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/gaza-doctors-under-attack-by-karim

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.lsgvw3fyttbm

MAIN THESIS

The film argues that attacks on medical personnel are systematic and intentional, not isolated mistakes or incompetence.  

Destroying "human infrastructure" (trained clinicians) sets Palestinian health care back for years, beyond what rebuilding structures can fix.  

IDF statements that Israel follows international and Israeli law are seen as false...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/footnotes-in-gaza-by-joe-sacco

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.4gebhobkhrcu

MAIN THESIS

The Khan Younis and Rafah killings of November 1956 were not minor incidents; Sacco treats them as events that "planted hatred in hearts" and help explain later Palestinian grief and anger.  

History routinely reduces such massacres to footnotes even when they are among the largest killings of Palestinians on Palestinian soil.  

also viewable on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/on-palestine-by-noam-chomsky-and

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.mslzd2ns7v8a

MAIN THESIS

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/when-the-world-sleeps-stories-words

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.ivcvg73lhvnr

MAIN THESIS

Albanese argues that the world has slept through — and remains complicit in — the systematic destruction of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation, which meets the legal definition of genocide. Through personal stories and legal analysis she insists that Palestinians are not abstract threats or statistics but human beings whose dignity, childhood, health, and future are be...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/perfect-victims-and-the-politics

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.rscryk4gru0z

MAIN THESIS

Palestinians are required to pass endless tests imposed by society, journalism, and Israelis simply to narrate their own experiences. El-Kurd rejects this: as the oppressed, they need no permission. Their voices must be heard without qualification or interrogation. They are not mere victims but agents with rights and dignity. The "po...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/my-father-was-a-freedom-fighter-gazas 

Copy of the summary: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.x6it61j4bm1j

MAIN THESIS

The expulsion, occupation, and ongoing suffering of Palestinians in Gaza were not accidental byproducts of war but the result of deliberate policies of displacement, control, and denial of rights.

Through the lens of one family's experiences — poverty, resistance, loss, and steadfastness (sumud) — Baroud humanizes the Palestinian struggl...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/the-bibi-files-by-alexis-bloom

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.qpm8bcugqwp

MAIN THESIS

The film exposes Netanyahu's deep personal involvement in corruption, including bribery, gifts, media manipulation, and interference in official processes to benefit wealthy donors.

Netanyahu and his inner circle (especially his wife Sarah) are portrayed as entitled, evasive, and willing to lie or claim conspiracy to avoid accountability.

The evidence in...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/all-thats-left-of-you-by-cherien

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.f03p2swa1fet

MAIN THESIS

The film portrays the Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba and ongoing occupation) through the lens of one family's story across generations (1948, 1967, First Intifada era, etc.), showing how each generation reacts to the previous one amid shock, disbelief, anger, survival choices, and broken relationships.

It highlights internal Palestinian debates (e.g...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/gaza-in-crisis-by-noam-chomsky-and

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?pli=1&tab=t.5nr1hdqdjeej

MAIN THESIS

Chomsky and Pappe argue that dominant narratives about Israel and Palestine are built on myths and distortions that justify displacement, occupation, and military actions. The expulsion and suffering of Palestinians were not accidental but rooted in deliberate policies. The book critiques Zionism's foundational claims, Israel's actions in Gaza and the broader re...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/decolonizing-israel-liberating-palestine

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.3u5go4ccec7m

Halper frames Zionism as a classic settler-colonial project aimed at establishing Jewish dominance by displacing the indigenous Palestinian population, rather than coexisting equally.

Key historical elements include the Balfour Declaration and League of Nations Mandate, which privileged Jewish national aspirations while offering no parallel institutions for Palestinians.

The...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/children-of-shatila-by-mai-masri

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.ddgr1zbd7jl8

The film offers an intimate, child-centered portrait of daily life in Beirut's Shatila Palestinian refugee camp through the eyes of two children (Issa, 12, and Farah/Fadi, 11) born and raised there after the 1948 Nakba and the 1982 Sabra-Shatila massacre.

By handing them video cameras to document their surroundings, interview elders, and express their...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/palestine-peace-not-apartheid-by

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.nmb2t4a4r1ty

MAIN THESIS

Carter outlines three basic premises for peace talks: (1) Israel's right to exist within recognized borders and live in peace; (2) no condoning of killing non-combatants by any side; (3) Palestinians must live in peace and dignity in their own land as per international law (with a caveat about good-faith negotiations).

also viewable on Substack:

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/the-sabra-and-shatila-massacres-eye

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.wcfu0dut35ef

The massacres were not random violence but a deliberate, planned operation of revenge and ethnic cleansing following the assassination of Bashir Gemayel.

Israeli forces (under Ariel Sharon) surrounded the camps, allowed Phalangist militias entry, provided illumination and support, and blocked escape routes, resulting in the slaughter of hundreds to thousands of civilians (including...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-settlers-by-louis-theroux

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.oky7g5mu95v

MAIN THESIS

The documentary reveals the extreme religious-nationalist ideology of Israeli settlers, who believe God promised them the land (which they call Judea and Samaria) regardless of international law, world opinion, or Palestinian rights.

Settlers operate with a sense of divine entitlement, often with tacit or direct support from the Is...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-revolution-of-1936-1939-in-palestine

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.1uf2etlpbdgh

The 1936-1939 revolution was a legitimate popular uprising by Palestinians against rapid Jewish immigration, land dispossession, economic marginalization, and British favoritism toward Zionists.

Kanafani frames it as a national liberation struggle rooted in the material conditions of colonial exploitation and demographic upheaval, not mere "riots" or isolated violence.

...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/tantura-by-alon-schwarz

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.ivzn7qfp701f

MAIN THESIS

The film uses the story of one Palestinian village — Tantura — as a microcosm to expose the systematic ethnic cleansing, massacres, rapes, and dispossession carried out by Zionist forces (particularly the Alexandroni Brigade). Through veteran testimonies, archival material, and the story of researcher Teddy Katz, it reveals how foundational Israeli myths of a "cle...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/palestine-in-israeli-school-books

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.7hrqnm29m80q

Israeli school books actively rewrite history, present Palestinians as subhuman or a "problem to be solved," and use maps and vocabulary to reinforce a narrative that justifies exclusion and control.

This educational content contributes to societal attitudes that dehumanize Palestinians and erase their national identity and historical presence.

The...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-palestine-laboratory-by-antony

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.va3t81ms2dlm

Loewenstein's book is a damning exposé of how Israel has transformed its long-term occupation and control of the Palestinian population into a profitable "laboratory" for developing, testing, and exporting advanced military, surveillance, and policing technologies. Gaza and the occupied territories serve as a real-world testing ground where new tools of domination — from dro...

also viewable on Substack: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/palestine-36-by-annemarie-jacir-13b

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.l5ggdpsbcy6o

MAIN THESIS

Palestine Bookshelf presents Palestine '36 as one of the finest and most impactful films on Palestine, arguing that the 1936–1939 Palestinian revolt against British Mandate rule and Zionist settlement holds urgent lessons for today. The film reveals how core injustices — land confiscation, British favoritism toward Zionists, elite Palestinian betrayals, and violen...

also viewable on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/israelism-by-sam-eilertsen-and-erin

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.tb4hm97c0utv

The film and the host's commentary argue that a profound generational divide is emerging within the American Jewish community. Many young Jews, raised to see unconditional support for Israel as central to their Jewish identity, are confronting the reality of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and becoming vocal critics. The documentary follows two protagonists — Simone Zi...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-question-of-palestine-by-edward

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.mqezrtssm2c

The video presents Said's work as a foundational Palestinian perspective asserting the reality and legitimacy of Palestinian existence, identity, and rights in the face of systematic attempts to deny, erase, or negate them. It frames the "question of Palestine" as enduring: Palestinians' mere existence accuses Israel of displacement and ethnic cleansing (the Nakba and...

also viewable on Substack:

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/our-narrative-operation-al-aqsa-flood

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.dt5qs7uk25oy

The document argues that Operation Al Aqsa Flood was a necessary, defensive act of national liberation against 75+ years of Zionist occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid policies, and a suffocating 17-year blockade of Gaza (since 2007), described as the world's largest open-air prison. It portrays the operation as targeting Israeli military sites to destroy the Gaza Division...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/gaza-an-inquest-into-its-martyrdom

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.csups384zbj6

Finkelstein argues that Gaza has endured repeated "martyrdom" through Israel's deliberate policies of collective punishment, blockade (since 2007), and disproportionate military operations justified as "self-defense" but constituting flagrant violations of international law. The book is not primarily about Gaza's people or agency but what has been done to it: eight major operations since 2004 (e.g...

also viewable on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-occupation-of-the-american-mind

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.ji3qeguq19vq

This livestream focuses on the film's examination of how pro-Israel public relations strategies shape U.S. media coverage and public opinion to sustain support for Israel's policies toward Palestinians. The host praises the film's concise structure (discussing the 49-minute version), effective use of news footage for historical context, and its exposure of scripted propaganda tactics.

also viewable on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/against-our-better-judgement-how

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.b5m4ywn7v93

The video presents the hidden history of how Zionist lobbying and strategic maneuvers influenced U.S. policy to support the creation and sustenance of Israel, despite strong opposition from American diplomatic, military, and intelligence experts. The host highlights four main takeaways: Israel's dependence on great power backing (first Britain, then the U.S.); Nazi-Zionist collaboration...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-eyes-of-gaza-a-diary-of-resilience

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.v06zeiwl7ec0

The book chronicles her experiences as a young journalist in Gaza starting October 7, 2023, through intense bombing, displacement, evacuation to Australia, and relocation to Lebanon amid continued attacks. The presenter describes it as a powerful, concise (under 200 pages) testament to Palestinian resilience amid what he terms genocide, highlighting everyday humanity, fear, creativity, and survival. He...

also viewable on Substack:

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/the-voice-of-hind-rajab-by-kaouther

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.du7723b2pwf9

The live stream serves as an installment of the "Film Club" series on Palestine Bookshelf, where the host shares thoughts, analysis, and emotional responses after watching the Oscar-nominated film. It focuses on the true story of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza on January 29, 2024, during the ongoing conflict. The film uses real audio...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-birth-of-the-palestinian-refugee

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.gzd7k1m1jyid

Summary of The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited by Benny Morris

The video is a book review of The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (2004 edition) by Israeli historian Benny Morris, presented on the Palestine Bookshelf channel by Stephen Heiner. It is described as an "express version"...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-hundred-years-war-on-palestine

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.qlcudpdxuuf

Summary of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

The video is a book review of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance from 1917 to 2017 by Professor Rashid Khalidi. The presenter describes it as an "express version" of a longer two-part review previously done on...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/the-jewish-state-by-theodore-herzl

Copy of the summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?tab=t.9j8cl4u1u8zu

The episode discusses Theodor Herzl's book The Jewish State, a pamphlet proposing a solution to the "Jewish question" in Europe through establishing a Jewish homeland (potentially in Palestine or elsewhere). Presenter Stephen Heiner reads excerpts, highlights proposed policies, and offers commentary on their secular, tolerant, and socialist elements—while pointing out divergences in...

also viewable on Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/palestinebookshelf/p/ten-myths-about-israel-by-ilan-pappe

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiBSLYqj5qd2TXU4cE9pLfRGg3Pdis7rd5fwQxwx-Tw/edit?usp=sharing

Summary of Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappé

OVERVIEW

also viewable on Substack:

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/one-palestine-complete-jews-and-arabs?r=4gjzh4

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gwiMqFF05uXHzcs51gCVmunrAHC-vd1ffixlbqrmt5c/edit?usp=sharing

Summary of One Palestine Complete by Tom Segev

OVERVIEW

also viewable on Substack:

https://palestinebookshelf.substack.com/p/the-israel-lobby-and-us-foreign-policy

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X4ryJ0Tv0O6Lrj5ZKKEFhn-OfDxpndKRRI9D13tNBIU/edit?usp=sharing

Summary of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

OVERVIEW