OPIS
This polemical study systematically undermines the popular and scholarly representations of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Opening with a theoretical discussion of Zionism and its roots, Norman Finkelstein goes on to look at the demographic origins of the Palestinians, referencing the work of Joan Peters and critiquing the influential studies of both Benny Morris and Anita Shapira, and closes by demonstrating that the casting of Israel as the innocent victim of Arab aggression in the June 1967 and October 1973 wars is not supported by the documentary record. In the material added for this new edition, including a new introduction, Finkelstein focuses his attention on the renewed efforts of scholars to justify the brutal actions of Israel in light of the ongoing failure of the peace process.