How Do I Start Learning About Palestine?

A recurring question in the comments and livestreams for Palestine Bookshelf is, “ What are 2–3 books you’d recommend I read to get started learning more about Palestine? “ Funnily enough, the more I read, the more interesting this question becomes for me.

My first question usually is, “ What is it that bothers/interests you most about this situation? “ A specific answer there can help lead to at least one specific title that can assist with that desire. But in the absence of a specific interest, I stress the importance of knowing what happened historically. I also am mindful that many people are not necessarily prepared, for a number of reasons, for books that are more than 400 pages, so in my list below I’m going to offer a shorter title to correspond to each larger title.

Before 1948

One Palestine, Complete by Tom Segev

Palestinians and Jews did live side-by-side in a single state from the river to the sea with generally equal rights. During this time Zionists sought, and often received, special treatment, but not in a consistent manner. This book gives you an image of what things were like in the recent era before 1948 (and in a way, how things might have gone, had the Zionists and UN not had their way) and helps cast a clear vision that things were not always as…