The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine is the best history book on Palestine that I have read. Rashid Khalidi presents a powerful narrative grounded in meticulous research and firsthand historical insight. He traces more than a century of conflict, colonialism, and resistance, offering a clear, well-documented understanding of how past events shape the present reality. What makes this book stand out is its balance of academic rigor with deeply human storytelling. Khalidi connects political decisions and global forces to the lived experiences of Palestinian families and communities, revealing the ongoing impact of displacement, occupation, and struggle. It’s an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beyond headlines and simplified narratives. Informative, compelling, and deeply moving — truly a must-read for those who want to engage thoughtfully with Palestinian history and the fight for justice and self-determination.

This book completely changed the way I see the history of Palestine and Israel. Rashid Khalidi writes with clarity and compassion — it feels both scholarly and personal. He connects historical facts, family memories, and political analysis in a way that makes the story come alive. It’s not a light read, but every chapter leaves you thinking. If you’re looking for something serious, honest, and deeply researched, this is one of the best books on the topic I’ve read. Highly recommend for readers who want to understand context, not just headlines.

I’m neither Palestinian, nor Israeli, but have been educating myself on their history, trying to understand the root of their mutual animosity. Really good book! Makes you understand the ancient, historical plight of those beleaguered countries. It’s a painful book to read, but in order to understand the current problems, one must wade through their history, from ancient times, to the present, in the perspective only history provides. This book is a good tool, in a subject requiring much reading, from diverse sources, to begin to understand (partially, anyway), the nature of their conflict. This is NOT “light” reading. Recommended

This is an important book and deserves to be read. As an American Jew with family living in Israel I wanted to get a different perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and I welcomed the opportunity to hear another voice. I think this book does a particularly good job of explaining the negotiations held among Israel, USA, the Palestinian people and often times Palestinian proxies who don't always have their best interests in mind. I do take issue with the repeated claim that the Palestinians are the indigenous people of the land. By what definition? Jews and Christians have been living on this land for far longer than the Arabs. The writer also seems to suggest that there was a Palestinian state and Jews arrived just 100 years ago to simply take it over. There was never a Palestinian state and Jews have lived on the land for 1,000's of years. Finally, he flat out states that Arabs were forced from their homes during the Nakba which is not the case. Even other Arabs have admitted this over and over again. Many Arabs left because they were asked to leave by the 6 arabs countries who invaded Israeli's territory to destroy the fledgling country. Those countries wanted the Arabs out of a war zone that they assumed would soon be fully controlled by them with all Arab refugees returning in a few short weeks and all Jews wiped out. There is no reflection on what would have happened if those Arab states had won their war of annihilation on the newly founded Israeli country. He uses the terms "apartheid" yet doesn't mention that Arab-Israelis have equal rights in Israel and have their own powerful political party in the Knesset. While an Israeli-Arab citizen can be Prime Minister if elected in Israeli there is not a single Arab country in which a Jew or Christian would be allowed to be the President or Prime Minister. He minimizes the terror attacks conducted by Hamas and merely states that at one point Hamas "downplayed" their more conservative beliefs. It would have been nice of him to mention that their conservative beliefs include rounding up homosexuals and pushing them off buildings, the complete abdication of women's rights including the need to provide 4 male witnesses to prove that a rape has occurred and if those witnesses cannot be provided then being accused of adultery and facing prison, the slaughter of anyone who does not agree with their ideology, a bounty offered to Hamas fighters for each Jew (civilian or not) that they can kill and the routine storing of military supplies in and missile launched from schools, hospitals, mosques and other areas with Palestinian civilians. There is a highly critical eye cast at Israel but very little reflection on the values and ideology of the political groups and leaders who now or may in the future represent them. There always seem to be a victimhood mentality when I read books like these with little accountability. The common theme is that Israeli and the West are the constant oppressor. Perhaps if the Palestinian leadership focused on building a successful partnership with others, invested in their people and moved away from an extreme ideology of hate and destruction they could have a chance at a better life. Sadly there is far too little nuanced reflection and far too much demagoguery. Again, I feel this book is important to read but I would suggest reading many different books on the conflict to get at the truth.

Professor Khalidi's book is passionate and informative and effectively advances his thesis that Israel is a colonial project that has been waging war on The Land's native inhabitants, the Palestinians, for over 100 years. Despite this thesis Khalidi still puts forth the Israeli point of view sincerely. Because of the quality of Khalidi's writing and argument "The Hundred Years' War" deserves 5 stars. However, this book is not a complete view of the conflict - nor does it claim to be. "Hundred Years' War" is short and cannot cover all of the conflict in 260 pages. However Khalidi's glaring rhetorical and historical omissions damage the work's value and venture into dishonesty. Most importantly, Khalidi never addresses the obvious ways that Zionism is vastly different from colonial projects. Furthermore, Khalidi never discusses, even in passing, the 1973 war, Israeli's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza (leaving it virtually entirely self-governed), and Iran's extensive threats against Israel and involvement in the conflict. Finally, Khalidi consistently depicts Israel as a power of almost mythical proportions, a towering behemoth impervious to attack and unfazed by its enemies. This categorization is almost completely in disregard of plain fact. When he discusses the 1948 war in the second chapter of his book, for example, he describes Israeli victory as all but certain, and never mentions that the hostile Arab's states population at the time was 20 million (Egypt) + 1.25 million (Syria) + 430,000 (Jordan) + 1.3 million (Lebanon) + 5 million (Iraq) = ~28 million while Israel's population was roughly 800,000. Khalidi also doesn't mention that the Arabs were far better equipped than the Israelis. The complete lack of mention of these critical facts and countless others severely degrades "The Hundred Years' War" 's value.

This book changed my life. I was woefully ill-informed about the modern history of Palestine (and that is pretty inexcusable for a clergyperson), and this book gave me the facts I needed to clarify and stand by my moral commitments. The argument that "if you are pro-Palestinian then you are anti-Semitic" doesn't hold water, full stop. Also ... I have rarely read a more satisfying conclusion chapter, where the author brings in fresh insight and connects the dots, keeping us learning and expanding to the very end. Bravo, and thank you, Rashid Khalidi.

If you feel you want to know the modern history of the conflict between Palestinians and the State of Israel this is a solid choice. In all likelihood, it will change the lens through which you view and understand the conflict and the region. You may end up asking yourself dangerous questions like, "Why haven't I been exposed to this history up until now?" Why indeed. The author is both a historian and someone with personal experience in the region. The book contains the historical and the personal making it a great read. It's painful history to read because it was and remains painful history still unfolding before our eyes. It's not a comprehensive history nor does it claim to be, but if you want an insider's view of the period from 1917 - 2017 this is very much worth the cost of your time and money. This book just might change you. It will surely give you food for thought and raise lots of questions. If you have an opportunity watch an interview with the author online (not hard to find) and you will get his background up front and make your reading richer.

I've recently read a number of books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, most of them by Jewish historians, and providing good overall accounts of the history. But the most informative book I found on the conflict was written by a Palestinian-American historian, Rashid Khalidi, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017. It was written before the current war, but is able to shed considerable light on it. The author's family was living in Palestine in the 1800 when it all began, included many prominent officials. and kept a detailed family archive, to which the author had full access. The result is a rich history and a relatively balanced one. There is criticism of the PA, the PLO and Hamas, though the author was unaware of Israel's financing of Hamas, as well as of Israel. It's well-written and a highly recommended read.