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The history of the Arab-Israeli conflict itself has become a battleground where scholars offer contrasting accounts. But here is a selection of the best books on the history and global consequences of the struggle, recommended by FT experts.
Enemies and Neighbors: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017 Author: Ian Black (2017)
Set against the backdrop of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, this book tells the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and has been praised by both Israeli and Palestinian historians for its rigor and fairness.
Eighteen days of October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East Author: Yuri Kaufman (2023)
The publication of the newspaper’s in-depth study of the Yom Kippur War coincides with the 50th anniversary of a raid by Egyptian and Syrian armies that posed a deadly threat to the state of Israel. The book details the failure of Israeli intelligence to heed warning signs of Arab war preparations—a flaw that is drawing attention today, five years later.
Bibi: The tumultuous life and times of Benjamin Netanyahu Author: Anshel Pfeffer (2018)
One of Israel’s leading journalists and commentators has written a breezy, engaging biography of Benjamin Netanyahu. Pfeffer paints a portrait of the politician—by turns irascible, defiant, rejected, resurrected—who cast a huge shadow over modern Israel, embodying its rise from cautious, fraught beginnings to its emergence as a powerful nation. state, rejecting the Palestinians’ journey to statehood. Call them your own.
A day in the life of Abed Salama: A Palestinian story Author: Nathan Thrall (2023)
A deeply immersive portrait of everyday life in Israel and the West Bank, centered around a Palestinian child and a school trip that ends in tragedy due to a traffic accident. Jerusalem-based writer and journalist Saar weaves together the mundane yet intertwined lives of Jewish and Palestinian residents to reveal the complex realities of one of the world’s most contentious regions.
Gaza footnotes Joe Sacco(2009)
A nonfiction graphic novel that tells the story of the Israeli massacre of 111 Palestinians in Rafah in 1956 (partly in response to Palestinian armed attacks), evoking and explaining a forgotten historical moment that set the stage for Saturday’s attack The seeds were planted in southern Israel. . In the hands of Joe Sacco, a gentle and compassionate storyteller, the suffocating feeling of lockdown life suddenly becomes real.
Hamas: Islamic Resistance Movement Author: Beverly Milton Edwards and Stephen Farrell (2010)
Milton-Edwards and Farrell’s in-depth study of Hamas’s origins, structure, and evolution blends academic thought and on-the-ground reporting to provide an understanding of the enduring relationship between the Islamist group and the left, often secular ones. Competition provides important insights. Yasser Arafat’s political creation, Fatah’s nationalism, still influences Gaza today.
The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood Rashid Khalidi(2007)
There is no hesitation in examining why Palestinians failed to win their own state during and after colonial rule in the 20th century. External actors received most of the criticism, but Khalidi, a respected Palestinian-American historian, also criticized Palestinian community leaders.
The Peace to End All Peace: The Decline of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East David Fromkin(1989)
A landmark account of the events that led to the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the resulting dramatic changes that swept the Middle East. The late senior U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke said: “No policymaker can properly treat this region without understanding its backstory…” . . Of the numerous books written about the region, none is more relevant than Fromkin’s magnificent epic”.
A line in the sand: Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East James Barr(2011)
A vivid, even funny, account of a decisive moment in the history of the modern Middle East as Britain and France carved up the Arab world after World War I. Barr delves into the diplomatic archives of both countries to tell a deeply cynical and consequential story of imperial greed.
Israel: a history Anita Shapira(2012)
Although Anita Shapira’s book does not focus primarily on the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is a good introduction to Israeli history for the general reader, from the origins of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century to modern times .
A story of love and darkness Amos Oz(2002)
This childhood memoir by one of Israel’s most famous novelists tells the story of his childhood in the late days of the Palestinian mandate and the early days of the Israeli state. A loving yet highly critical personal history of the promise of Israel, its mistreatment of Palestinians, and how dreams can turn sour.
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