On Palestine summary

What has happened to Palestine over the past century, and what can be done about it? This is the pressing question that professor Ilan Pappé has devoted much of his life to answering.

Much of Pappé’s efforts are focused on changing the conversation. For years, there has been what the author calls an “old conversation” about Israel and Palestine. Pappé has been at the forefront of not only bringing about a new conversation, but also in recognizing a “new history” in the story of Israel and Palestine – one that corrects the historical record.

These efforts have already been somewhat successful. The global public opinion has begun to shift in favor of the Palestinian cause. However, Israel’s political and economic allies in the West remain determined to keep the old conversation alive. As a result, Israel’s policies of dispossession continue unabated, with no real consequences.

Part of the effort in putting forth a new conversation is to have people focus less on individual Israeli policies and more on the broader ideology that underpins them. Much like how apartheid was condemned in South Africa, Pappé argues that Zionism itself should be challenged. Yet public discourse avoids this, often out of fear of being labeled anti-Semitic.

Another aspect of the old conversation is that we’re supposed to view the Palestinian struggle as being overly complex, when, at its core, it is a straightforward story of colonialism and dispossession. Despite efforts by Palestinian historians and Israeli scholars, these revisions haven’t translated into significant progress in peace talks, which continue to ignore the root causes of the conflict.

In the old conversation, the two-state solution was held up as the most viable path to peace. This vision, often endorsed by international diplomats and even some Palestinians, called for Israel to retain 80 percent of the land, leaving 20 percent for a Palestinian state. But in the new conversation, this approach is increasingly seen as outdated. Activists and scholars now advocate for a one-state solution, rooted in the idea of decolonizing Israel and Palestine, and transforming the Israeli regime into a democracy that represents all people, not just Jewish Israelis.

How can we make this happen? One of the main tactics is the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (or BDS) campaign, modeled after the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The aim is to apply external pressure on Israel, recognizing that real change is unlikely to come from within the country itself. This movement advocates not only for an end to the occupation but also for the recognition of Palestinian refugees’ right to return, a demand that many Palestinian leaders have been reluctant to fully endorse.

It’s true that every past injustice can't be rectified. The emphasis instead is on stopping ongoing oppression. It's not about vengeance or naïveté but a realistic hope for justice and equality. Some might fear a single or binational democratic state, thinking that such an arrangement would reduce Palestinians to second-class citizens. Yet, on the ground, these concerns pale in comparison to the reality of continued occupation and ethnic cleansing.

In the sections ahead, Pappé talks with Noam Chomsky for a more in-depth exploration of the issues: the history of Zionism, the public opinion within Israel, the effectiveness of activism, and what else can be done to advocate for the Palestinian people.