Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians

by Noam Chomsky

Book Overview

Fateful Triangle is Noam Chomsky's seminal work on Mideast politics. In the updated edition of this classic book, with a new introduction by Chomsky, readers seeking to understand the Middle East and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0896086011
• ISBN13: 9780896086012
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: South End Press
• Length: 578 Pages
• Weight: 1.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Noam Chomsky, as always, brings clarity to this world

Noam Chomsky delves into a delicate subject for many Americans, Israel and the politics surrounding our unwavering support of their regime. Chomsky, himself a nominal Jewish American, takes an academic and objective approach to examining the "special relationship" between the US and Israel and the dynamics surrounding the specific exchanges that have gone on for decades. What is apparent is that Chomsky has learned and given in great detail certain specific information about Israel's actions that make those who support Israel nervous and outraged. Chomsky doesn't pull any punches when he describes Israel's reasons for invading Lebanon and the illegality of that action. He discusses the role of American Jewry and their attempt to intertwine the tragedy of the Jewish Holocaust of WWII with the destiny of Israel. To speak out against Israel, Chomsky argues, is to be dubbed anti-Semitic. The fear of being called anti-Semitic has stopped many Americans from discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in an objective manner (as they would with other similar situations). He goes on to discuss the politics of the Arab-Israeli wars, popular perception and myth, and the reasons behind what motivates America to support Israel's actions with little or no criticism (even in the face of worldwide condemnation). For skeptics and other critics Chomsky includes prodigious notes and primary sources on the subject and leaves room for little doubt as to his reasoning. The newer updated version has a foreword written by Edward Said that is quite poignant and apt: "There is something profoundly moving about a mind of such noble ideals repeatedly stirred on behalf of human suffering and injustice." I couldn't have said it better myself. Far from being "anti-Semitic," this book is an honest analysis by a courageous academic crusader, willing to disregard his supposed religious affliation for the greater good and to serve the cause of justice and truth in reporting. Chomsky is not for those readers seeking an easy answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is not certainly not for those without an open mind. Highly recommended.

American especially should read this book

If you are comfortable with American foreign policy in the Middle East, this book offers a great opportunity to test your comfort. For some the most difficult part about reading something like this will be clearing their head of decades of US-Israeli bias in America's press and popular culture. Remind yourself that it really is ok to consider opposing views and then see for yourself if you still like the way the United States coddles and manipulates Israel's violent self-interest for its own gains. You will find excellent resources for further study and consideration, including updated discussion covering recent developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sources are plentiful. Regardless of where you ultimately land on this debate, the book is well-documented and useful.

A classic. The best book on the subject...

I've read many books by many authors on the subject of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and I would have to say that this book is the best of the bunch. It is a classic. He backs up every single statement he makes with facts, often quoting Israeli sources. He is so thorough in his arguments that it is practically impossible to argue against him.One of the reviews below dismissed this work as being biased and anti-Semetic. This is a ridiculous claim considering the fact that Chomsky is Jewish and used to teach Hebrew when he was younger. This individual also stated that the Arab states created the problem of the Palestinian refugees. This is simply not true and even Israeli historians dismiss such claims as lies and propoganda (eg. Morris, Segev, Flapan, etc.).Buy it, read it, study it... it is an impressive work.

Zionism's Brutal Occupation

No matter how much evasion and no matter how much sugar coating is used, the truth stands clear: Israel/Zionism is just a brutal occupation, whose victims are the Palestinians. Chomsky's account sees clearly through all the sugar-coating and other media-overlaid gloss. Chomsky's account is of course imbalanced, because truth isn't either. Can one be asked to write a balanced account of the Holocaust, for example? The same is true here. No human rights violator is safe from Chomsky's rage. A refreshing account of the truth. From Richard Clogg - Choice: {This is} a monumental work. . . . Chomsky's command of factual detail isoverwhelming, his argument is cogently made, and the documentation, which makes much use of the Israeli and European press, is careful. Recommended to students of US foreign policy, the modern Middle East, and to all general readers. From Avishai Margalit - The New York Review of Books: Painful as it is for me to acknowledge it, we Israelis should, I believe,plead guilty to many of Chomsky's charges. Not to the charges as he states them, but to something not altogether unlike them. . . . Chomsky's indictment is highly detailed. Virtually no felony is missing, no misdeed left unaccounted for. And yet, though he finds Israel a sinful state, the clash between Israel and the Palestinians is in Chomsky's eyes a conflict of 'right against right.'

Israel's Apartheid and the devastation of the Palestinians

In addition to being "arguably the most important intellectual alive," according to the New York Times, renouned linguist Noam Chomsky was cited as a source more often than any living scholar between 1980-1992, by the Arts and Humanities Citation Index. He sure proves his supremacy in this detailed and angry account of the Palestinian Israeli struggle and the US & Western media role in it. Exposing human suffering and death is Chomsky's eternal goal in all of his foreign policy publications; he is merciless when it comes to injustice and violations of human rights. Not only does he meticulously detail all the factors and facts of the conflict in this book, but also transcends the big picture into the suffering and humiliation of the average Palestinian in his daily life, be it in the occupied territory or Lebanon. All facts are skillfully put into perspective where the views relating to both sides are listed, leading to irrefutable conclusions. As customary of Chomsky's writings, an infinite amount of quotes is collected from both sides of the conflict, which are then woven together into his text creating a factual, and often, sarcastic picture of the issue and the people involved. Using their actual words he exposes the hypocrisy and deception of the Israeli leadership. Chomsky's frequent use of long sentences makes it necessary to read the text slowly. Sometimes it is necessary to read each paragraph twice to comprehend the usually profound conclusion. As usual his analysis reflect his powerful insight into the issue involved, which gives the allusion that Chomsky is a scholar in this field only. The depth of Chomsky's account in anything he addresses surpass that of most scholars in the respective topics addressed. The Fateful Triangle is as deep as any analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict gets. Chomsky is way ahead of his time in this writing, as he documents many of the issues that were only recently realized. These include the roots and deception of th! e present "peace process" (Oslo), and also the fact that the Israeli press is the best source for information, and is more superior to the western (U.S.) one which usually is dedicated to portraying Israel as the victim while the Palestinians as oppressors. Israeli press is not timid when discussing many issues that are considered taboos in the U.S. such as Israel's control (through its lobbies) of the U.S. Middle East foreign policies. Among the many Apartheid-style laws in Israel, Chomsky discusses how the Jewish National Fund, relying on U.S. tax-exempt donations, maintains 92% of the land in Israel for the sole use of Jews only. Another crucial issue discussed is the fact that the Labor left is more dangerous than the Likud right, which lies in the difference between their pronounced versus actual policies. While the Likud does things in-your-face style, the Labor preachs one thing to the world, while doing the complete opposite (such as settlement building). Labor us