The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine

From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace

By: Michael Scott-Baumann

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

An accessible, balanced chronicle of how the Israel-Palestine conflict originated and developed over the past century. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced listen.

The ongoing struggle between Israel and Palestine is one of the most bitter conflicts in history, with profound global consequences. In this book, Middle East expert Michael Scott-Baumann succinctly describes its origins and charts its evolution from civil war to the present day. Each chapter offers a lucid explanation of the politics and ends with personal testimony from Palestinians and Israelis whose lives have been impacted by the dispute.

While presenting competing interpretations, Scott-Baumann examines the key flashpoints, including the early role of the British, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the Six Day War of 1967, and the Trump administration's peace plan, pitched as "the deal of the century," in 2020. He delineates both the nature of Israeli control over the Palestinian territories and Palestinian resistance—going to the heart of the clashes in recent decades. The result is an indispensable history, including a timeline, glossary, and analysis of why efforts to restore peace have continually failed and what it will take to succeed.

©2021 Michael Scott-Baumann (P)2023 Tantor

The Palestinian Viewpoint

I was looking for a brief, balanced history of the conflict. While this book met the first element (brief), it fell far short of the second (balanced). After finishing it, I feel like I need to go read/listen to a book that presents the Israeli viewpoint.

Most of the “personal insights” the author shares from primary sources (at the end of each chapter) are either from Palestinians discussing their maltreatment at the hands of the Israelis or from Israelis talking about how horribly the Palestinians were treated (this is only a slight exaggeration).

I’m sure the author believes they presented a balanced account of this complex history - but as a reader, it is obvious this book, while still a helpful introduction to the issues, leaves one wishing for an understanding of the Israeli point of view.

I’m not sure I recommend this book. Yes, it’s a quick read, but if you need a second book to fully understand both sides of the issues, then maybe one is better off finding one book that might be a bit longer but is a more complete presentation of the opposing viewpoints.

informative albeit biased

there is a lot of good information in this book
the problem is that the author is clearly biased in favor of the Palestinians so the information is presented to that end.

Great introduction to millennial of conflict

A seemingly balanced telling of the roots and perpetuation of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. I am embarrassed to admit my lack of more than a surface level
understanding of the facts and events. This book has concisely remedied that. Thank you.

Decent but skewed

Decent book. very historical and will give the reader a good understanding of the creation of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This book favors the Palestinian side very clearly and breezes over topics like Hamas. This book inconjuction with others can give a better understanding of the history and conflict.

This is NOT a balanced picture.

Here it is in a nutshell, the shortest review of the shortest history. The takeaways: (1) Israel was formed by Jews taking over Arab lands and plus ethnic cleansing, assisted by the British and the U.N., and subsequently, continued with assistance from the U.S. and to a lesser extent, the EU. (2) Israel always responds disproportionately to attacks from Palestinians. There's some truth in it but that's the problem. Only some.

These points by Scott-Baumann (at least in my reading) lack any semblance of objectivity:

- Palestinians only want justice and self-determination
- Hamas only wants a two-state solution. No mention of Hamas' charter. Scott-Bauman briefly mentions Hamas' talk of establishing an Islamic state, but he makes clear that no one should take it seriously. He also makes clear that he really doesn't consider Hamas to be a 'terrorist' organization, although they are very "authoritarian" in their rule over Gaza, he says
- No mention of Hamas embedding themselves among civilians as a military strategy (using civilians as human shields).
- Israeli school children are taught hate for Palestinians in their school books.- if there is anything in Palestinian school books, Scott-Bauman doesn't mention it. (Which is ridiculous, because this is well-documented.)
- Hezbollah. What's Hezbollah? No mention. War with Lebanon? Not part of the story. Iran? No mention at all when discussing Hamas;
- Israel is an "apartheid state"
- The BDS movement mainly aims to boycott goods made in illegal settlements not to harm Israel.
The book also has a very strained account of the Yom Kippur war...