Publisher's Weekly Review
Applying the work of Michel Foucault to the contemporary Middle East, this highly theoretical book examines the "means of control used to manage" the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Gordon, a professor of politics at Ben-Gurion University, begins by exploring the diffuse mechanisms of power--in the political, civilian, geographical and economic arenas--used to normalize the occupation in its first years, making the ostensibly temporary occupation permanent. Later chapters take a more specific historical approach, examining a series of events that radically transformed these power structures: the first intifada, the Oslo Accords and the second intifada, which, the author argues, required a reorganization of Israeli power in the Occupied Territories, leading to the disregard of the Palestinians inhabiting those territories. Gordon focuses on the treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and writes for a decidedly scholarly audience; as a result, the book's usefulness beyond academics will likely be limited. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice Review
This is probably the most comprehensive record of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It provides a chronicle of the Israeli occupation from 1967 to the present. Gordon (Ben-Gurion Univ., Israel) specializes in the affairs of the West Bank and Gaza. He is critical of the occupation, but chooses to not link the Zionist project with the occupation of 1967. Moreover, he avoids humanizing Palestinian victims of the occupation and favorably characterizes the early economic policies of the occupation. Surprisingly, Gordon rarely consults the many Arabic books that have been written by Palestinians about the occupation--as if the victims are not allowed to speak, or what they have to say is suspect. Gordon makes the following point several times: "Also worth noting is that the number of Palestinians who have been killed is relatively small in comparison with those killed during other military occupations" (p. xviii). This argument is weak but consistent with his separation of the West Bank and Gaza from everything else. Israeli subjugation of the West Bank and Gaza relied on killing Palestinians in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and elsewhere. A comprehensive and informative account of the occupation that lacks critical contextualization. Summing Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate readers. A. AbuKhalil California State University, Stanislaus