Waxman, Dov. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
This book by a US political science professor who specializes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is part of the Oxford University Press What Everyone Needs To Know® series of FAQs on contemporary issues. It is an introduction to the history of the conflict, presented in FAQ, that is, question-and-answer, format. The book is divided into five chapters: “The Basics,” “The Beginning of the Conflict,” “The Arab-Israeli Wars,” “The Peace Process,” “The Occupied Territories.” In addition, there is a section of maps, an introduction, and a concluding section titled “The Long Road to Peace.” The Oxford University Press web page lists a “Suggestions for Further Reading” section in the contents, which seems to have been omitted from my copy.
The book overall is a straightforward backgrounder. Prof. Waxman has made an effort to include both Palestinian and Jewish perspectives. As a non-expert, I can only say that I do not see obvious contradictions between Waxman’s account and what I have read in the news. I would have liked to see more of the Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic thinking on the matter, but given that none of the various Arab states, let alone Palestine, have either a free press or freedom of speech, that is probably not available. For all of Israel’s faults, policy debates there take place in the open. This is not the case in much of the Arab or Islamic world.
I highly recommend the book to everyone who has only learned of the conflict in the US press, or through the propaganda of one side or the other.
