In The story of the Palestinian search to establish a state begins in the era of British control over Palestine and stretches between the two world wars, when colonial control of the region became increasingly unpopular and power began to shift toward the United States. In this crucial period, and in the years immediately following World War II, Palestinian leaders were unable to achieve the long-cherished goal of establishing an independent state-a critical failure that throws a bright light on the efforts of the Palestinians to create a state in the many decades since 1948. By frankly discussing the reasons behind this failure, Khalidi offers a much-needed perspective for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.

Autorentext

Rashid Khalidi is the author of seven books about the Middle East, including Palestinian Identity, Brokers of Deceit, Resurrecting Empire, The Iron Cage, and Sowing Crisis. His writing on Middle Eastern history and politics has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and many journals. For his work on the Middle East, Professor Khalidi has received fellowships and grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the American Research Center in Egypt, and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others. He is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University in New York and is editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies.

Klappentext

*By the author of the New York Times Bestseller The Hundred Years' War on Palestine*

From British colonization to Israeli occupation, an essential primer on the nearly century-long fight for Palestinian liberation

A Beacon Classics edition, featuring a spot gloss cover and retro, classic palette

* After over 75 years of death and dehumanization, the fight for Palestinian statehood has only grown more fervent, the stakes more dire than ever before. Israel’s increasingly violent occupation has culminated in a one-sided war, with Palestinians unable to defend themselves against Israel’s military assault. What led to the longest—and one of the deadliest—ongoing military occupations in the world? In The Iron Cage*, Rashid Khalidi, one of the foremost scholars of Middle Eastern history, traces the origins of today’s war through sociopolitical and cultural analysis.

Drawing on a wealth of experience and scholarship, Khalidi offers crucial historical context of Palestinian attempts to achieve statehood. He tracks how settler colonialists—first the British, then the Israelis—ensnared Palestinians behind the bars of an “iron cage.” This cage bred the conditions for ineffective Palestinian leadership that would ultimately strengthen the bars that confined them.

Reflective and well-researched, The Iron Cage is an incisive negotiation with the past. Khalidi examines the internal and external failures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to ground our understanding of the harrowing realities in the region today. Reading this vital chronicle is the first step in disrupting complicity and thinking about the future of the Middle East.