Alan Dowty Books

How did a community of a few thousand Jewish refugees become, in little over a century, a modern nation-state and homeland of half the world's Jews? Has modern Israel fulfilled the Zionist vision of becoming a nation like other nations, or is it still, in Biblical terns, a people that dwells alone?Alan Dowty distils over half a century of study as an inside/outside analyst of Israel in tracing this remarkable story. It begins in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, when Jews fleeing Russian persecution established a renewed Jewish presence in their historic homeland. It continues through harsh struggle and in deep-rooted conflict with another people that sees Israel/Palestine equally as their homeland. Immensely successful by most standards, Israel today remains a center of contention and is still torn between its hard-earned role as a normal nation and the call of its particularistic, and unique, Jewish history.

What explains the peculiar intensity and evident intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of all the hot spots in the world today, the apparently endless clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution.

When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Some discussions focus on the 1967 war, some go back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and others look to the beginning of the British Mandate in 1922. Alan Dowty, however, traces the earliest roots of the conflict to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, arguing that this historical approach highlights constant clashes between religious and ethnic groups in Palestine. He demonstrates that existing Arab residents viewed new Jewish settlers as European and shares evidence of overwhelming hostility to foreigners from European lands. He shows that Jewish settlers had tremendous incentive to minimize all obstacles to settlement, including the inconvenient hostility of the existing population. Dowty's thorough research reveals how events that occurred over 125 years ago shaped the implacable conflict that dominates the Middle East today.

The book explores the complexities of establishing a cohesive political structure in Israel amidst diverse societal groups, including Jews, Arabs, and varying degrees of religious observance. It highlights how demographic shifts and challenges to legitimacy have exacerbated existing divisions, undermining pluralism. The absence of a unifying civic identity to replace Zionism complicates efforts for unity. Additionally, the failure of the peace process and global influences further impact both the Arab-Israeli conflict and domestic societal dynamics.

From Mark Twain to Theodor Herzl, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Ezer Weizman, Ehud Barak, Marwan Barghouti, Mahmoud Abbas, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, and dozens of others, the first-hand narratives brought together in this Reader bring the conflict to life as seen by those closest to it.