The Arab Case for Israel: History, Mythology, and Pathways to Peace

Before Israel's founding, Arab nationalism and Islamism rejected European-drawn borders, envisioning a unified Arab or Muslim nation rather than a distinct Palestinian state. As Lebanese-Iraqi scholar Hussain Abdul-Hussain argues in his new book, The Arab Case for Israel, Palestinian national identity as it exists today emerged only in 1964, shaped by inter-Arab rivalries rather than deep historical roots. The Palestinian narrative of a "lost state" reflects not a recoverable past but an aspirat...