The Iron Cage

The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood

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.

©2006 Rashid Khalidi (P)2024 Tantor

Valuable addition the canon

As can be expected of the eminent scholar, Rashid Khalidi - This is a really wonderful book that helps build some knowledge bridges between Dr. Khalidi's book on Palestinian Identify and the 100 Years War. His analysis, detail, and understanding is just fantastic and I have no hesitation recommending the book. However, had I to do it again, I would read it - not listen to the really, really awful narrator. His fast, monotone reading and consistent, almost laughable, mispronounciation of names has an odd combination of putting one to sleep and, at the same time, nails on chalkboard. It is an insult to the listener, subject matter, and author, that the narrator doesn't bother to figure out pronounciations. Ridiculous. And the editing is awful with the effect that the listerner can't tell as the narrator speedwalks them down hill, where one chapter ends or another beings.

The other side.

There is a surplus of narrative and propaganda on the other side of this issue, so it’s nice to hear it articulated by an intellectual familiar with the Palestinian struggle.