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For most of the
twentieth century, considered opinion in
the United States regarding Palestine has favored the inherent
right of Jews to exist in the Holy Land. That Palestinians, as
a native population, could claim the same right has been
largely ignored. Kathleen Christison's controversial new book
shows how the endurance of such assumptions, along with
America's singular focus on Israel and general ignorance of
the Palestinian point of view, has impeded a resolution to the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
Christison begins with the derogatory images of Arabs purveyed
by Western travelers to the Middle East in the nineteenth
century, including Mark Twain, who wrote that Palestine's
inhabitants were "abject beggars by nature, instinct, and
education." She demonstrates other elements that have
influenced U.S. policymakers: American religious attitudes
toward the Holy Land that legitimize the Jewish presence;
sympathy for Jews derived from the Holocaust; a sense of
cultural identity wherein Israelis are "like us" and Arabs
distant aliens. She makes a forceful case that decades of
negative portrayals of Palestinians have distorted U.S.
policy, making it virtually impossible to promote resolutions
based on equality and reciprocity between Palestinians and
Israelis.
Christison also challenges prevalent media images and
emphasizes the importance of terminology: Two examples are the
designation of who is a "terrorist" and the imposition of
place names (which can pass judgment on ownership).
Christison's thoughtful book raises a final disturbing
question: If a broader frame of reference on the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been employed, allowing a
less warped public discourse, might not years of warfare have
been avoided and steps toward peace achieved much earlier?
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