Review by Alexandra Menter

The short:

Dr. Rashid Khalidi details the Palestinian struggle against British, American, and Israeli powers for sovereignty in Palestine, the failure of various factions of the Palestinian leadership to establish an independent state before 1948, and the foundation of the state of Israel.

The long:

The Iron Cage recounts the historical timeline of the Palestinian struggle for independence and repeated attempts to establish sovereignty in historic Palestine. Dr. Khalidi examines this issue by weaving a historical narrative of Palestinian history. He describes the deep political factions among leadership in Arab society in British-mandate Palestine, the limitations imposed on Palestinians by the mandate, the development of the Zionist movement in Europe, and the influx of Jewish refugees before, during, and after WWII and The Holocaust. Khalidi describes the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948, the rise of Fatah, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Authority, the divisions between each party, and the impact of each party’s values on Palestinian political society. He tackles the concept of statehood, detailing a brief history of disagreements and differences between Palestinian and Israeli leadership regarding the partition of land during negotiations and peace talks following the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Finally, he concludes that what is to come of the Palestinians and their aspirations for statehood are largely dependent upon U.S. and Israeli policy in the region, which he argues will likely result in further deprioritization of Palestinian national interests.

To read or not to read:

Read! This book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about Palestinian attempts to establish a sovereign state, historical events that have shaped present-day Palestine, and the importance of Palestinian independence within Arab history. The best part of this book, in my opinion, is that Dr. Khalidi puts Palestinians in the center of their own story, holding leadership to account when necessary, and identifying moments in history where political divisions in leadership created strife. Dr. Khalidi is meticulous in his recounting of this critical moment in Middle Eastern history and leaves no stone unturned in his detailing of the Palestinian quest for statehood.