
The Iron Cage
The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood
Author: Rashid Khalidi
Narrator: Shawn K. Jain
Unabridged: 9 hr 32 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 08/20/2024
Categories: Nonfiction, History, Middle Eastern History, Political Science
Synopsis
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.

