Nov 03 2006
The Iron Cage
GUEST: Rashid Khalidi, author of “The Iron Cage”
Thousands of Palestinians have been demonstrating in Gaza City to protest another Israeli military offensive. Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, has blamed the United States for backing Israeli forces in their latest move. Israeli forces had seized the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Wednesday. The troops fired on Palestinian women who reportedly answered a call for human shields to protect armed men holed up in a mosque. At least one woman was killed by the Israeli troops.
Today we turn to historian Rashid Khalidi to understand the context of Palestinian statelessness. Khalidi’s previous book was entitled, “Resurrecting Empire” – he is a leading expert on the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and the Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University. In his newest book, “The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood,” Rashid Khalidi brings vital perspective to the history of Palestinian attempts to achieve independence and statehood.
One Response to “The Iron Cage”
The Trans-Jordanians have a homeland; it’s called Jordan. The 1948-67 history of same is waxed over and other Trans-Jordanian apologists, such as Walid Shoebat, lose any sort of credibility when they do not address the very question of a true “identity” for these downtrodden people. The lion’s share of that oppression is Arab based and Khalidi’s stand pat position is sadly, very predictable.