The Rise and Fall of Palestine: A Personal Account of the Intifada Years

Q: What is the book’s foundation for describing the Intifada years?

The narrative is anchored in the author’s travels and sustained relationships formed after his 1988 trip to Palestine as part of a human rights delegation.

Q: How does the book approach moral and social behavior during the conflict?

It distinguishes among different forms of conduct, highlighting both corruption and episodes of moral dignity and solidarity among ordinary people.

Q: What themes are addressed in the later sections?

Later chapters address double standards in applying international law, reactions to Scud missiles, and an epilogue questioning the end of Palestine.

Jul 3, 2026

Upload by River Wang

A Personal Account of the Intifada Years by Norman G. Finkelstein documents lived experiences in Palestine, beginning with a 1988 trip as part of an American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee human rights delegation. Friendship-forming encounters with people from Beit Sahour and a refugee camp ground the narrative in everyday realities. The book organizes reflections around themes such as revisiting truths from Palestine, ordinary and extraordinary moral responses, and critiques of double standards in applying international law, extending to why Palestinians reacted to Scud attacks.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

Key Abbreviations and Foreign Terms

Author's Note

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Dramatis Personae

The Truth from Palestine, Revisited

The Ordinary, the Awful, and the Sublime

A Double Standard in the Application of International Law

Why Palestinians Cheered the Scud Missiles

Epilogue The End of Palestine?

Notes

Index

The RISE and FALL 0t PALESTINE The RISE and FALL 0I PALESTINE A Personal Account of the Intifada Years NORMAN G . FINKEL STEIN University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London Copyright 1996 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Finkelstein, Norman G. The rise and fall of Palestine : a personal account of the Intifada years I Norman G. Finkelstein. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8166-2858-0 ISBN 0-8166-2859-9 (pbk.) I. Intifada, 1987- 2. Finkelstein, Norman G.-Joumeys-West Bank. 3. Jewish-Arab relations-1973- I. Title. DS119.75.F55 1996 956.9405' .4-<lc20 The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. 96-17955 To Samira and Moussa As in the last days of Pompeii, there was disintegration; restraints and prohibitions disappeared....I knew about people who were corrupt and I didn't always condemn them because the accepted norm was: "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." ... There were, however, also instances of moral dignity. People sought a way tous, wanted to help us. Citizens without any political affiliation ... There were a lot of instances of dignified behavior, an expression of solidarity of simple people who weren't members of a movement....[W]hen we were in danger, we always found people to hide us.... There was a class of people in the ghetto who lived the good life all the time. These were smugglers and the economic collaborators, not the collaborators, the bastards, the Gestapo agents. These smugglers and economic opportunists were another level of collaborator. Perhaps we could say-with grief and bitterness-this group also included the leadership of the political parties: they had plenty of money, which they got from various sources. ...At any rate, they didn't go hungry. Yitzhak Zuckerman, A Surplus of Memory: Chronicles of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Contents Key Abbreviations and Foreign Terms xi Author's Note xii Acknowledgments xiii Chronology xiv Dramatis Personae xv The Truth from Palestine, Revisited The Ordinary, the Awful, and the Sublime 18 A Double Standard in the Application of International Law 44 Why Palestinians Cheered the Scud Missiles 69 Epilogue The End of Palestine? 85 Notes 123 Index 153 Key Abbreviations and Foreign Terms ADC CRM GSS IDF jaysh MEW PFLP PLO PNC shebab UNC American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Citizen's Rights Movement General Security Services Israel Defense Forces Israeli army Middle East Watch Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Palestine Liberation Organization Palestine National Council young Palestinian militants Unified National Command Author's Note I first traveled to Palestine in August 1988 as part of an American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) human rights delegation. Two chance encounters-with Samira Mikhail of Beit Sahour and Moussa Abu Hashhash of Fawwar refugee camp-developed into enduring friendships as I returned to Palestine in successive ye

FAQs

What is the book’s foundation for describing the Intifada years?

The narrative is anchored in the author’s travels and sustained relationships formed after his 1988 trip to Palestine as part of a human rights delegation.

How does the book approach moral and social behavior during the conflict?

It distinguishes among different forms of conduct, highlighting both corruption and episodes of moral dignity and solidarity among ordinary people.

What themes are addressed in the later sections?

Later chapters address double standards in applying international law, reactions to Scud missiles, and an epilogue questioning the end of Palestine.

Jul 3, 2026

Upload by River Wang