This is a guide for those who have come to the conclusion that Zionism is a racist and settler-colonialist ideology and thus must be opposed. Not all the books listed were written by anti-Zionists, but all will assist you in intellectual self-defense. The guide will be revised from time to time.
The essential works on understanding the Israel-Palestine conflict
To get a sense of the what the Palestinians have suffered under Zionist occupation there is no better place to start then with Noam Chomsky. Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (South End Press Classics Series) . Professor Chomsky is extremely well informed about the issue. His books always contain abundant footnotes from respectable sources. He writing is clear and concise, he uses no "linguistic tricks" or "fancy language" as has been charged, to make his case.
Norman Finkelstein is probably the most important U.S. Academic writing about the conflict. Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, New and Revised Edition and Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. Like Chomksy his books are heavily footnoted and contain more essential information per paragraph than anyone else I know of.
Michael Neummann's recent book The Case Against Israel (Counterpunch) is the perfect place to start if you don't have much time to read and want a basic introduction to what is involved in the conflict. Another good concise introduction with more historical background is How Israel Was Won: A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
The late Edward Said was the most important intellectual voice for the Palestinians. From Oslo to Iraq and the Road Map: Essays and The Question of Palestine. He was a Palestinian American who taught comparative literature at Columbia University. He had great literary gifts and is sorely missed by people around the world.
Professors Avi Shliam The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World and Ilan Pappe A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples, are two of Israel's "new historians." Along with Tom Segev they have blasted gaping holes in the Zionist master narrative. Ilan Pappe's most recent work, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, is of incalculable importance.
One of the most poisonous Zionist myths about the conflict is the myth of the "generous offer" at Camp David. Clayton Swisher's book The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story About the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process (Nation Books) is the best rebuttal I have found to this canard, which has caused many left wing Zionists to abandon all hope of a peaceful settlement and accept separation as the only solution. There are many other good books on Oslo and the so called "peace process" like Dishonest Broker: The U.S. Role in Israel and Palestine, The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine Since 2003, The Absence of Peace: Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Absence of Peace), Israel/Palestine: How To End The War Of 1948 (Open Media), Palestine/Israel: Peace or Apartheid: Occupation, Terrorism and the Future, and Politicide: Ariel Sharon's War Against the Palestinians.
Some good books by journalists and others that give a sense of how Israel behaves in wartime and during its so-called "benign occupation" include The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid, The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People's Struggle, The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East (Nation Books), Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon (Nation Books), Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children, Courting Conflict: The Israeli Military Court System in the West Bank and Gaza, and How Israel Lost: The Four Questions.
A good history of the rise the settlement movement that has been so destructive to the cause of peace is The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977.
If you're looking for a good, comprehensive, general academic history I think the best one is Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. A very well written less comprehensive history is The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War.
Essential works on Zionism, Israel and their relationship to the Nazi Holocaust
The best critical analysis of Zionism is The Myths of Zionism. Joseph Massad is a professor at Columbia University and is powerful critic of Zionism. Not surprisingly Pipes, Kramer andCompany have made himthe subject of viscious attacks (i.e. "the David project"). His collection of essays is The Persistence of the Palestinian Question: Essays on Zionism and the Palestinians. Many Jews both inside and outside of Israel have published powerful critiques of Zionism. Among them are The Founding Myths of Israel and Prophets Outcast: A Century of Dissident Jewish Writing about Zionism and Israel.
One tactic so-called supporters of Israel use to deflect criticism is to use the Holocaust to win sympathy and to cast its enemies as anti-semites who want nothing less than the total destruction of world Jewery. The historical record on how the Zionists actually behaved before during andafter the Holocaust, their attitude toward the Fascist states and toward the refugees, is less than honorable. On how Israel and its supporters abroad have used the Holocaust to gain political and diplomatic standing and to silence critics see The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, New Edition 2nd Edition. On the Zionists shameful policy regarding Jewish refugees from post war Europe see In the Shadow of the Holocaust: The Struggle Between Jews and Zionists in the Aftermath of World War II. On how the holocaust has entered the fabric of life in Israel see Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood (Cambridge Middle East Studies).
On life today in Israel's so-called democracy and the danger posed by Jewish fundamentalism see Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel: New Introduction by Norton Mezvinsky (Pluto Middle Eastern Studies), Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State, Toward an Open Tomb: The Crisis of Israeli Society, and Occupied Minds: A Journey Through the Israeli Psyche.
Essential works on the Palestinians and their history
Some people even today uphold the rascist assumption that there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. (see for example the Joan Peter's bestseller "From Time Immemorial") Two of the best books on the Palestinian people and how they formed a collective identity are Palestinian Identity and Palestine and the Palestinians: A Social and Political History.
Another interesting book that looks at the 1936-39 Palestinian revolt through the lens of memory and nationhood, incorporating many oral testimonies from participants in the revolt is Memories of Revolt: The 1936-1939 Rebellion and the Palestinian National Past.
The right of return for the Palestinian refugees is another crucial issue that highlights the moral bankruptcy of Zionism. Nur Masalha is the best historian of the refugee issue. All his books are excellent. His most recent is The Politics Of Denial: Israel and the Palestinian Refugee Problem. A good collection of essays on the topic by various authors is Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return (Pluto Middle Eastern Studies,).
Three excellent works by journalists really illuminate the daily struggles of the Palestinans and provide a window into their world. Two of the books look at Palestinians (or Israeli Arabs). They are The Other Side of Israel: My Journey Across the Jewish/Arab Divide and Sleeping on a Wire: Conversations with Palestinians in Israel. The other is by courageous Israeli journalist Amira Hass and looks at Palestinians living in Gaza Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege.
Rashid Khalidi's latest work, The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood, is a wonderful piece of scholarship that contains fresh insights on both the personal failings and institutional constraints that impacted the Palestinan people in the Mandate period and beyond.
The Anti-Zionist solution is a single state with equal rights for all
The only way out of the nightmare that the Zionists have created for the Palestinian people is a One State Solution, with equal rights to self determination for all who inhabit the lands controled by the state of Israel. The settlements are too much a part of the landscape with their network of access roads and control of water aquifers for there ever to be a viable Palestinian state. Anyway Israel would never allow such a state to have control of its borders and airspace. It would simply be an open air prison with a flag and a national anthem. Two books that point the way forward are the excellent Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle and The One-State Solution: A Breakthrough for Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock. The recently published One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse is the best book yet on the only remaining hope for a just settlement to the conflict.
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The essential works on understanding the Israel-Palestine conflict
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Essential works on Zionism, Israel and their relationship to the Nazi Holocaust
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Essential works on the Palestinians and their history
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The Anti-Zionist solution is a single state with equal rights for all
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