The war between Israel and Hamas did not start on 7 October. But when did it begin?
Two books that have shot to the top of national bestseller lists in recent weeks attempt to answer that question, through divergent histories of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Currently at No 3 on the New York Times nonfiction paperback bestseller list is the pre-eminent Palestinian American historian Rashid Khalidi’s The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017, which draws on scholarly research and the author’s experience to explain Palestinian dispossession and perseverance in the face of colonialism. At No 5 on the list is Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by the actor and former Israeli envoy Noa Tishby, a breezy rundown of Israel’s national myths and talking points.
