Reading List: Israel-Palestine & October 2023

By Raquel E. Aldana, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at the UC Davis School of Law, and Giselle Garcia '23, Legal Fellow for the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at the UC Davis School of Law

The devastating Israel-Hamas crisis has caused and continues to cause unbearable pain and destruction. It has also trapped individuals and institutions in what Amanda Ripley labeled “High Conflict” in her most recent book titled High Conflict: How We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. Ripley defined high conflict as the “mysterious force that incites people to lose their minds in ideological disputes, political feuds, or gang vendettas.” The stakes of this conflict, while atrocious and deadly for the tens of thousands stuck in the war, has also produced high stakes casualties for those outside of it who bear witness. For many across colleges and universities, it has been despairing to silence or fraught to speak.

As we begin a new year, the flame of peace appears dim, even dark. Yet, it feels wrong for us who are not fighting for our very survival, to let it extinguish. This reads like an empty statement. It is fair to contemplate the futility or banality of our efforts when thousands are dying from starvation or bombs or suffer in agonizing captivity.

This seems odd to say but the presence of high conflict is itself an opportunity. So much horror in the world today remains morbidly invisible. The Israel-Hamas war, however, has been spared this indifference. People care so much that sometimes we become blind by our own hurt and indignation, unable to see our shared humanity and to listen. But listen we must. We owe it to the victims on all sides of this conflict, and especially the ones who clamor for peace even after enduring unspeakable trauma.

During the past few months, Giselle and I have spent numerous hours trying to listen. We have decided to listen to voices that have edified our understanding, challenged our assumptions, deepened our thinking, and even renewed our hope. We share some of these resources with you. We may not agree with each of the resources on this list. In fact, Giselle and I have sometimes disagreed between ourselves. We both feel, however, that we have grown in our mutual respect and understanding. We have come to recognize in ourselves our generational differences, and the ways in which our lived experiences inform our approaches and definitions of justice, including in this conflict.

We invite you to join us in this journey. We think it important not just for this conflict but for so many others across the world – sadly too many to mention – to which we should be paying more attention. If you have ideas on how to engage with you at King Hall, let us know.

With heavy hearts, open minds, and committed hope!

Raquel Aldana and Giselle Garcia

Reading List

I. Understanding the Origins of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

• “How Did We Get Here? A Deep Dive Into the History of Israel-Palestine – Part One,” Jewish Studies, Fordham University. 
• How Did We Get Here? A Conversation with Ghaith al-Omari and Dennis Ross on the Middle East Crisis (youtube.com)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Timeline | World101 (cfr.org)“History of the Question of Palestine,” United Nations.
• “A Timeline of Israel and Palestine’s Complicated History,” Vox. 
• “Israeli – Palestinian Conflict,” Global Conflict Tracker.
• “How Palestinians Were Expelled From Their Homes,” Vox. 
• “Charts Show Stark Difference in Human Cost of Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts Over the Years,” CNBC. 
• Light In Gaza. Haymarket Books. 
• “Palestine 101,” Decolonize Palestine. 
• “Why Doesn’t Israel Have a Constitution? The Origins of the Story,” The Jerusalem Post. 
• “40 Books to Understand Palestine,” Literary Hub. 
• Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israel Conflict by Amy Dockser Marcus 
• The Holy Land and Us - Our Untold Stories - Series 1: Episode, BBC iPlayer.
• 1948 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Tug of War: How Decades of Displacement and Discord Fueled This War on Apple Podcasts
• "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Long Shadow of 1948," NYT. 
• "History of Hezbollah," NPR.
• "Opinion | Israel vs. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran - and itself," NYT.

II. International Norms and Organizations Engaged with the Israel-Palestine Conflict

• Committee - Question of Palestine (un.org)
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - occupied Palestinian territory | Home Page (ochaopt.org)
• UNRWA | United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
• Israel and the occupied territories | International Committee of the Red Cross (icrc.org)

III. Understanding October 7 and its Aftermath 

• The Laws of War and Ongoing Investigations/Litigation
  • Israel, Hamas and the Laws of War: a Primer,” WBUR.
  • The Rules of War in the Israel/Hamas Conflict (youtube.com)
  • “Applications of the Principles of International Humanitarian Law to the Current Israel/Gaza Conflict,” American Society of International Law.
  • “Under Rules of War, ‘Proportionality’ in Gaza is Not About Evening the Score,” The New York Times. 
  • “Defense for Children International – Palestine v. Biden,” Center for Constitutional Rights.
  • Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (Sou (icj-cij.org)
  • State of Palestine | International Criminal Court (icc-cpi.int)
  • "Understanding South Africa v. Israel at the International Court of Justice," by Chimène Keitner, Lawfare.
  • "What Might Happen Next in the Genocide Case Against Israel," NYT. 
  • "Making Sense of the ICJ's Provisional Measures in South Africa v. Israel," by Chimène Keitner, Lawfare.
  • "Netanyahu Again Vows to Invade Rafah 'With or Without' Cease-Fire or Deal," NYT.
  • "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel," United Nations Human Rights Council. 
• Hamas
  • “What is Hamas?” Al Jazeera. 
  • “She Polled Gazans on Oct. 6. Here’s What She Found,” The Ezra Klein Show.
  • “Where the Palestinian Political Project Goes From Here,” The New Yorker.
  • “A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance,” Haaretz.
  • “Hamas Is Not ISIS,” TIME.
  • “For Years, Netanyahu Propped Up Hamas. Now It’s Blown Up in Our Faces,” The Times of Israel.
  • “'Everybody got it wrong': How did Israel fail to detect Hamas' planned invasion?” NPR.
  • Public Opinion in Palestine Before the Conflict (youtube.com)
• Voices from Gaza and Israel and Diaspora Communities
  • “Voices from Gaza,” NYT The Daily Podcast.
  • “Israel’s Violence Will Never Bring ‘Safety’ To Anyone, Including Jews,” Truthout.
  • “Our Children Hear Israeli Troops Getting Closer. How Can We Comfort Them?” +927 Magazine.
  • The Ezra Klein Show: What Israelis Fear the World Does Not Understand on Apple Podcasts
  • “Israeli Voices Questioning War Are Faint: ‘Some People Calling Us Traitors,’” The Los Angeles Times.
  • “Risking Arrest and Assault, Israelis Begin Protesting Gaza War,” +927 Magazine.
  • “How October 7 Has Changed Us All and What It Signals For Our Struggle,” +927 Magazine.
  • “Israel’s Holocaust Survivors Struggle With Gaza War as Trauma Deepens,” Reuters.
  • “Some Things Must Be Made Crystal Clear,” Breaking the Silence.
  • “‘From the river to the sea’: What does the Palestinian slogan really mean?” Al Jazeera.  
  • “Opinion: Palestinian and Israeli Children Are Endangered By ‘Us v. Them’ Narratives,” Los Angeles Times.
  • “How Generational Trauma Among Israelis and Palestinians Fuels the Cycles of Violence,” NPR. 
  • “Our Approach to Zionism,” Jewish Voice For Peace. 
  • "Is Israel Part of What It Means to Be Jewish," New York Times.
  • "'I Have No Idea How This Ends. I've Never Seen It So Broken.'" The Ezra Klein Show. 
  • "Stranded in Rafah as an Israeli Invasion Looms," The Daily. 
  • "Field Notes: On Reporting the Israel-Hamas War," Embedded NPR.
  • "825: Yousef," This American Life Podcast. 
• First Amendment Considerations
  • “Volume 54, Issue 4 (2023) Symposium: Israel, Palestine & The First Amendment,” University of the Pacific Law Review. 
  • “A Timeline of How the Israel-Hamas War Has Roiled College Campuses,” The New York Times.
  • “Why We Must Reject Efforts to Restrict Constitutionally Protected Speech on College Campuses,” ACLU. 
  • “College Administrations Are Failing Their Palestinian and Jewish Students,” The Nation. 
  • “Journalist Casualties in the Israel-Gaza War,” Committee to Protect Journalists.
  • "Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on College Campuses," The Daily.
  • "Understanding Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism," Diane Rehm: On My Mind.
  • "Opinion: When States Try To Take Away Americans' Freedom of Thought," NYT. 
  • "The Man Who Helped Redefine Campus Antisemitism," NYT. 
  • "Consistent Partiality: U.S. Foreign Policy on Palestine-Israel," The Race and Rights Podcast.
  • "Opinion: A Dispatch From Inside Columbia's Student-Led Protest for Gaza," NYT.
  • "Open Letter to College and University Presidents on Protests," ACLU.
  • "An Obscure California law may prevent action on protesters' calls for divestment from Israel," Silicon Valley.
  • "The Crackdown on Student Protesters," The Daily. 

IV. Peacemaking

• “Why the Oslo Accords Between Israelis and Palestinians Failed?” The New York Times.
• The Ezra Klein Show: The Best Primer I’ve Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts on Apple Podcasts
• “Five Miles and a World Apart, Younger Activists Dream of a New Peace Process,” The New York Times. 
• “Opinion: Justice for the Palestinians and Security for Israel,” The New York Times.
• “The Case for a Democratic One-State Solution for Israelis and Palestinians.” Los Angeles Times. 
• “What Happens After the Israel-Hamas War Ends. Two State Solution Faces Strong Winds,” Los Angeles Times. 
• “Opinion | Gaza’s Future: Here Are 10 Scenarios,” The New York Times.
• “What the Failed Oslo Accords Can Teach Us About Prospects for Middle East Peace,” KQED’s Forum. 
• A Land For All | Two States One Homeland
• “The Sermons I Needed to Hear Right Now,” The Ezra Klein Show.
• “The War in Israel-Palestine,” Standing Together.
• “Good Conflict with Amanda Ripley,” On Being with Krista Tippett. 
• “A One-State Solution Could Work in Israel,” The American Prospect.
• The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart or the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
• Opinion | Gaza's Future: Here Are 10 Scenarios - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• “How the U.S. Can Push Israel Toward a Cease-fire in Gaza,” Los Angeles Times. 
• “Nearly 1 Million Across the US Call for a Ceasefire Now,” Amnesty International.
• “Academic Webinar: Public Opinion on Israel and Palestine,” Council on Foreign Relations.
• "'Stuck Together'? Can a Two-State Confederation End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," by Omar Dajani and Dahlia Sheindlin, Cambridge University Press.
• "Building the Palestinian State With Salam Fayyad," The Ezra Klein Shown, The New York Times.
• "An Arab Mandate for Palestine," The New York Times. 
• "For Israelis and Palestinians, the Two-State 'Solution' Isn't a Solution At All," The New York Times.
• "Can European Recognition Bring Palestinian Statehood any Closer?" The New York Times.
• "When it comes to Israel-Palestine, true naivety is believing in endless war," Al Jazeera.