The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East

By David Hirst

Book Overview

More than a decade before Israel's New Historians revolutionized the study of Israeli history, English journalist David Hirst wrote The Gun and the Olive Branch, a classic, myth-breaking general history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hirst, former Middle East correspondent of the Guardian, traces the origins of the terrible conflict back to the 1880s to show how Arab violence, although often cruel and fanatical, is a response to the challenge of repeated aggression. The Gun and the Olive Branch is an absorbing, potentially controversial, history of the Middle Eastern conflict that is indispensable to anyone with an interest in world politics and by partisans of both sides. This classic and controversial account of the origins of the Middle East conflict returns to print updated with a lengthy introduction that reflects on the course of recent Middle Eastern history -- especially the abortive Israeli-Palestinian peace process and 9/11.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560254831
• ISBN13: 9781560254836
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Bold Type Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

brutally honest and brilliant

hirst pulls no punches. he doesn't sugarcoat any of the violence, nor who started what. people in the US who want to learn about the conflict need to read the gun and the olive branch. media coverage of the conflict is so abysmal in this country. it is not a "religious" issue between jews and muslims, nor something that goes back thousands of years. no, the conflict it is about politics and power and has roots that only go back to the 1880s. the book, though not an all-encompassing account, covers most of the major events, and is quite thoroughly footnoted - he's not just making this stuff up. it is also a pretty quick read. hirst easily dispels many completely untrue myths that have somehow become facts over the years. if you want to continue believing these myths, don't pick up this book. if you want to learn the truth about the israeli-palestinian conflict, cop this text pronto. in a post-911 world, it seems foolish for any american to continue following the company line about the region. our middle east policies go against principles our country is supposedly founded on, works against our national interests, and opposes the majority viewpoint of both israelis and palestinians (land for peace). only pressure from citizens will force US leaders to stop doing the bidding of lobbies, and instead give power to the many brave israelis and palestinians working hard for a legitimate peace. the only way to do that is for the citizenry to start learning the facts, not the propaganda. this book is a great beginning point.

Honest

It's hard to find a good book on this subject in English that's written by someone other than an Israeli, or a supporter of Israel. This book is not anti-semitic, this book is anti-propaganda. Almost every reference which shows the Israelis in a bad light is a direct quotation from an Israeli leader. This book is heavy on facts, Hirst has many reference points, he does not make things up out of thin air. If you are looking for a book that tells you how the Palestinians are such horrible "terrorists", this is not that book. He is light on his criticisms of the Arabs, who have done their share of wrong. That's not what this book is about, though. This book is about the heart of the problem in Palestine, native people being removed from their land. It also focuses on how we in the west have been deceived for decades about the problem. In short, you need this book.

The most complete History of Palestine to date

I cover the Middle East and this book continues to be my most valuable source for understanding the dynamics of the region, the real history and the issues. If you only read one book on the History of Israel and Palestine, this is the one. A British Journalist, he doesn't have an axe to grind with either the Arabs or the Israelis which is probably why both don't care for him. He tells the truth about both, unvarnished. Engaging, Hirst understands the dynamics and does his homework. The new section in the revised edition takes you up through 9/11 and the war on terror. It fills in the blanks and makes sense of the insanity. I personally have bought ten copies of this book and I give it out to people who want to know. It is that good.

Brilliant account of Zionism's impact on the Palestinians

This is a superb history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from its origins in the Zionist dreams of the 1880s to the present. When this classic was first published in 1977, it was met with abuse and silence because it opposed the Zionist orthodoxy and showed how the Israeli state was set up as a typical colonial enterprise, harsh and unjust in its impact on the inhabitants of the land it colonised. The second edition of 1984 added three new chapters, this third edition has a new foreword of 131 pages bringing the book up to date. Chapters cover: the seeds of conflict 1882-1920, no peace in Zion 1921-1935, Arab rebellion 1935-1939, Gun Zionism (driving out the British and the Arabs), the special uses of violence, the Arab-fighters, Greater Israel, the Arab Zionists, the gun and the olive branch, peace with Egypt, the rape of the West Bank, the invasion of Lebanon, the ravages of a purblind orthodoxy, Arafat's historic peace offer, Israel and the `friends of Israel' in America, no end of American partisanship. Hirst analyses the Oslo peace process, the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the effect of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, the intifadas, the power of the Israel lobby - Jewish and Christian fundamentalist - in the USA, and Sharon, who believes that the "idea of making peace with the Palestinians is absurd." Palestinians, like Iraqis, oppose the hated, illegal occupations of their countries. Israel and the USA claim that there is no connection between their occupation and the national resistance. Israel, and the US support for it, is the main reason why people hate the USA. Israel is a strategic, political and economic liability. The US's aggressive policies in the Middle East have cost it more than $1500 billion, more than the war against Vietnam. So US workers do not get `cheap oil': they pay two to five times more per barrel than the benchmark price of Saudi crude, because they pay billions in taxes to cover the military, political and technical costs of the US's aggressive policies.

Understanding this conflict w/o media bias..historical acct

Bar none, this is the best of all the historical accounts because its not just about dates and often repeated myths--by using Israeli, Palestinian, British, UN documents, news reports, speeches, texts, etc., this respected British journalist, was able to connect the reality, apart from the heroic legends and myths that most Americans have been trained to believe as "THE TRUTH". The many untold, unknown, secreted aspects of what happened and WHY is presented, but more importantly, it tells the story without personal elaboration or bias. WARNING: Should be restricted to seekers of historical account with OPEN MINDS ONLY. If you come with no questions in mind you will find this challenging and unsettling..But isn't that the point of expanding one's comprehension of a complex issue? This book was impossible to find in any library or used book store except at GREAT ($300) EXPENSE...and I wondered what contributed to making this paperback a "DISAPPEARED" book? The truth shall set you free...!