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Editorial Reviews
Review
"[A] masterful treatise on how it is that the United States managed to ignore the Palestinians for a century." -- Donald Neff, Journal of Palestine Studies
Product Description
Christison begins with the derogatory images of Arabs purveyed by Western travelers to the Middle East in the nineteenth century, including Mark Twain, who wrote that Palestine's inhabitants were "abject beggars by nature, instinct, and education." She demonstrates other elements that have influenced U.S. policymakers: American religious attitudes toward the Holy Land that legitimize the Jewish presence; sympathy for Jews derived from the Holocaust; a sense of cultural identity wherein Israelis are "like us" and Arabs distant aliens. She makes a forceful case that decades of negative portrayals of Palestinians have distorted U.S. policy, making it virtually impossible to promote resolutions based on equality and reciprocity between Palestinians and Israelis.
Christison also challenges prevalent media images and emphasizes the importance of terminology: Two examples are the designation of who is a "terrorist" and the imposition of place names (which can pass judgment on ownership).
Christison's thoughtful book raises a final disturbing question: If a broader frame of reference on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been employed, allowing a less warped public discourse, might not years of warfare have been avoided and steps toward peace achieved much earlier?
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› Visit Amazon's Kathleen Christison Page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
91 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unhesitatingly recommended as a standard text,
By
This review is from: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy (Hardcover)
Although the history of America's "special relationship" with Israel is by no means a unexplored topic for authors, Kathleen Christison's "Perceptions of Palestine: Their influence on U.S. Middle East Policy" breaks new ground by its sheer scope of analysis, tracing 130 years of formulation of American perceptions of the Middle East, and their ultimate manifestation in U.S. government policy. "In the Middle East," writes Christison at the beginning of her book, "terminology shapes reality; it becomes a way of seeing reality, and, finally, it is reality." This single line, perhaps better than any other, encapsulates the political landscape mapped by Christison's book, a well-referenced 293-page investigation of the sources of the US mindset that has shaped Middle East policies through twelve key presidencies from Wilson to Clinton. "Perceptions on Palestine" analyses the state of knowledge of the president and key policymakers in each administration and the preconceptions with which they entered office, by examining - where available - their writings and the writings of those who most closely influenced them; by exploring coexistent popular attitudes towards the Middle East in the media, films, and literature; and by looking at how each administration was influenced by the prevailing conventional wisdom. I would unhesitatingly recommend this book as a standard text for anyone wishing to understand the reason for the prolonged nature of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
116 of 132 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, and probably very true,
By
This review is from: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy (Updated Edition with a New Afterword) (Paperback)
Christison's book on how the Palestinians have virtually been ignored by the United States throughout the Arab-Israeli conflict is a first-rate analysis of American foreign policy at its worst. She details the ways in which each president has been oblivious to the existence of a rich Palestinian culture and history. It is amazing how even the presidents we associate with being supportive of the Palestinian cause (Jimmy Carter) still suffered, to a certain degree, from this cross-cultural ignorance. Perceptions of Palestine is highly effective in forcing the reader to sit back and reflect on their own views. It made me question to validity and objectivity of the information I receive every day on the middle east. I highly recommend this book as there are not many out there with such a unique and important argument.
58 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Breed,
By A Customer
This review is from: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy (Updated Edition with a New Afterword) (Paperback)
A scrupulously honest and well-researched history of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the context of the distorted view held by the U.S. public and its policy makers. In light of the recent terrorist attacks and turmoil in the middle east, this books serves as an anchor and guide to our miscast perceptions of playing the "honest broker" in the Middle East peace process. Fearful of being labeled anti-Semitic, our congressional leaders roll over at the first sign of pressure tactics from AIPAC. In the past the U.S media has served as a policy tool of the Israeli government as it hoodwinks the US public into sending billions to feed the war machine under the ruse of "self-defense. I hope reading this book will bring others around to the realization that we need a "truly" balanced policy in the Middle East which transcends national politics in the US.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating memoir of a Palestinian
For an overall view of exactly what happened, read an excellent first-hand account of a moderate Palestinian.
Published 14 months ago by K. Kline
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Source
Excellent source for anyone who would like to learn more & know the other side of the Palestinian / Israeli conflict.
Published 16 months ago by Khalil Dughaish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing prospective, one of a kind
This book gave me a clear idea how in general Westerners (and especially Americans) are biased when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Published 17 months ago by Abu al-Sous
1.0 out of 5 stars
Why pay for Arab propaganda when you can get it for free?
I am sick and tired to read recycled Arab propaganda that has nothing to do with reality. If you can still cope with it - buy the book.
Published on March 30, 2006 by Ehud Duchovni
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent.. and yes, the truth hurts
To those who call it anti-semitic, Arabs are semitic too, so drop it.. it's getting old. Everytime a book shows the truth about Israeli aggression against Palestinians it is...
Published on July 15, 2004
1.0 out of 5 stars
More anti-semitic drivel from an anti-Israel wacko
The Palestinian crusade against Israel is fueled by deception, anti-Semitism, Islamic terrorism and the unapologetic rewriting of Middle East history.
Published on September 17, 2003 by C
1.0 out of 5 stars
Garbage ...
There is nothing objective about this book. The author subscribes to one-sided, conspiratorial views on events in the Middle East.
Published on December 13, 2002 by myx0mop
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frozen mindset
This is a very clear treatment of the basic difficulty that has accompanied the Arab-Israeli conflict all the way through--the fixed mindset that gives 'conventional wisdom' free...
Published on May 3, 2002 by John C. Landon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Biased - but informative nonetheless
Kathleen Christison does a good job of explaining, and showing, how Israel-centered the United States' foreign policy has been ever since 1948 (and pro-Zionist during the decades...
Published on May 1, 2002 by Eugene Oregon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illuminating and Rigorous
Since September 11, I have been searching for an understanding of what's going on in the Middle East. I had done no serious study, but I quite recommend this book.
Published on October 9, 2001 by george T. Karnezis
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Browse and search another edition of this book.
Humorist Mark Twain's bitter cynicism and cleverness as a wordsmith combined to make him a popular commentator in mid-nineteenth century United States. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
policymaking frame, unrecognizable episode, settlement construction, autonomy negotiations, comprehensive peace settlement, occupation practices, peace process, disengagement agreement, strategic ties Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Middle East, West Bank, State Department, White House, Camp David, Arabs of Palestine, Soviet Union, Palestinian Arabs, New York Times, Balfour Declaration, Cold War, Reagan Plan, World War, National Security Council, Washington Institute, East Jerusalem, Holy Land, Ronald Reagan, Saudi Arabia, King Hussein, Abdul Aziz, British Mandate, General Assembly, Israel's Likud New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
- U.S. Policy on Palestine: From Wilson to Clinton by Michael W. Suleiman on 12 pages
- The Realities of American-Palestine Relations by Frank E. Manuel on 6 pages
- The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict: Making America's Middle East Policy, from Truman to Reagan by Steven L. Spiegel on 5 pages
- Decade of Decisions: American Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967-1976 by William B. Quandt on 4 pages
- Turmoil and Triumph My Years As Secretary of State by George P. Shultz on 4 pages
See all 81 books this book cites
- Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism And The Failure Of Good Intentions by Clyde V. Prestowitz in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism And The Failure Of Good Intentions by Clyde V. Prestowitz in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Companion to American Foreign Relations (Blackwell Companions to American History) by Robert Schulzinger on page 383, and Back Matter
- Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives by The National Archives in Back Matter
- American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945 by Douglas Little in Back Matter
See all 7 books citing this book
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