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“10 myths about Israel” is a very precious book for understanding the relationship between Israel and Palestine from its origins to today, debunking 10 false myths typical of popular imagination
Ten Myths About Israel
The “10 Myths About Israel” are ten historical narratives constructed to legitimize the founding of Israel in Palestine and the maintenance of a brutal occupation. Ten pillars that are rooted in European nationalism and imperialism, and, apparently paradoxically, in anti-Semitism. With the weapons of historiography, the Israeli Jewish scholar Ilan Pappé refutes the ten myths one by one, going through the various phases of the Zionist project starting from the first colonies of the 19th century until today. It guides us into an issue in which we recognize the most urgent problems of our time: the use of a racial discourse to fuel a colonial regime, the advance of the far right and Islamophobia, the war for the power of pass on historical memory and its sources. The search for a solution then pushes us to open our eyes to the open wounds of our society. Afterword by Chiara Cruciati.
The 10 myths that confuse the world
“10 myths about Israel” is a very precious work by the great Israeli historian Ilan Pappé aimed at debunking many of the theories which, for one reason or another, lead to observing these events from an erroneous perspective, often written on paper by ‘occupant. These myths touch upon both the origins of the state of Israel and Palestine and what the future may hold for us and are, specifically:
- Palestine, no man’s land
- The Jews: a landless people.
- Zionism and Judaism are the same thing
- Zionism is not colonialism
- The Palestinians voluntarily left their land in 1948
- The 1967 war was a war “with no alternatives”
- Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East
- The mythology of Oslo
- The mythology of Gaza
- The two-state solution is the only possible solution
These issues are deeply rooted in the popular imagination, but overcoming the latter and looking at reality for what it really is is the first step towards truly putting an end to the injustices that have affected the Palestinian territory since the early 1900s. “10 myths about Israel” is in fact particularly important because it analyzes the situation from its origins to the present and a possible future, allowing us to understand the rotten and colonial foundations behind the events that affect the Palestinian people every day.
2 final gems
I also want to highlight two elements that I believe are particularly interesting: the first is that in “The mythology of Gaza” the path of Hamas, long master of Gaza, is also illustrated well, in a concise and detailed way, while the secondis that Tamu editions has decided to make it free in ebook formats, in order to spread knowledge and awareness of what is happening as much as possible; A gesture truly appreciated and worthy of applause.
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