Marching Toward Civil War In an article written in early 1985, Ze’ev Schiff described the Palestinian and Jewish populations of Israel and the Occupied Territories as “marching...toward a civil war.” [1] Since then, events have only confirmed the accuracy of Schiff’s observation. The escalation of violence and tension in the Joel Beinin • 12 min read
From the Editors (October-December 1985) Lest anyone be tempted to dismiss the title of this issue as unduly melodramatic, we would like to call attention to an early November meeting of the Council of Settlers of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. According to its bimonthly newspaper, Aleph Yud, the settlers decided to take an “active stand” agains The Editors • 2 min read
MER Article Adams, Israel and South Africa James Adams, Israel and South Africa: The Unnatural Alliance (London: Quartet Books/Namara, 1985). James Adams, a senior executive at the Sunday Times of London, scores an overwhelming victory in undermining the thesis of his own title. After even a few pages, his book convinces us, albeit unintent Tim Frasca • 2 min read
MER Article The Resistance Front in South Lebanon Though it fell like a piece of ripe fruit into the hands of the Israelis, southern Lebanon rapidly became a quagmire for the most powerful armed forces in the Middle East. An armed resistance developed, which by early 1984 was carrying out two attacks daily. Popular mobilization did not diminish in Samir Kassir • 8 min read
MER Article Eyewitness to the Iron Fist Jim Yamin is Middle East program coordinator for Grassroots International, a relief organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with programs in Lebanon and the Horn of Africa. He spoke with Joan Mandell and Kathryn Silver in April, 1985. You’ve just spent ten weeks in south Lebanon. What were Joan Mandell • 8 min read
Thorpe, Prescription for Conflict Merle Thorpe, Jr., Prescription for Conflict: Israel’s West Bank Settlement Policy (Washington DC: Foundation for Middle East Peace, 1984). Ellen Cantarow • 3 min read
Benvenisti, The West Bank Data Base Project Meron Benvenisti, The West Bank Data Base Project: A Survey of Israel’s Policies (Washington: American Enterprise Institute, 1984). This book, by the former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, is the first major commercial publication of the small but industrious West Bank Data Base Project (WBDBP). The pro Alex Pollock • 4 min read
Israel and the Jewish Question Maxime Rodinxon, Cult, Ghetto, and State: The Persistence of the Jewish Question, London: Al Saqi Books, 1983. Akiva Orr, The unJewish State: The Politics of Jewish Identity in Israel, London: Ithaca Press, 1983. Lenni Brennr, The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism from Jabotinsky to Shamir, London: Z Zachary Lockman • 10 min read
From the Editors (March/April 1985) Over the last several years, library subscriptions to MERIP Reports have expanded steadily. We are very pleased at this development, and we are anxious to encourage an even higher rate of growth in library subscriptions. In particular, we would like to see more subscriptions at public libraries, whe The Editors • 3 min read
MER Article Gitai, Field Diary Amos Gitai, Field Diary (1984). Rarely has the cinema verité technique, with its false naiveté, been deployed so strategically as in Field Diary. It looks as if it could have been made by your little brother with the family toy camera, and it is even hard to credit filmmaker Amos Gitai with the ear Pat Aufderheide • 5 min read
MER Article Brenner, Zionism in the Age of the Dictators Lenni Brenner, Zionism in the Age of the Dictators (Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill, 1983). Lenni Brenner has written a singular book about “the interaction between Zionism and Fascism and Nazism.” It is one of the many ironies of history that Zionism, a movement that claims to be dedicated to assuring (Author not identified) • 4 min read
MER Article Sifting the Berkeley Left On June 5, 1984, voters in Berkeley, California, by a margin of almost 64 percent to 36 percent, defeated a ballot measure calling for the United States to reduce its aid to Israel by the amount Israel spends on its settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heig Jock Taft • 8 min read
