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Near & Middle East

Israeli History And The Israel-Palestine Conflict

Course Code:
155901167
Unit value:
1 unit

This course provides an overview of the Israeli-Palestine conflict since its inception and examines its political, historical and ideological reflection in Israel. It seeks to achieve academic clarity in an area of controversy and great interest. As Professor Tessler commented in his introduction to A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a struggle between good and evil but rather a confrontation between two peoples who deserve recognition and respect, neither of whom has a monopoly in behaviour that is a praiseworthy or condemnable."

 

 

Workload

Two hours per week

Scope and syllabus

The syllabus will include: 

  • v Zionism and the inhabitants of the Land in the nineteenth century 
  • the differing approaches of Ahad Ha'am and Herzl, Nordau, Borochov v Arab opposition to Zionism and the emergence of Palestinian nationalism
  • Ottoman loyalty, reactions to Herzlian Zionism, the influence of the Young Turks' Revolution v Zionist attitudes to Palestinian nationalism 
  • Integration or separation; the effect of the Balfour Declaration; the first clashes 1920/1 v Palestinian leadership and the Mufti of Jerusalem
  • from South Syria and local patriotism to Palestinian nationalism; the urban elites, the al-Husaynis, al-Khalidis and al-Nashashibis v The Arab Revolt and Zionist reaction 1936-1939
  • Jewish immigration; the Higher Arab Committee; the doctrine of havlaga; v The End of the Mandate 
  • the Stern Group; Menachem Begin and the Irgun; Palestinian policy during WW II; post-war British policy v The War of Israeli Independence and Palestinian Exodus 1947-1949 
  • Zionist political policy and military strategy; the origin of the Palestinian refugees; v Israel Labour Party, Israeli Arabs and Palestinian exiles 1948-1967 
  • military government; attitudes towards Israeli Arabs; Palestinian politics in exile v The birth of the PLO and Palestinian nationalism 
  • Nasserism and Palestinian activism; Ahmed Shukeiri; the Six Day War; Yasser Arafat and Fatah v Ideology, theology and the West Bank Settlements
  • the national religious camp in Israel after 1967; Gush Emunim and the first settlements; the first Rabin government 1974-1977 v Likud and the Palestinians
  • the Revisionist-Zionist legacy; Begin's approach to the Palestinians; Likud and the PLO in the 1980s v The PLO's move from armed struggle to diplomacy 
  • the 1974 PNC; ideologies of the Popular Front and Democratic Front; the influence of Syria and Iraq; Abu Nidal; the Lebanon War; the two state solution 1988 v The Oslo Accords and its opponents in Israel and Palestine 
  • the reasons for Oslo; Islamic nationalism in Palestine; far right and religious opposition in Israel v The Road to Camp David and Intifada II; the Barak government; was Oslo a failure?; Cape David and the new Intifada; the election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister 

 

Method of assessment

Assessment will be by two term essays of 2500 words each, submitted by the first days of Terms 2 and 3 respectively (20% of the total mark), and one three-hour written examination in May-June (80%).

Required reading

Basic bibliography:
  • Tessler, Mark, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, London 1994 
  • Porath, Y. The Emergence of the Palestinian Arab National Movement Vols. I & II Mandel, 
  • Neville J. The Arabs and Zionism before World War I, London 1976 
  • Sayigh, Yezid, Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement 1949-1993, London, 1997, 
  • Aburish, Said K., Arafat, London, 1998 
  • Shemesh, Moshe, The Palestinian Entity: Arab Politics and the PLO, London 1995 
  • Quandt, William B., Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israel Conflict since 1967, London 1993 
  • Lukacs, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: a Documentary Record 1967-1990, ed Yehuda, London, 1992
  • Milton-Edwards, Beverley, Islamic Politics in Palestine, London 1999 
  • Rubin, Barry, Revolution until Victory? The Politics and History of the PLO, London 1994 
  • Sahliyeh, Emile, In Search of Leadership: West Bank Politics since 1967, Washington 1988 
  • Khalidi, Walid , Palestine Reborn London 1992 Flamhaft, Ziva, Israel on the Road to Peace: Accepting the Unacceptable, Boulder 1996