Bickerton Ian J. - A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Seventh Edition

Ian J. Bickerton

University of New South Wales, Australia

Carla L. Klausner

University of MissouriKansas City

TABLES

CHARTS

MAPS

The dramatic events of the last few years in the Middle East continue to hold, even demand, our attention. They threaten not only the stability of the region and perhaps much of the wider world but also have implications for the future shape and direction of the ArabIsraeli and IsraeliPalestinian conflict. The as yet unknown, unpredictable and far-reaching consequences of the changes in the area that have occurred since the last edition of this book make it even more important that we keep ourselves informed as to what has taken place in the ArabIsraeli conflict. We hope this edition will assist in that process.

In the twenty-three years since we wrote the first edition of this book, there have been far-reaching changes in the ArabIsraeli conflict and significant shifts in the way about which it has been written. Relations between Israel and neighboring states have altered; the dynamic between Israel and the Palestinians has been in constant flux, alternating between periods of relative calm and outbreaks of explosive bitterness and intense hostility, and, at present, the entire Middle East appears to be in the midst of major political and religious upheaval and uncertainty.

The way the participants, including their respective historians, view, speak, and write about themselves and each other has also significantly shifted in the last several decades. The discourse between Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis and within each groupespecially among Israelishas matured and moderated with the passage of time, and we still believe, perhaps optimistically, that a majority on both sides recognizes that specific goals are more attainable through peaceful means than by warfare. We acknowledge that there are extremists on both sides. Nevertheless, Israel is now recognized and accepted as a reality by most Arabs and Palestinians, and most Israelis appear ready to accept the possibility of a Palestinian state. In addition, the world as a whole is paying greater attention to the ArabIsraeli conflict. With this enhanced awareness, new questions have arisen, new frameworks through which the past and present can be viewed have been constructed, and new histories have been written.

Of course, the circumstances that produced the ArabIsraeli conflict have not changed, nor have old enmities disappeared. Historians cannot ignore or change past events or sentiments. We simply see things differently in the twenty-first century than we did in earlier years. Time provides alternative perspectives with which to interpret events. The ArabIsraeli conflict continues to surprise pundits and commentators, however. It even appears to defy the participants themselves.

The genesis of this book was a history colloquium we team-taught on the ArabIsraeli conflict at the University of MissouriKansas City. We discovered that, like the general public, our students had lots of opinions but only fragmentary knowledge. They lacked background information and approached the subject with preconceptions and emotional biases. Our students required knowledge of the events, but they also needed ready access to the documents most relevant to the issues, they needed maps, and they needed guidance as to their further reading. We found no single book that met these requirements, so we decided to write this text to fulfil that need. The book is basically a chronological narrative; however, within that framework, we have tried to highlight certain themes that we regard as central to the conflict.