The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood

Written by Rashid Khalidi

Narrated by Shawn K. Jain

At a time when a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis seems unattainable, understanding the roots of their conflict is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi provides a lucid context for the realities on the ground today, a context that has been, until now, notably lacking in our discourse.



The story of the Palestinian search to establish a state begins in the mandate period immediately following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, when fledgling Arab states were established by the colonial powers with assurances of eventual independence. But the British had already begun to construct an iron cage to hem in the Palestinians. The Palestinians' struggle intensified in the stretch before and after WWII, when colonial control of the region became increasingly unpopular, population shifts began with heavy Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe, and power began to devolve to the US. In this crucial period, Palestinian leaders continued to run up against the walls of the ever-constricting iron cage. They proved unable to achieve their long-cherished goal of establishing an independent state—a critical failure that set a course for the decades that followed. Rashid Khalidi's engrossing narrative of this torturous history offers much-needed perspective for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798855531480

Rashid Khalidi

Rashid Khalidi, author of 'Resurrecting Empire' and 'Palestinian Identity', holds the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies at Columbia University, where he heads the Middle East Institute. He has written more than eighty articles [and five books] on Middle Eastern history and politics, as well as op-ed pieces in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angleles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Nation. He lives in New York.

Reviews for The Iron Cage

[sgtcat · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When I started reading this book, I wasn't very familiar with the details of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I felt that the book was very argumentative and aggressive. After reading more books on the subject and coming back to this one to finish it, I didn't get that impression. It could be that from Ch.6 on his writing style changed, or it could be that I understood the issue more fully and had gotten over the idea that any attack on Israel is somehow inherently bad. Where did that idea come from anyway?

The Iron Cage is by no means light reading, but it's informative reading and a good supplement to a library of books on the Arab-Israeli / Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Don't let it be your first book on the subject, though.

[savagemalloy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too much left wing bias, but need to keep reading these to stay balanced.