The Dark Side of Zionism: The Quest for Security through Dominance

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Lexington Books, Feb 16, 2009 - History - 284 pages
The Dark Side of Zionism: Israel's Quest for Security through Dominance arises out of the scholarship of the 'new historians,' a group of mostly Israeli scholars who have uncovered a history widely ignored in the popular media. Baylis Thomas argues that both the early Zionists and, later, the Israelis sought their security through the military domination of the indigenous Arab population of Palestine. This strategy required both avoiding negotiations with the Palestinian-Arabs and provoking the weak Arab states-opposed to the Israeli takeover of Palestine-into entering wars they would lose. The role of British imperial power was crucial in this early history, as was the later U.S. support of Israel, right or wrong. Thomas explores the larger context of this history in chapters on colonization, hegemony, weapons diplomacy, terrorism, nationalism, religion, Zionism, and prospects for resolution of the conflict. While students and scholars of Middle Eastern studies and international relations will find this book valuable, it is intended for the intelligent general reader who is curious about current events yet puzzled about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel's national identity, founded on the memory of being victims of the Holocaust, focuses on current events that seem consistent with the past, even as the nation uses force to thwart Palestinian national aspirations. The Dark Side of Zionism argues that peace for both Israelis and Palestinians can only come if Israel relinquishes military rule.
 

Contents

Chapter 01 Concepts of Colonization
3
Chapter 02 History of the Colonization and Palestinian Dispossession 18801948
11
DOMINATION OF ARAB STATES 19491974
43
Chapter 03 Hegemony in the Middle East
45
Chapter 04 History of the ArabIsraeli Wars 19491974
57
SEARCH FOR GLOBAL INFLUENCE
81
Chapter 05 Weapons Diplomacy the Political Use of Arms
83
Chapter 06 History of Israels Global Weapons Sales
91
Chapter 12 Olmert and the 2006 Lebanon War
159
PROSPECTS
167
Chapter 13 Onestate Twostates or Continued Apartheid?
169
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
185
Chapter 14 Terrorism
187
Chapter 15 The Paradox of Nationalism
203
Chapter 16 Religion and Possession in Ancient Palestine
215
Water Wars
231

COLONIZATION AFTER 1967 GREATER ISRAEL AND THE ILLUSORY PEACE PROCESS
109
Chapter 07 Begin Peres Shamir and the Madrid Conference
111
Chapter 08 Rabin and the Oslo Accords
123
Chapter 09 Peres and Netanyahu and Wye River
131
Barak and Arafat at Camp David
137
Force over Peace
145
Evolution of Zionism
241
Bibliography
249
Index
261
About the Author
267
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Baylis Thomas, who has taught at the Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Hospital, is the author of How Israel Was Won: A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

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