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A History of the Palestinian People

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A History of the Palestinian People
A History of the Palestinian People
A History of the Palestinian People
AuthorAssaf Voll
Original titleA History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Era
TranslatorAlan Slater (English)
LanguageEnglish, Hebrew
Subjectempty book
PublisherCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication date
June 12, 2017
Publication placeUnited States / Israel
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages132 (English), 120 (Hebrew)
ISBN978-1546831242
Websitepalhistory

A History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Erais anempty bookby Assaf Voll that uses blank pages to suggest thatPalestinianshave no history.[1]It has continued to circulate on social media among the Israeliright-wing.[2]

It was published in paperback and digital formats in 2017, and most of its contents are blank pages.[3]The book rose inAmazon's best-selling titles in the category of "Israel and Palestine History", reaching second place[a]before it was pulled from sale by Amazon. Its publication has been described as a "cruel joke".[4]The incident has been said to signify "the continued vitality of a more enduring political, social and cultural impulse to abrogate Palestinian history and identity – on the part of Israel, and by extension, among its Western allies."[2]

Contents summary

Besides the front cover, back cover, andtitle pagethe book contains a quote attributed to theSeinfeldcharacterGeorge Costanza:"Just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it." The rest of its pages are blank.[5]The Hebrew version of 120 pages is shorter than the 132-page English version. Voll said that a planned German version will be significantly longer.[6]

Composition and publication

Voll is a columnist for Israeli publications, and involved in public relations and advertising. Holding an M.A. in Jewish Studies fromHaifa University,Voll has also lectured at the university as an external lecturer.[7][8]

The book was described by its author as "a fruit of many years of research" and "the most comprehensive and extensive review of some 3,000 years of Palestinian history, with emphasis on the Palestinian people's unique contribution to the world and to humanity".[9]Interviewed on theKol Chairadio station, Voll stated that "The Palestinian people believe they are a people, and someone needs to tell them the truth even if it hurts. Look what happens when they were given the feeling that they are a real people."[5][9][7][10][11]

Reception

Support

Promoted by American weeklyThe Jewish Press,the book also received positive user reviews and rankings. It sold well for books related to the Middle East on Amazon, quickly reaching the second place[a]in the category of "Israel and Palestine History", and 9th in "Middle East History".[12][8][13][14]Positive reviews appeared onJewish Voice,Channel 20 (Israel),Arutz 7,Hamodia,"Kipa" and "Srugim".[8][12][14][15]

Addressing Arab members ofKnessetin a speech, deputy Minister of Foreign AffairsTzipi Hotovelyheld up theTanakhin one hand andA History of the Palestinian Peoplein the other saying "I recommend to UNESCO and to the Arab Knesset members to read these two books, the Bible which tells the story of the Jewish people, and Assaf Voll's new bestseller, A History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Era. It will captivate you because it is empty. Because the Palestinians don't have kings and they don't have heritage sites".[16]In a later interview Hotovely has said that the book is a wonderful PR exercise and that while there is definitely an Arab, Ottoman and Muslim history, the Palestinians were never a nation and that the basis of the Palestinian narrative is denying the Jewish one, by disseminating lies and attempting to rewrite history.[17]

Criticism

The publication was heavily criticized asracist,with organizations such asIfNotNowasking their followers to contact Amazon and complain.[18][19][20]The book faced some customer complaints and low ratings on Amazon.[13]

In a column published byMondoweiss,Jonathan Cookwrote that the book had antecedents, in 1969,Golda Meirdeclared to the world: "There was no such thing as Palestinians"and that in 1984 the bookFrom Time Immemorialclaimed Palestinians were recent economically motivated immigrants. Furthermore, Cook wrote "Israelis have been only too happy to make the Palestinians vanish."[21]

Joshua Shanes writing inHaaretzsaid that nations are a result of modernity and that "no nation—as we currently understand and use the term—dates to antiquity, not even the Jews."[22]According to Shanes the formation of Palestinian nationhood occurred lockstep with the formation of Jewish nationhood in the 19th century, but this does not say either are "invented" and that in any event the Palestinians today, regardless of their historical origin, are a nation. An attempt to deny the existence of the opposing side is a path to irreconcilable conflict.[22]In a separate review on Haaretz it was claimed that "The author's argument that the Palestinians are not a people because they are void of history isn't new – it's a mainstay of the Israeli right".[5]

In an article inThe Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,Professor Steven Weitzman of theCenter for Advanced Judaic Studiessaid that Voll's book isShlomo Sand'sThe Invention of the Jewish Peopleargument in reverse applied to Palestinians instead of Jews. Weitzman further said "What was offensive about the book is that it is completely blank, the author's way of arguing that the Palestinians are not a real people and have no real history—an argument that other scholars have made in more conventional ways".[23]

Ahmed Dabesh in Lebanese dailyAl Akhbarwrote that Voll didn't mention that the "Zionist entity" was born out of aggression against the Palestinians and the rape of their land, attacked theZionist Archaeology policy,and asserted that the Palestinians have roots dating back at least to theStone Age.[24]

Conversely, onArab News Networkit was claimed the Palestinians haveCanaaniteroots dating back at least 4500 years, and that the book is an unsuccessful response to theOccupied Palestine ResolutioninUNESCO.[25]

A review in Al-Modon said that Israel is empty as the book is empty, that the book is part of continuing Zionist methodology of claiming that Palestine is a land without a people, the same methodology that led the Zionists to steal the Palestinian cuisine and claim worldwide thathummusandfalafelare Israeli inventions.[26]

A review in the EgyptianYoum7said the book is part of a continuing provocation and fabrication against theArab identityof the Palestinian people, the Palestinian land, and the holy places.[27]

AnAn-Najah National Universitypublication said the book was written from a vantage point of supposed "superiority" and exhibits the "innermost subconscious of the Israeli methodology" and that furthermore American conscious and unconscious sympathy to Israel arises from the American genocide ofNative Americansas exhibited by Munir Akash's book, "America and genocides – the right to sacrifice the other".[28]

The Bosnian newspaperOslobođenje,in an article on the Palestinian-Israel anniversaries marked in 2017 said that the book is not just a distant echo ofGolda Meir's statement "there is no such thing as Palestinians", but also the attitude of the current right-wing Israeli politicians, despite Palestine gaining recognition by theUnited Nations.[29]

Removal from sale

Amazon stopped selling the book in June 2017, removing it entirely from their site, though the book remained on sale elsewhere.[30][31][32]Amazon in a letter to Voll said:

During a quality assurance review of your CSP catalogue, we found that your book(s) are resulting in a disappointing customer experience. Indicators of a poor customer experience may include customer refunds and feedback. As a result, the following book(s) have been removed from sale on Amazon.[13]

In response, Voll said that there were other blank books on sale in Amazon, giving the best-sellerReasons To Vote For Democratsas an example, that there was no intention to deceive anyone regarding the contents of the book, and that some of the poor customer feedback was due to a campaign by anti-Israel activists such as the website "Welcome to Palestine".[33][13][34]

The book reached 16th place in sales on theBarnes & Noblesite,[35]before being removed from sale from this site as well.

Notes

  1. ^abIt is possible the book reached #1 briefly (just before the sale stopped), as there are multiple less reliable sources claiming this (including screenshots); however, reliable source attribution for the #1 claim is lacking whereas #2 is well sourced.

References

  1. ^"Empty book on Palestinian history becomes instant best-seller on Amazon".Haaretz.2017-06-22.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-05.Retrieved2021-11-21.The argument used by the Israeli right seems to imply that a group may only call itself "a people" if it has always existed, which is false because all peoples have at one point or another come into being.
  2. ^abHolman, Zoe (2020)."A National Museum for a People without a Land".Art of Minorities: Cultural Representation in Museums of the Middle East and North Africa.Alternative Histories. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 151–152.ISBN978-1-4744-4379-1.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-10.Retrieved2021-11-21.The book was removed from Amazon's site soon afterwards, but continued to circulate to abundant glee in the chambers of social media, with the applause in the chambers of social media, with the applause emanating predominantly from the right of the Israeli political spectrum. Though a short-lived source of public titillation, the incident signified the continued vitality of a more enduring political, social and cultural impulse to abrogate Palestinian history and identity – on the part of Israel, and by extension, among its Western allies. Such a tradition was aptly articulated more than thirty years ago in Edward Said's observation that 'the Palestinian narrative has never been officially admitted to Israeli history, except as that of "non-Jews", whose inert presence in Palestine was a nuisance to be ignored or expelled.'
  3. ^Peled, Daniella (6 October 2017)."How a new museum tells Palestine's story".Prospect.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2021.Retrieved23 February2018.
  4. ^Kovalik, Dan(2021).Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture.Hot Books. p. 200.ISBN978-1-5107-6499-6.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-10.Retrieved2021-11-21.Not content to merely wipe out the Palestinian people, Israel is also bent on destroying their cultural heritage, even going so far as to claim that the Palestinians have no heritage or history of their own to begin with. Indeed, a book last year which quickly shot to number one in Amazon's "Middle East History" category, before being pulled from the website, was A History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Era by Israel author Assaf Voll. This book, which purposes to be "the comprehensive and extensive review of some 3,000 years of Palestinian history," consisted of 120 blank pages – a cruel joke attempting to show that the Palestinians have no history.
  5. ^abc"Empty Book on Palestinian History Becomes Instant Best-seller on Amazon".Haaretz.22 June 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 5 February 2021.Retrieved7 October2021.
  6. ^"Now on Amazon: a History Book on the Palestinian People with Blank Pages".Srugim(in Hebrew). 18 June 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 21 January 2021.Retrieved29 June2017.
  7. ^abNew Book On Palestinian History: 120 Blank PagesArchived2019-09-21 at theWayback Machine,Breaking News Israel, Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, June 19, 2017
  8. ^abcNew Book on Palestinian History Gets Rave ReviewsArchived2020-12-07 at theWayback Machine,HaModia, Dov Benovadia, 20 June 2017
  9. ^abThe Secret Behind Bestseller on Palestinian HistoryArchived2021-05-20 at theWayback Machine,JPost, Joy Bernard, June 21, 2017
  10. ^New Israeli Book: the History of the Palestinian People (in Hebrew)Archived2020-11-09 at theWayback Machine,Mako, Ehud Kinan, 19 June 2017
  11. ^For Sale: Palestinian History Book – with Empty PagesArchived2017-11-27 at theWayback Machine,nrg news, 19 June 2017
  12. ^abPalestinian history – is there such a thing?Archived2020-11-12 at theWayback Machine,Arutz7, Mordechai Sones, 19 June 2017
  13. ^abcdAmazon removes controversial bestseller about Palestinian historyArchived2021-06-10 at theWayback Machine,Jerusalem Post, Joy Bernard, 28 June 2017
  14. ^abJewishPress Pushes 'A History of the Palestinian People' to Top Amazon RankingArchived2021-07-05 at theWayback Machine,Jewish Press, 19 June 2017
  15. ^A New Book Surveys the History of the Palestinian People (in Hebrew)Archived2019-12-20 at theWayback Machine,Channel20 (Israel), Bat El Binyamin, 19 June 2017
  16. ^'You are thieves of history!' Hotovely tells Palestinians, waving books at themArchived2021-06-15 at theWayback Machine,Mondoweiss, Jonathan Ofir, July 16, 2017
  17. ^Tzipi Hotovely: "The Political world doesn't accept mothers. I could've been a minister but I'm only a vice-Minister"Archived2017-08-17 at theWayback Machine,At Magazine, Hadas Bashan, 13 August 2017
  18. ^Amazon sells racist blank book on Palestinian historyArchived2017-06-23 at theWayback Machine,Welcome To Palestine, 22 June 2017
  19. ^Amazon removes racist book after international outrageArchived2020-11-30 at theWayback Machine,Welcome To Palestine, 23 June 2017
  20. ^Israeli Denialist Hoax Tops Amazon ListArchived2021-08-25 at theWayback Machine,Palestine Square, June 23, 2017, Khelil Bouarrouj
  21. ^Cook, JonathanIsrael's efforts to hide Palestinians from view no longer fools young American JewsArchived2018-02-07 at theWayback Machine,Mondoweiss, 27 June 2017
  22. ^ab"Why the Jewish Right Is Foolish to Celebrate the Empty Palestinian History 'Book'".Haaretz.25 June 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 10 April 2023.Retrieved7 October2021.
  23. ^The Origins of the Jews exchange, part 2: On the gaps between the Jewish public and the scholarsArchived2021-02-26 at theWayback Machine,The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,Shmuel Rosner, 5 July 2017]
  24. ^Palestinians in Empty Pages (Arabic)Archived2017-10-12 at theWayback Machine,Ahmed Dabesh, 3 July 2017
  25. ^Israeli Presents Empty Book on Palestinians in Amazon (Arabic)Archived2017-12-01 at theWayback Machine,ANN, June 2017
  26. ^The Book is Empty... Israel itself is Empty (Arabic)Archived2017-07-04 at theWayback Machine,Al-Modon, Mohamed Hajira, 30 June 2017
  27. ^The Full Story of the Empty Tel-Aviv Book (Arabic)Archived2018-12-16 at theWayback Machine,Youm7, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Sharif, 25 June 2017
  28. ^Israeli executed words in his book "the history of the Palestinian people".. leaves empty!!Archived2021-08-25 at theWayback Machine,nn.ps, 8 July 2017
  29. ^Israel never better, never worse PalestiniansArchived2021-08-24 at theWayback Machine,Oslobođenje15 July 2017
  30. ^An empty book on "the history of the Palestinian people", best selling on AmazonArchived2021-03-08 at theWayback Machine,I24News, 23 June 2017 update 24 June
  31. ^the Palestinians Complained: Amazon Removes "Trolling" Book (in Hebrew)Archived2020-09-27 at theWayback Machine,Srugin, Efi Avraham, 23 June 2017
  32. ^Wajahat, Ali (June 2018)."A Muslim Among Israeli Settlers".The Atlantic.Archivedfrom the original on 13 August 2021.Retrieved29 May2018.
  33. ^Amazon Takes Down Best-selling Book on Palestinian History Containing Only Blank PagesArchived2017-10-05 at theWayback Machine,Haaretz, 29 June 2017
  34. ^Amazon takes bestseller which denies Palestinian history from the market (in Dutch)Archived2017-08-19 at theWayback Machine,de Volkskrant,Rolf Bos, 29 June 2017
  35. ^Sugarman, Daniel (June 29, 2017)."Blank 'History of the Palestinians' book removed from Amazon".The Jewish Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on February 10, 2021.RetrievedJuly 15,2017.
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