Social Justice and Israel/Palestine: Foundational and Contemporary Debates

This book critically assesses a series of complex and topical debates helping readers to make sense of the politics surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Each chapter considers one topic, represented by two or three essays offered in conversation with one another. Together, these essays advance different perspectives; in some cases they are complementary and in others they are oppositional.

Topics include scholarly and activist interpretations of narratives in the context of Israel/Palestine; the concept of self-determination for Jewish Israelis and Palestinians; the debate over settler-colonialism as an appropriate framework for interpreting the history of Israel/Palestine; and questions surrounding Jewish and Palestinian refugees and the impact of displacement, among others. Through these foundational and contemporary topics, readers will be challenged to critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of each position in light of scholarly debates rooted in social justice and helped to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians in order to see a path forward toward justice for all.

Aaron J. Hahn Tapper is the Mae and Benjamin Swig Professor of Jewish Studies, director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, and professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco.
Mira Sucharov is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.