The Dark Side of Zionism: The Quest for Security through Dominance - Hardcover

Thomas, Baylis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0739126903 ISBN 13: 9780739126905

Publisher: Lexington Books, 2009

Synopsis

The Dark Side of Zionism: Israel's Quest for Security through Dominance arises out of the scholarship of the "new historians," a group of mostly Israeli scholars who have uncovered a history widely ignored in the popular media. Baylis Thomas argues that both the early Zionists and, later, the Israelis sought their security through the military domination of the indigenous Arab population of Palestine. This strategy required both avoiding negotiations with the Palestinian-Arabs and provoking the weak Arab states-opposed to the Israeli takeover of Palestine-into entering wars they would lose. The role of British imperial power was crucial in this early history, as was the later U.S. support of Israel, right or wrong. Thomas explores the larger context of this history in chapters on colonization, hegemony, weapons diplomacy, terrorism, nationalism, religion, Zionism, and prospects for resolution of the conflict.

While students and scholars of Middle Eastern studies and international relations will find this book valuable, it is intended for the intelligent general reader who is curious about current events yet puzzled about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel's national identity, founded on the memory of being victims of the Holocaust, focuses on current events that seem consistent with the past, even as the nation uses force to thwart Palestinian national aspirations. The Dark Side of Zionism argues that peace for both Israelis and Palestinians can only come if Israel relinquishes military rule.

About this title

About the Author

Baylis Thomas, who has taught at the Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Hospital, is the author of How Israel Was Won: A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Review

The great merit of The Dark Side of Zionism stems from its combination of a dispassionate analysis of the many facets of Israeli aggression, on the one hand, with a keen and consistent moral compass, on the other. The result is a work both scholarly and just, a valuable addition to this never-ending controversy. (Joel Kovel, author of Overcoming Zionism)

A worthy sequel to How Israel Was Won, updating the Zionist colonization of Palestine and Israeli practices of 'soft apartheid' within its pre-1967 borders as well as 'hard apartheid' in the occupied territories. A lucid and well documented textbook based primarily on new Israeli sources and complete with a concise appendix on 'Water Wars.' (Clement M. Henry, The University of Texas at Austin)

The Dark of Side of Zionism provides the reader with an insightful and fact-based historical analysis of Israeli policies which have sought that country's own security through the insecurity of others. Given that the United States has largely subsidized these policies, the book constitutes a public service to American readers who have had little else than propaganda to make a judgment on what is really going on in Israel and Palestine. (Lawrence Davidson, West Chester University)

This book is one which deserves a wide readership and the discussion and debate which will ensue. It is high time that all of us ― on all sides of the question ― see things as they really are. (Issues Of The American Council For Judaism)

Edition details

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0739126903
• ISBN 13: 9780739126905
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 284