The Dark Side of Zionism

The thesis of The Dark Side of Zionism, arising from new histories neglected by the media, is that both the early Zionists and the Israelis sought their security through military domination of the indigenous Arab population of Palestine. This strategy required avoiding negotiations with the Palestinians as well as demonstrating Israeli military might through wars initiated against Arab states opposed to an Israeli takeover of Palestine.

The Dark Side of Zionism: Israel's Quest for Security through Dominance arises out of the scholarship of the 'new historians,' a group of mostly Israeli scholars who have uncovered a history widely ignored in the popular media. Baylis Thomas argues that both the early Zionists and, later, the Israelis sought their security through the military domination of the indigenous Arab population of Palestine. This strategy required both avoiding negotiations with the Palestinian-Arabs and provoking the weak Arab states-opposed to the Israeli takeover of Palestine-into entering wars they would lose. The role of British imperial power was crucial in this early history, as was the later U.S. support of Israel, right or wrong. Thomas explores the larger context of this history in chapters on colonization, hegemony, weapons diplomacy, terrorism, nationalism, religion, Zionism, and prospects for resolution of the conflict. While students and scholars of Middle Eastern studies and international relations will find this book valuable, it is intended for the intelligent general reader who is curious about current events yet puzzled about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel's national identity, founded on the memory of being victims of the Holocaust, focuses on current events that seem consistent with the past, even as the nation uses force to thwart Palestinian national aspirations. The Dark Side of Zionism argues that peace for both Israelis and Palestinians can only come if Israel relinquishes military rule.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2
Chapter I. The colonization of Palestine (1880-1948)
Chapter 3
Chapter 1. Concepts of colonization
Chapter 4
Chapter 2. History of colonization and Palestinian dispossession (1880-1948)
Chapter 5
Chapter II. Domination of Arab states (1949-1974)
Chapter 6
Chapter 3. Hegemony in the Middle East
Chapter 7
Chapter 4. History of the Arab-Israeli wars (1949-1974)
Chapter 8
Chapter III. Search for global influence
Chapter 9
Chapter 5. Weapons diplomacy, the political use of arms
Chapter 10
Chapter 6. History of Israel's global weapons sales
Chapter 11
Chapter IV. Colonization after 1967: Greater Israel and the illusory peace process
Chapter 12
Chapter 7. Begin, Peres, Shamir and the Madrid Conference
Chapter 13
Chapter 8. Rabin and the Oslo Accords
Chapter 14
Chapter 9. Peres and Netanyahu and Wye River
Chapter 15
Chapter 10. Barak and Arafat at Camp David
Chapter 16
Chapter 11. Ariel Sharon: Force over peace
Chapter 17
Chapter 12. Olmert and the 2006 Lebanon war
Chapter 18
Chapter V. Prospects
Chapter 19
Chapter 13. One-state, two-state, or continued apartheid?
Chapter 20
Chapter VI. Other considerations
Chapter 21
Chapter 14. Terrorism
Chapter 22
Chapter 15. The paradox of nationalism
Chapter 23
Chapter 16. Religion and possession in ancient Palestine