Erasing Palestine

larger image

Erasing Palestine : New,
'Free Speech and Palestine Freedom'
*[A5] Paperback - 176 pages,
by Rebecca Ruth Gould,
by Verso Publications.

Now in Stock & Despatching

Description :

How the redefinition of antisemitism has functioned as a tactic to undermine Palestine solidarity!

The widespread adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism and the internalisation of its norms has set in motion a simplistic definitional logic for dealing with social problems that has impoverished discussions of racism and prejudice more generally, across Britain and beyond. It has encouraged a focus on words over substance.

Erasing Palestine tells the story of how this has happened, with a focus on internal politics within Britain over the course of the past several years. In order to do so, it tells a much longer story, about the history of antisemitism since the beginning of the twentieth century. This is also a story about Palestine, a chronicle of the erasure of the violence against the Palestinian people, and a story about free speech, and why it matters to Palestinian freedom.

Reviews :

"A detailed, in-depth study that gets to the heart of one of the contemporary world's most contentious issues. A bold and expert expose of the real reasons behind the West's current antisemitism industry: the silencing of Palestinians and their erasure from history." ---Ghada Karmi, author of In Search of Fatima and Return.

"Never have we been more in need of hearing the heroic voices of Palestinian activists and their supporters, still unwaveringly resisting the ongoing Israeli seizure of their land and daily control over their lives and movement. In this meticulously researched, moving and persuasive book, Rebecca Ruth Gould surveys the ever-mounting silencing of any support for justice for Palestinians with specious accusations of anti-Semitism against any and all of those joining the struggle to end Israel's brutal occupation, including against the author herself." ---Lynne Segal, author of Lean on Me.

"What if an anti-racism is oppressive and threatens to wipe out a nation? Rebecca Gould's fine analysis patiently and lucidly shows how a currently prevalent understanding of antisemitism is threatening to do just this. First by misdescribing antisemitism; then by its use as a weapon to silence dissent; and finally to erase the idea of a suffering Palestinian people with a claim to statehood. It's a bold series of claims but not simply ideas as its based on painful personal experience." ---Tariq Modood, University of Bristol.

"In her book Erasing Palestine Rebecca Ruth Gould offers a sharp and nuanced critique of the ways in which fighting anti semitism turns out to be a way to suppress freedom of speech. While speaking out of her own personal experience Gould brings a new perspective to the debate around defining antisemitism by focusing on its implications for the free speech of Palestinians and pro Palestinian voices. This book is a must read for those interested in understanding the ways in which human rights, anti semitism, and issues of Palestine-Israel are entangled together." ---Raef Zreik, fellow, Schell Center for Human Rights, Yale Law School.

Rebecca Ruth Gould is the author of numerous works at the intersection of aesthetics and politics, including Writers and Rebels (2016) and The Persian Prison Poem (2021). With Malaka Shwaikh, she is the author of Prison Hunger Strikes in Palestine (2023). She has written for the general public in the London Review of Books, the Global & Mail, and World Policy Journal and her writing has been translated into eleven languages.

More Palestine related books,
Also see Current Affairs.