Israelis And Palestinians: Conflict And Resolution

These essays, written between 1966 and 2010 by lifelong Israeli activist and theorist Moshé Machover, cover diverse aspects of Israeli society and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Elaborating on the ideas of the Socialist Organization in Israel (Matzpen), two interrelated themes appear throughout the collection: the necessity of understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a regional context and the connection between Palestinian liberation and the struggle for socialism throughout the Middle East.

“This collection of Moshé Machover’s writings from the mid-1960s to today brings together a coherent and consistent vision of Zionist colonialism and the dispossession and discrimination which have been its hallmarks throughout the whole period. [A] valuable book in its historical reach, accessible style, and forthright debunking of the ‘peace process’ and other lazy myths...”

          —Victoria Brittain, former associate foreign editor of the Guardian and author of 'Hidden Lives, Hidden Deaths'

“The quality of [Machover’s] writing is clear, precise, accessible, free of cant, challenging, and unswerving in its commitment, and its content is the very stuff of struggle—all marks of an organic intellectual.”

          —A. Sivanandan, director, Institute of Race Relations

“Moshé Machover has been consistent in his belief that socialism provides the best framework for the organization of human affairs and this governs his perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict. While many have internalized the nation-state as the most sublime form of social and political organization, he remains undaunted in his rejection of nationalism.”

          —Musa Budeiri, author of 'The Palestine Communist Party, 1919–1948: Arab and Jew in the Struggle for Internationalism'

“This collection of essays reflects Matzpen’s resolutely socialist perspective for understanding the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.... [Machover] not only elaborates on constructing a solid basis for a socialist alternative to Zionism but enriches the general Marxist and socialist theory on colonialism and imperialism in our era.”

          —Tikva Honig-Parnass, author of 'False Prophets of Peace: Liberal Zionism and The Struggle for Palestine'

MOSHÉ MACHOVER is a mathematician and emeritus professor at London University. He is coauthor with Akiva Orr of 'Peace, Peace Where There Is No Peace' and with Emmanuel Farjoun, 'Laws of Chaos: A Probabilistic Approach to Political Economy'.