Book Review: "Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth
A Critical Review of Noa Tishby's Book with a Focus on Historical and Political Perspectives.
Some of the people who have given praise to the Books.
I recently read "Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth" by Noa Tishby. In this review, I'll share my thoughts on how the book combines personal anecdotes and Tishby's experiences as a Hollywood actress to engage and connect with the reader. Tishby emphasizes her family's history, particularly their persecution and subsequent migration to British Mandate Palestine, which later became Israel. She portrays herself as a proud leftist, highlighting her family's roots in the labor movement and their role in establishing Kibbutzes, which are socialist communes. This approach adds a unique, personal dimension to the narrative.
In this early chapter of her book, the author presents a romanticised narrative of her country's history, selectively using information that aligns with her ideological stance. She portrays Israel and Israelis as consistently striving to do good, while depicting Palestinians as the ones who error and flaws. Notably, she asserts the non-existence of Palestinians, claiming they are a recent construct with no indigenous roots, despite genetic evidence suggesting connections to ancient Canaanites and Israelites—an aspect she conveniently omits. As she delves deeper into Israel's history, her focus intensifies on its legitimacy and rich past In her account, the author conspicuously omits key historical episodes, particularly the biblical narratives detailing the Israelites' aggressive conquest of the land during the time of Joshua .
Proceeding to the modern era, the author discusses the formation of Israel and its acquisition of land. She omits the context that Palestinians were part of a feudal society, highlighting instead that land purchases were made. However, this perspective overlooks the reality that local inhabitants, often serfs, had no say in these transactions and consequently lost their homes. The narrative then shifts to the 1948 war, portrayed as a necessary action for Israelis to displace Arabs, a term she uses for Palestinian people. In her discourse, she predominantly cites Benny Morris, whom she considers a credible historian. This reliance on a singular source, however, raises concerns about a lack of diverse perspectives, suggesting a preference for viewpoints that reinforce her ideology. This approach tends to interpret historical events through a subjective lens, often overlooking significant details such as the forced expulsion, sometimes violent, of people from numerous Arab Muslim and Christian cities.
Subsequently, the author transitions into standard pro Israeli talking points commonly known as hasbara, emphasizing Israel's self-defense and portraying Palestinians as consistently erroneous. She then addresses the 1990s, focusing on Yasser Arafat's role in the peace process. The author suggests that Arafat's (who was Corrupt ) corruption incentivized him to reject statehood, a claim she presents as plausible but remains speculative, lacking concrete evidence from his actions or statements. This perspective overlooks the complexity of the Camp David agreement, which, according to some opinions, wasn't as advantageous to the Palestinians as often claimed. The author's treatment of this subject tends to oversimplify the nuances of the situation, seemingly to align with her ideological stance.
Furthermore, she discusses the many peace processes in depth, even commending the 2018 Trump peace plan. Notably, she acknowledges this plan's exclusion of Palestinian input but justifies it by claiming the Palestinians deserved such treatment for rejecting previous peace proposals. This argument implies a punitive stance towards the Palestinian side, likening their political decisions to the disobedience of children deserving of discipline. Such a portrayal starkly reflects the author's one-sided view, potentially disregarding the complexities and grievances that have shaped the Palestinian response to peace initiatives.
In this part of her book, the author categorizes Palestinians into three groups, a strategy some pro-Palestinian voices argue is used by Israel for division and control. She begins by discussing Arab Israeli citizens as they are officially called by Israel (while some use the term Palestinians), emphasising the positive aspects of their life in a pro-LGBT and equal rights environment. However, she glosses over the early history of Arabs under martial law until the 1960s. While acknowledging the presence of Arabs in the Supreme Court, Knesset, and academia, her portrayal is overly idealistic. The narrative then shifts to Gaza, described as a stark contrast to the aforementioned 'paradise'. Here, she focuses on Hamas, their ideology, and actions. While not incorrect in her descriptions, she omits crucial context: how Hamas gained strength despite the assassination of leaders like Sheikh Yassin, partly due to the Israeli war with Hamas. She also overlooks the role of the Israeli blockade in enriching Hamas and how external support, including from Qatar, was influenced by Israeli actions, notably under Netanyahu's leadership. Additionally, the author presents the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as a benevolent gesture, failing to mention the strategic challenges Israel faced in maintaining security for settlers in Gaza, leading to all the Jewish Gaza settlers being relocated including some of them to the West Bank.
In her discussion about the West Bank, the author introduces a more nuanced perspective. She dedicates an entire chapter to the topic of settlements, acknowledging their counterproductive nature. However, she then shifts the narrative to place blame on the Palestinians for their rejection of peace processes. She argues that the terrorism necessitate Israel's retention of the land for security reasons. Despite her acknowledgment of the settlements issue, her analysis tends to circle back to a defensive stance for Israel. This approach reflects an attempt to balance a nuanced view while still advocating in favor of Israel's actions, even as she recognizes the problematic nature of maintaining the settlements.
Following this, the author introduces an in-depth chapter on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, focusing on its three core principles, which she interprets primarily through her subjective lens. In the latter sections, she attempts to build a case portraying BDS as inherently anti-Semitic, a viewpoint that overlooks the diverse range of Jewish activists who support BDS. She criticizes the movement for the vagueness of its principles, particularly regarding the definition of 'occupation,' which can be interpreted differently by various individuals. This ambiguity is a point of contention for critics who argue for more specificity in the movement's goals. However, the author's generalization of all BDS supporters into a single category is challenged by the fact that the movement's broad principles allow supporters to join for a multitude of reasons. Despite disagreements with their stance, it's deemed unfair to categorize all BDS advocates uniformly, given the inherent vagueness in the movement's demands. In her critique of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, the author's portrayal borders on the comical, inflating the organization's influence and strength beyond realistic proportions. This depiction contrasts sharply with the perspective of many Israel supporters who correctly point out that Israel has actually increased its international exports, suggesting that BDS has had minimal impact on this aspect of Israel's economy. This discrepancy highlights a tendency to exaggerate the effectiveness and reach of the BDS movement, which, despite its intentions and efforts, has not significantly hindered Israel's global trade and export capabilities.
In the latter part of the book, the author shifts her focus to a series of personal anecdotes. While these narratives are engaging, they bear little direct relevance to the historical context or the intricacies of the conflict. In a surprising turn, the book concludes with a Apendix summary of all the hasbara talking points previously discussed, compressed. This section appears to be strategically crafted to reinforce these points in the reader's mind, ensuring that they are not only understood but also easily remembered.
One of the pages of the four-page appendix.
In summary, the book adeptly intertwines personal experiences with historical narration, initially giving the impression of an autobiography. However, as it progresses, the author’s portrayal of history—both ancient and modern—takes on an idealistic tone, distinctly categorizing one side as virtuous and the other as either errant or misguided. Notably, the author steers clear of anti-Muslim rhetoric or racial references. The author's sincerity in her convictions is palpable and the sources and claims she uses are not necessary wrong, but it becomes evident that her primary intention is not to delve into an impartial exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, she concentrates on advocating the Israeli perspective as the righteous stance throughout history. This approach renders the book somewhat unengaging for those already familiar with the Israeli viewpoint, as it lacks objective analysis and merely echoes the standard narratives found in many pro-Israeli social media posts and videos.
The author's apparent reluctance to seriously consider alternative perspectives or give them the benefit of the doubt is striking. The book's main objective seems to be aligning liberal readers with Israel and Zionism through the use of standard hasbara talking points. As someone already familiar with these arguments, I found the book to be a quick read, yet it offered little in terms of new insights or a balanced exploration of this complex conflict. I would suggest to the author, and to authors in general, the importance of always considering the conflict from the opposite perspective. This is similar to how I recommend pro-Palestinians not to overlook the Israeli side but to at least understand their position. Only through this approach can we genuinely establish dialogue and seek peace.