Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

What else should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Here are some options.

Palestinians throw stones and burn tyres in response to Israeli forces’ intervention as they gather to support the maritime demonstration to break the Gaza blockade by sea with vessels in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2018.
Palestinians throw stones and burn tyres in response to Israeli forces’ intervention as they gather to support the maritime demonstration to break the Gaza blockade by sea with vessels in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2018.
Palestinians throw stones and burn tyres in response to Israeli forces’ intervention as they gather to support the maritime demonstration to break the Gaza blockade by sea with vessels in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2018.
Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Zack Beauchamp
Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy, The Reactionary Spirit, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here.

If you want to learn more about the rising power of settlers and the settlement movement inside Israel, David Remnick wrote an excellent piece in the New Yorker.

A solid introduction to the pro-Palestinian community, and particularly its internal divides, is Ben Smith’s profile of the fraught personal relationship between two leading advocates for Palestinian rights. Ali Abunimah, perhaps the most prominent advocate of both BDS and the one-state solution, and Hussein Ibish, a leading Arab supporter of the two-state solution, used to be close friends. Smith’s account of their bitter split says a lot about the various arguments on both sides of the internal pro-Palestinian divide — and how, in the case of Israel/Palestine, how the political always becomes personal.

If you want to learn about the close and sometimes vexed relationship between American Jews and Israel, Peter Beinart’s ”The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment” is one of the most influential — and controversial — essays on the topic in recent memory. It doesn’t take too long to read; after you’re done, read Jason Zengerle’s breakdown of the heated, surprising debate Beinart inspired.

If you’re interested in how demographics are forcing Israel to either leave the West Bank or abandon its dual Jewish/democratic identity, Israeli demographer Sergio DellaPergola, breaks the issue down clearly here.

If you want to understand why the Israeli right is skeptical of peace with Palestinians, eminent Israeli historian Benny Morris’s piece on Palestinian ”rejectionism” is as clear an articulation as you could hope for.

f you want to understand why Palestinians are skeptical of the two-state solution, read Columbia University historian Rashid Khalidi’s take on the current state of the conflict.

See More:

More in archives

archives
Ethics and Guidelines at Vox.comEthics and Guidelines at Vox.com
archives
By Vox Staff
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health careThe Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health care
Supreme Court

Given the Court’s Republican supermajority, this case is unlikely to end well for trans people.

By Ian Millhiser
archives
On the MoneyOn the Money
archives

Learn about saving, spending, investing, and more in a monthly personal finance advice column written by Nicole Dieker.

By Vox Staff
archives
Total solar eclipse passes over USTotal solar eclipse passes over US
archives
By Vox Staff
archives
The 2024 Iowa caucusesThe 2024 Iowa caucuses
archives

The latest news, analysis, and explainers coming out of the GOP Iowa caucuses.

By Vox Staff
archives
The Big SqueezeThe Big Squeeze
archives

The economy’s stacked against us.

By Vox Staff