Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine

Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State

By (author) Jeff Halper

Publication date:

20 January 2021

Publisher

Pluto Press

ISBN-13: 9780745343419

'Extremely convincing' - Electronic Intifada

For decades we have spoken of the ‘Israel-Palestine conflict’, but what if our understanding of the issue has been wrong all along? This book explores how the concept of settler colonialism provides a clearer understanding of the Zionist movement's project to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, displacing the Palestinian Arab population and marginalizing its cultural presence.

Jeff Halper argues that the only way out of a colonial situation is decolonization: the dismantling of Zionist structures of domination and control and their replacement by a single democratic state, in which Palestinians and Israeli Jews forge a new civil society and a shared political community.

To show how this can be done, Halper uses the 10-point program of the One Democratic State Campaign as a guide for thinking through the process of decolonization to its post-colonial conclusion. Halper’s unflinching reframing will empower activists fighting for the rights of the Palestinians and democracy for all.

Foreword by Nadia Naser-Najjab
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Colonist Who Refuses, the Comrade in Joint Struggle
PART I ZIONISM AS SETTLER COLONIAL PROJECT
1. Analysis Matters: Beginning with Settler Colonialism Acknowledgements
2. Zionism: A Settler Colonial Project
PART II THREE CYCLES OF ZIONIST COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT
3. Settler “Invasion” and Foundational Violence: The Pre-State Cycle (1880s–1948)
4. The Israeli State Cycle (1948–67)
5. The Occupation Cycle (1967–Present): Completing the Settler Colonial Project
PART III DECOLONIZING ZIONISM, LIBERATING PALESTINE
6. Decolonization: Dismantling the Dominance Management Regime
7. Constructing a Bridging Vision and Set of Acknowledgements
8. A Plan of Decolonization
9. Towards Post-coloniality
10. Addressing the Fears and Concerns of a Single Democratic State
A Last Word: Being Political
Notes
Index

'It is fashionable to say that the two-state solution to Israel-Palestine is dead. Jeff Halper thinks it was never born. In this brave, thought-provoking and highly original book, he presents both a searching critique of Zionist settler colonialism and a compelling case for one democratic state with equal rights for all its citizens'