Defining Neighbors: Religion, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter

(Paperback)

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As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists, aspiring peacemakers continue to search for the precise territorial dividing line that will satisfy both Israeli and Palestinian nationalist demands. The prevailing view assumes that this struggle is nothing more than a dispute over real estate. Defining Neighbors boldly challenges this view, shedding n

Reviews

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015 "[F]ortuitously for readers, Gribertz's work contextualize(s) a present-day shift toward religious rhetoric, symbols, and organizations in the conflict. He shows that religion was once central for Jews and Arabs seeking to understand each other, and that nationality is in fact a latecomer to that encounter. But more importantly, he shows that a religious encounter need not mean a holy war."--Raphael Magarik, Haaretz "An essential contribution to the growing conversation."--Noah Haiduc-Dale, H-Net Reviews "In the ever-growing and highly saturated field of Arab-Israeli conflict studies, it is rare for a book to break new ground and challenge long-held and well-entrenched perceptions. This is one of those rare exceptions."--Choice "[A] field-changing new book... Indeed, such a sensitive treatment of historical texts, in light of multiple political contexts, geographic frames, and religious and cultural discourses should serve as a model for many historians working to interpret, categorize, and contextualize the texts they encounter--and for all those who study how changing circumstances change the terms of discourse and lead to mutual understanding or misunderstanding."--Jewish History "Gribetz's fascinating book makes a major contribution to the literature on early Zionist-Arab encounters, in particular, and to the intellectual history of late Ottoman Palestine and the Levant, more generally."--AJS Review

Author Bio

Jonathan Marc Gribetz is assistant professor of Near Eastern studies and Judaic studies at Princeton University.