Resources To Help Make Sense Of The History Of Israel And Palestine, With Organisations To Support 

Books To Read  

1. The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (2020) – A landmark history of the struggle between Jewish aspirations and Palestinian resistance in the century following the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Essential reading to understand the current war.  
2. Nakba: Palestine, 1948, And The Claims Of Memory (Cultures Of History) edited by Ahmad H. Sa’di and Lila Abu-Lughod (2007) – By focusing on memories of the Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ of 1948, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed during the creation of the state of Israel, the contributors to this volume illuminate the contemporary Palestinian experience and clarify the moral claims they make for justice and redress.
3. A Day In The Life Of Abed Salama: A Palestine Story by Nathan Thrall (2023) – This compassionate story of a father searching for his five-year-old son following a tragic accident provides an immersive portrait of daily life in Palestine. Weaving together the ordinary lives of Jewish and Palestinian inhabitants, it combines vivid storytelling with in-depth analysis of the occupation.  
4. Enemies And Neighbours: Arabs And Jews In Palestine And Israel 1917-2017 by Ian Black (2017) – This scrupulously impartial history unpacks the complexities of the world’s most polarising conflict with clarity and candour. It stands out for being acclaimed by both Israeli and Palestinian historians.  
5. Hamas: The Islamic Resistance Movement by Beverley Milton-Edwards and Stephen Farrell (2010) – How did Hamas grow to be so powerful? Who supports it? What is its future? This essential insight into Hamas answers these questions. Drawing on frontline experiences, access to secret documents from the Western intelligence community and interviews with leaders, militants and commanders of Hamas’ armed battalions, this book reveals the full story of Hamas and the future of political Islam in the Middle East.   
6. Israel: A History by Anita Shapira (2012) – Written by one of Israel’s most notable scholars, this book traces the history of Israel from the origins of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century to the present day. A must-read for anyone with a passionate interest in Israel and the Middle East. 
7. My Promised Land: The Triumph And Tragedy Of Israel by Ari Shavit (2013) – From his great-grandfather’s first visit to the Holy Land in the 19th century, through to the Tel Aviv rave scene, Shavit offers a nuanced view of the Israeli experience, highlighting both triumphs and challenges. 
8. Out Of Place: A Memoir by Edward W. Said (2000) – From one of the most important intellectuals of our time comes an extraordinary story of exile and a celebration of an irrecoverable past as he rediscovers the lost Arab world of his early years in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt. Said writes movingly about the dissonance of being an American citizen, a Christian and a Palestinian, and, ultimately, an outsider. 
9. Captive Revolution: Palestinian Women’s Anti-Colonial Struggle Within the Israeli Prison System by Nahla Abdo (2014) – Abdo seeks to break the silence on Palestinian women political detainees, providing a vital contribution to research on women, revolutions, national liberation and anti-colonial resistance.  
10. Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History by Nur Masalha (2018) – This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine’s millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history. 

Organisations On The Ground  

1. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders – An international, independent medical humanitarian organisation that provides medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. @doctorswithoutborders  
2. Medical Aid For Palestinians (MAP) – A charity carrying out life-saving medical projects in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon serving refugees and those living under occupation. @medicalaidpal   
3. United Nations agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) – UNRWA is calling for immediate access to humanitarian aid and urgent funding for food and non-food items for Palestine Refugees in need. @unrwa     
4. Hoping Foundation – Hoping provides grants to grassroots community organisations that work with young Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. @hoping_foundation  
      

Human Rights Groups  

1. B’Tselem – B’Tselem was founded in Jerusalem in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members to document and educate policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. View its interactive resource Conquer and Divide, a series of maps illustrating Israel’s increased control in the Occupied Territories since 1967. @btselem  
2. Jewish Voice For Peace – For those based in the US, the Jewish Voice For Peace website lists a number of actions you can take to call for a ceasefire. @jewishvoiceforpeace  
3. Women Wage Peace and Women Of The Sun – Israel-based Women Wage Peace and its Palestinian sister movement Women Of The Sun empower women on both sides of the border to shore up support for peace in their communities and build trust across divides. Their call to action is a unified demand for diplomatic negotiation, with full representation of women, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. @womenwagepeace / @women.of.the.sun_  
4. Amnesty International – International human rights organisation Amnesty International has a petition urging world leaders to call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and put an end to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. @amnesty  
5. Human Rights Watch – 550+ country experts, lawyers and journalists contribute to Human Rights Watch as part of a global movement to defend human rights. Its extensive coverage on Gaza includes calls for allies of Israel and backers of Palestinian armed groups to suspend the transfer of arms to the warring parties in Israel and Gaza. @humanrightswatch