Sixteen essential books that provide historical context on the US, Israel and Palestine

We are all inundated with information, especially about what is happening right now. It is often difficult to keep up with current events, especially since living in a Capitalist system almost demands that we not be informed, that we just consume.

Since October 7, when Hamas engaged in an assault on Israel, the US news media has acted like the assault merely demonstrated that Hamas is nothing more than a terrorist organization and that Israel has a right to defend itself. There has been very limited historical context provided in the news coverage or with the talking heads in media.

While it is urgent that we continue to get current news, information and analysis, especially from independent sources, we need to do the necessary work of trying to understand the historical context of what is happening, both the history of the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, and the US relationship to Israel. Here are sixteen books that I have benefited from in terms of my own understanding of Israel, Palestine and the US role, especially since 1948. Of course, one can go back further than 1948, but I would argue that if we begin with the Nakba in 1948, all of this history will help us have a better understanding of what is happening now.

• The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe
• Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair, by Jonathan Cook
• Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917 – 2017
• Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State, by Jeff Halper
• Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948, by Tanya Reinhart
• Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return, edited by Naseer Aruri
• The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel & The Palestinians, by Noam Chomsky
• Palestine, Palestinians and International Law, by Francis A Boyle
• Architects of Repression: How Israel and its Lobby put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the center of US Middle East Policy, by Walter L. Hixson
• Ten Myths About Israel, by Ilan Pappe
• The Obstruction of Peace: The US, Israel and the Palestinians, by Naseer Aruri
• Popular Resistance: A History of Hope and Empowerment, by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh
• The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine since 2003, by Tanya Reinhart
• Dishonest Broker: The US Role in Israel and Palestine, by Naseer Aruri
• The Punishment of Gaza, by Gideon Levy
• Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians, by Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappe