Caplan | The Israel-Palestine Conflict | Buch | 978-1-394-37332-1 | www.sack.de

Buch, Englisch

Reihe: Contesting the Past

Caplan

The Israel-Palestine Conflict

Contested Histories
3. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-394-37332-1
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Contested Histories

Buch, Englisch

Reihe: Contesting the Past

ISBN: 978-1-394-37332-1
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons Inc


Nuanced narratives of the complex Israel-Palestine conflict

Now in its Third Edition, The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories examines why this conflict has resisted resolution for over 145 years. Rather than validating one side's narrative over the other, the book lays out Palestinian and Israeli perspectives through chronological milestones, drawing on the protagonists' own words to let readers evaluate competing claims and form independent judgments.

Through measured and balanced analysis, The Israel Palestine Conflict 3rd edition considers the overarching reasons that this conflict has been resistant to resolution. The book identifies recurring conceptual patterns— core arguments and repeated cycles of violence and calm—that have shaped the conflict's trajectory. It foregrounds the role of narrative and historiography in framing contested episodes, sensitizing readers to bias in scholarship and public debate. Detailed notes and citations support deeper inquiry throughout.

Readers will also find: - A thematic rather than name-and-date approach that prepares readers to interpret current and future developments in the conflict
- Sober juxtaposition of each side's arguments enabling readers who hold strong opinions to critically reassess their own assumptions
- Discussion of the difficulties inherent in defining, categorizing, and talking about this deeply polarizing and evolving conflict
- Analysis of obstacles to resolution, including structural patterns that have repeatedly undermined negotiation efforts over more than a century
- A concise, logically structured format designed for accessibility without sacrificing scholarly rigor or depth of historical coverage

Written for undergraduate students, community groups, book clubs, and concerned observers of global affairs, this book provides a measured framework for nuanced reflection on one of the world's most enduring conflicts—particularly valuable amid periods of overheated rhetoric and clashing binary certainties.

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Weitere Infos & Material


List of Maps xi

Preface to the First Edition xiii

Preface to the Second Edition xv

Preface to the Third Edition xv

Abbreviations xvii

Note on Sources xix

Part I Introduction 1

1 Problems in Defining the Conflict 3

What’s in a Name? 4

Loaded Terminology 5

Maps 7

Dates and Periodization 10

An Ongoing Conflict: Tractable or Intractable? 13

Conflict Resolution or Conflict Management? 14

The “Other” Arab–Israeli Conflict 15

Advocacy and Censure 16

2 Defining the Conflict, Nevertheless 21

Who Are the Conflicting Parties? 21

What Are the Main Issues in Contention among the Parties to the Conflict? 25

Competing Narratives: Right versus Right, Victim versus Victim 33

Ways of Visualizing the Conflict 34

Analogies and Parables 36

Comparisons and Paradigms

Six Explanations 37

Part II Histories in Contention 43

3 Background to 1917: Origins of Conflict 45

Ancient Ties and Historical Memories 45

Early Encounters: 1880s–1914 48

An Unseen Question? 50

Colonialism and Nationalism 51

Victims versus Victims 55

4 Arabs and Jews under the British Mandate:

Entrenching Positions, 1917–1928 61

Wartime Commitments: Palestine as the “Much Too Promised Land” 61

Britain’s “Dual Obligation” 64

The Mandate and Its Implementation: Cycle of Protests and Inquiry Commissions 67

Clashes and Confrontations during the Early Years of the Mandate 70

Zionist Responses to Palestinian–Arab Opposition 71

“Making the Desert Bloom” 73

The Deceptive Lull 77

5 Collapse of the Mandate: Rebellion, Partition, White Paper, 1929–1939 83

Radicalization of Palestinian Politics 83

General Strike and Rebellion, 1936 86

The (Peel) Royal Commission 87

Retreat from Partition 91

The Resort to Force: Violence, Terrorism, and National Struggles 92

6 Shoah, Atzma’ut, Nakba: 1939–1949 105

The Holocaust and Jewish Immigration to Palestine 105

The Anglo–American Committee of Inquiry 110

UNSCOP and the Creation of Israel 111

War: Atzma’ut and Nakba 115

Nakba and Shoah: Ongoing Victimhood 123

7 Israel and the Arab States, 1949–1973 133

The Palestinian Issue after 1949 133

From Armistice to Non-Peace 136

Low-Intensity Border Warfare, 1949–1956 139

From War to War, I (1949–1956) 142

From War to War, II (1957–1967) 145

From War to War, III (1967–1973) 150

8 Back to the Core: Israel and the Palestinians 163

Primal Fears, New Militancy 163

The Re-Emergence of the Palestinian National Movement after 1967 165

“True” Intentions of the Palestinians The Palestine Question at the United Nations 171

9 Decade of Transition, 1973-1983 181

Camp David and the Israel–Egypt Peace Process 181

The West Bank and Gaza: “Disputed” or “Occupied” Territories? 184

Operation “Peace for Galilee”: Israel Invades Lebanon, 1982 188

Righteous Victimhood in the 1980s 189

10 From Mutual Boycott to Mutual Recognition, 1982–1995 199

Peace Plans and Planting Seeds 199

The First Intifada and the Gulf War, 1987–1991 201

Madrid and Oslo: A New Peace Process 206

11 Breakdown and Stalemate, 1995–2016 219

Continuing Diplomatic Efforts 220

Camp David II and Taba

The Al-Aqsa Intifada 223

Changes in the Geo-Strategic Environment 225

“Last Chance” for the Two-State Solution?  The Arab Peace Initiative  The Geneva Accord  The Annapolis Process  Kerry’s Shuttle Diplomacy

Alternatives to Oslo

12 From Stalemate to Explosion, 2016-2025 245

Gaza Flashpoint

The Trump Plan & the Abraham Accords

Conventional Wisdom Challenged

7 October 2023: A Turning Point?

Part III Towards a More Useful Discussion of the Arab–Israeli Conflict 243

13 Writing about the Conflict 245

The “Myths versus Facts” Approach 246

Bias and Objectivity in Academe 248

Conflict on the Campus

Scholars and Activists 252

Israel’s “New Historians” 257

The “Missed Opportunities” Approach 259

Trends in Palestinian and Israeli Historiography 265

14 Grappling with the Obstacles 277

Issues versus Rights 277

Unwinnable Core Arguments 285

Righteous Victimhood & National Traumas 286

Imagining Dialogue 289

Reducing Some Obstacles to Understanding the Conflict 291

The Shape of the Future: One State or Two? 279

Telling It Like It Is 294

Bibliography 319

Index 355


Neil Caplan is a Canadian historian specializing in Arab-Israeli diplomacy and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Since his retirement from teaching, he has been an Affiliate Faculty member in the Department of History at Concordia University in Montreal. He is author of the four-volume Futile Diplomacy: A History of Arab-Israeli Negotiations, 1913-1956, and co-author with Laura Zittrain Eisenberg of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: Patterns, Problems, Possibilities, now in its third edition.



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