Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Mohammed Abu-Nimer. Dialogue, Conflict Resolution and Change: Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel (1999); Reconciliation, Justice and Coexistence: Theory and Practice (2001)
Two scholarly books by a professor from American University. The first is a case study of conflict issues between Arabs and Jews. The second book examines the conditions necessary to achieve reconciliation across several conflict areas including Ireland, Rwanda, South Africa and Israel.
Fouad Ajami. The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967 (1992); Dream Palace of the Arabs: A Generation’s Odyssey (1999)
The highly iconoclastic Arab scholar critiques the political culture and political development in the Arab world during the last generation since the post-’67 collapse of Arab nationalism. He also presents a critical view of Islamic political movements.
Kevin Avruch. Culture and Conflict Resolution (1998)
Avruch argues for the importance of considering culture as an important factor in conflict resolution.
Shlomo Ben-Ami. Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy (2006)
Historian and former Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami provides a history of the Arab Israeli conflict which draws on both Palestinian and Israel sources.
George Antonius. The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement (1946)
Classic account of the history and development of Arab nationalism from the early 19th Century through the 1920’s.
Ahron Bregman. Israel’s Wars: A History Since 1947 (2002)
A recent history of Israel’s various wars with its Arab neighbors. The author wrote the similar companion book for the 1998 PBS Documentary, “The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs.”
Peter Coleman and Morton Deutsch (Editors). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000)
Edited handbook of conflict resolution materials for theoreticians and practitioners.
Grace Feuerverger. Oasis of Dreams: Teaching and Learning Peace in a Jewish-Palestinian Village in Israel (2001)
A study of Neve Shalom, the unique joint bicultural, bilingual Arab-Jewish peace village.
Thomas Friedman. From Beirut to Jerusalem (Anchor) 1990
Based on his experiences as a New York Times reporter in Lebanon and Israel in the 1980’s, Friedman intertwines descriptions of everyday life in these countries during the Lebanese civil war and the Palestinian intifada with political analysis of these events and their ramifications for a future political settlement between Arabs and Israelis. Friedman’s reporting from the Middle East won him two Pulitzer Prizes, and he was an early advocate of Israel-PLO dialogue. 608 pages.
David Fromkin. A Peace to End All Peace (1989)
A readable book covering the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, making of the modern Middle East, and the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. 1914 -1922.
Chaim Herzog. The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East (1982)
A traditional Israeli account of the conflict and Israeli history written by a former Israeli President and historian.
Anton La Guardia. War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Struggle for A Promised Land (2002)
An excellent, easy-to-read introduction to this conflict written by a British journalist who spent many years covering the region.
Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin. The Israel-Arab Reader: Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict (Penguin) 2001
Middle East scholars Laquer and Rubin present a comprehensive collection of original documents related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. With speeches, letters, and articles by the many world leaders and political parties that have influenced the direction of the conflict, from the days of the British Mandate through the Oslo period, this is an excellent resource for researchers and those interested in learning about the region’s history based on a broad range of primary sources. 592 pages.
Ian Lustick (Editor). Arab-Israeli Relations: A Collection of Contending Perspectives and Recent Research (1994)
A 10-volume collection of articles on different aspects of Arab-Israeli relations over 50 years.
Benny Morris. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1999 (1999)
A reexamination of Israeli history by a leading revisionist historian of the time, relying heavily on declassified original documents.
Michael Oren. Six Days of War (2002)
Lengthy new study of the Six-Day War, considered balanced and comprehensive.
Ilan Pappe. Britain and the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1948-51 (1988)
Important revisionist work on the British role in the early Arab-Israeli conflict.
Ilan Pappe (Editor). Israel/Palestine Question (1999)
Collection of revisionist essays covering many aspects of the conflict.
Tom Segev. One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate (2000)
Extensive study of the period of the British rule during the Palestinian Mandate.
Avraham Sela. Decline of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Middle East Politics and the Quest for Regional Order (SUNY Press) 1997
Israeli historian Professor Avraham Sela analyzes the changing dynamics in inter-Arab relations since the 1950’s and the effect of these changes on Arab decision-making and the Arab states’ relations with the West and Israel. This book is key to understanding the inter-Arab dimension of past and present regional peacemaking efforts. 423 pages.
Ze’ev Schiff, Ehud Ya’ari. Israel’s Lebanon War (1984)
Two well-respected Israeli journalists provided a detailed account of the early days of the Lebanon War.
Gershon Shafir. Land, Labor and the Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1882-1914 (Updated Edition, 1996)
A study of the early conflict between Zionist settlers and the native Palestinian population over land and labor.
Charles Smith. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (1992)
Fairly balanced presentation of the complex history of this conflict in fairly brief form.
Mark Tessler. A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (1994)
A lengthy and fairly balanced study of a century of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by an American political scientist.