Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad |
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M Levitt
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Pages: 336 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0300110537
Pub: Yale University Press
Pub date: 2006-06-30
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 363659
Reader Reviews:
Well written and fully sourced - but many sources dubious (1/6 people found this helpful)
This book has strengths and weaknesses. It's strengths are that its well written, clearly laid out, includes some historical background and sources all the claims made in it - so readers can check the source of each for themselves in the notes at the end of the book.
One weakness is that its sources are often of dubious reliability. For instance common sources include the IDF (Israeli military) which routinely makes claims disproven by independent investigators such as Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. Another is 'Israeli Intelligence Officials' for which the same problems exist. The Israeli government and military are also keen to suggest Hamas might target the US with terrorist attacks in order to ensure US aid against Hamas - and that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are mere pawns of Iran for the same reason.
Levitt seems to show no awareness of these problems.
American officials are also quoted as a source - yet the Bush administration has been proven to have lied repeatedly to persuade Americans and the world to support war on Iraq - and so cannot be considered a reliable source on Israel-Palestine or Iran - or the connections between the two.
Articles by the American journalist Judith Miller are also used as sources often - despite Miller's history of reproducing dubious Bush administration claims as if they were fact.
The overall effect is to create a circular sourcing in which Levitt quotes the Bush administration and Israeli government and intelligence agencies (or Miller using the same sources) and then its likely the US and Israeli governments will quote Levitt's book as evidence that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are just pawns of Iran and have planned attacks on the US (a claim which runs counter to Hamas' entire history and which no other sources support).
I'm not saying don't read this book. It's easy to read, almost certainly includes some of the truth and worth reading. I'm just saying check the numbered sources as you read it to see what the source for each claim is - and read other books which are less hostile to Hamas as well for balance (such as the Palestinian scholar Khaled Hroub's books).
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Countries & Regions -> Asia -> Middle East -> Arabian Peninsula
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Political History -> Revolutions & Coups
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Government & Politics -> Civil Liberties & Political Activism -> Political Violence -> Terrorism & Freedom Fighters
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Government & Politics -> Countries & Regions -> Middle East
Books -> Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Islam -> Five Pillars of Islam -> Zakat
Books -> Subjects -> Study Books -> Undergraduate & Postgraduate -> Social Sciences -> Politics & International Relations -> Politics
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
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Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Hardcover