Bitter Harvest: Palestine 1914-1988

By Sami Hadawi

Book Overview

This book tracks the long years of Palestinian history from the fateful Balfour Declaration of 1917 through the times of loss, dispossession and occupation, and on to the triumphs and tragedies of the historic uprising that began in 1987, right up to the 1990 Gulf crisis.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0940793296
• ISBN13: 9780940793293
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: Olive Branch Press
• Length: 351 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 6.1" x 1.1"

Customer Reviews

Michael Joseph Francisconi

It is always best to get two sides before coming to a decision. Palestinian and Israeli conflict stands at the center of all other issues in the Middle East. There are still few Americans that treat the Palestinians as if they part of the human race. Palestinian people are exposed to degrading cruelty. We read of political assassinations. Their homes are destroyed. They live in Apartheid. American Government acts as if this is natural, or even acceptable. The Palestinian movement does not have enough individuals in the USA to help bring about a change in US policy in the region. The truth is Israel will only be secure when there is security and justice for the Palestinian people. The Peace movement in Israel understands this and the means through which a just and equitable peace can be secured for Palestinians is central to their program. Israelis fate is closely tied to the fate of the Palestinians. There are two nations and one country. Like any other settler state the settlers and the ingenious people must be reconciled within that one country. To restate this point Palestinians have an equivalent "not a superior" claim to the land, all the land, than the Israelis. Many American intellectuals are supporters of regional Manifest Destiny, settlers against the indigenous people of this region. These speakers of half-truth can never understand any "settler state" that cannot act in good faith with out first examining her soul. Until now this has been a one sided struggle because Israel is a major recipient of US military aid, and little more than a client state for the Washington Empire. Because of the interference of Washington justice for both Palestinians and Israelis is denied. We are in the mist of an apocalyptic war.

Let the Palestinians be heard!

Sami Hadawi's book is written from a Palestinian refugee's perspective and is a much-needed view for those of us who live in the US and have to hear the Israeli view of the conflict over and over again. Hadawi examines his own ties to the country now called Israel and relates the tragic tale of a people displaced by a stronger military force initially backed by powerful European states, the UN, and then later the world's only superpower, the United States. He covers everything from the history of the region and Palestinian life before the coming of the Zionist colonists/conquerors to the present conflict and what the Palestinians have gone through. Hadawi refrains from too much criticism of Israel though and instead focuses upon the results of the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel as well as the imperialist occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Israeli forces and fanatical Israeli settlers/squatters. Some of what he writes about is personal and about families displaced and homes destroyed and the indifference of the world towards the plight of the Palestinians. Personally, I have mostly read Jewish-American and Israeli historians from both sides of the conflict and Hadawi's voice is something that is needed to counter-balance what is known about this sad situation that continues to be a major focus of American foreign policy concerns. Hadawi's words are filled with sadness that we can almost visualize such as his memories of his home in what is today Israel. What we learn from this book is that there are two people with ties and attachments to the land called Israel and the Occupied Territories. Only one people have all the rights and all the guns. If you are open-minded and want to see this conflict from a new POV that isn't given extensive coverage by the American media then you should make an effort to read this book.