The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Beginner’s Guide to Objective Understanding Through a Fact-Based Journey From Past to Present Paperback – October 13, 2023

I decided to read this book after the events of Oct 7th, 2023 wherein a group of Hamas terrorists murdered and kidnapped Israeli civilians which led to a massive Israeli military operation in Gaza. I found the narratives surrounding the events to be very one-sided, with a general lack of historical perspective or any real empathy for the other “side.” I wanted to understand the events in a historical context and with an unbiased perspective. To me, the path to achieving a lasting peace begins with a true understanding of how the parties reached this dire point and an ability to empathize with the legitimate concerns of each of the two players in the conflict.I found this book to be a tremendous resource. It provides a gateway towards looking at the conflict holistically, tracing the roots of the present-day situation back for centuries. It is a short book and thus easy to “digest.” Best of all, it is very matter-of-fact in its presentation of the subject. The author shares not just history but anecdotes from both Israelis and Palestinians which illuminate their unique attachments to the land and adherence to principles like self-determination or security. For the open-minded, this kind of narrative can become a pathway to empathy.I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in developing a true and unbiased understanding of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. For many, this resource will be enough to provide a full & thorough education on the subject. For others, it may be a launching point for further study. Either way, if you want a starting point to begin developing your knowledge of the perspectives involved in this ongoing conflict in the Middle East, I suggest that you begin here.

A wonderful book which highlights the history and explains the issues regarding this timely and ever-present dilemma.

Very shallow and on the surface treatment of the ongoing conflict. You won't learn too much from this book.

I'd rate this on a scale of 1-5 for objectivity at about a 2. It's sneaky, honestly. It paints itself as an objective resource by sprinkling in seeming empathy for "all sides" but then repeatedly refers to Israel as "the occupation" in Gaza and the West Bank-clearly an anti-Israel stance. While I did appreciate the Palestinian perspective, it barely makes mention of the violent actions of Hezbollah and Hamas, and often refers to Palestinian "peaceful protest"-neglecting to discuss the role of Islamism and martyrdom as well as antisemitism. Back in the trash bin of biased propaganda it goes. I wish it was more honest about its stance...

The media could not be loaded. This book is a wonderful source that filled my curiosity especially since October of last year. It's important and unbiased from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. I don't understand the negative reviews because this is pure fact. Peter took me on a gritty journey through the holy land for which I am grateful without religious bias. He even welcomes feedback which makes me believe the book more. It's definitely worth reading!

Loaded with information that makes it a great reference as we follow the crisis currently taking place in Israel and Palestine. The only problem I have is the lack of a map. I printed one off of Wikipedia to help me better understand the layout of the area.

With the war between Israel and Palestine in the news more and more lately I was curious about why they’ve had such a long standing conflict. This book explains all the underlying issues and what the causes are. It gave me a nice overview of what’s happening over there and why. It also talked about whether peace was possible and how it might be achieved

I wanted an unbiased and factual guide to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is not what I’d hoped for.There is no map, not even one, in the book. Why not? Surely this is essential. To borrow from Robert Frost, it’s a bit like playing tennis without a net!Despite constantly harping on about the need for facts and accuracy, the book is riddled with (mostly) unattributed and unverifiable ‘anecdotes’ which may easily have simply been invented by the author. These do nothing to advance the reader’s knowledge in any discernible way.Is it my imagination or is there not a heavy bias in favour of the Palestinian outlook? I certainly thought so.The bottom of page 109 is blank - the final sentence ending in mid-sentence. This may be acceptable in William Golding but is not here.Has this book helped me, an Irishman with no real understanding of this conflict, to come to terms with the nature of the problem? Not really.Colm McElroy.