On Friday, President Biden was seen with a book that characterizes Israel as a colonial power in opposition to Palestinian resistance, despite his ongoing support for the Jewish state. As reported by the New York Post, Biden was photographed leaving Nantucket Bookworks while holding a copy of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017,” written by Rashid Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University.
Khalidi commented on the situation, saying, “I do not speak to the Post (or the Times for that matter), so this is not for publication, but my reaction is that this is four years too late,” in reference to Biden holding his book.
The Post clarified that it did not agree to any terms that would make Khalidi’s response off the record or under background conditions.
Fox News Digital has reached out to both Khalidi and the White House for further comments. The book itself argues that “the modern history of Palestine can best be understood in these terms: as a colonial war waged against the indigenous population, by a variety of parties, to force them to relinquish their homeland to another people against their will.” It remains unclear whether Biden bought the book himself or was given it as a gift.
Khalidi, who has Palestinian and Lebanese heritage, has frequently criticized Israel and the United States. He previously referred to the Trump administration as a “mouthpiece” for Israel and has condemned the impact of Israeli actions on Gaza, especially after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of hostages, including Americans. In a November 2023 appearance on the “Intercepted” podcast, Khalidi remarked, “It’s perfectly unclear, reading the Israeli press, what their political objective is. I mean, ethnic cleansing. That’s not a political objective. They’re doing that. They’re driving the population of the Northern Gaza Strip into the Southern Gaza Strip. But what their political objective is, is, to me, entirely unclear, in the writings of, as far as one can tell, from the Israeli press.”
While Biden has consistently expressed his support for Israel, he has faced criticism from pro-Israel advocates for imposing conditions on U.S. aid to the country and for halting shipments of heavy munitions to Israel earlier this year. At the same time, pro-Palestinian groups, who have labeled Biden as “Genocide Joe,” have increasingly condemned both him and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the rising civilian casualties in Gaza. The Post also reported that Biden has privately criticized Netanyahu behind closed doors.
Published in 2020, the book predates President Trump’s successful mediation of normalization agreements between Israel and several Muslim-majority nations. Khalidi’s book also criticizes Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, a region it captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Within the book, Khalidi discusses what he views as Israel’s discriminatory policies against Palestinians. He writes, “Settler-colonial confrontations with indigenous peoples have only ended in one of three ways: with the elimination of full subjugation of the native population, as in North America; with the defeat and expulsion of the colonizer, as in Algeria, which is extremely rare; or with the abandonment of colonial supremacy, in the context of compromise and reconciliation, as in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Ireland.”
Khalidi also praises the First Intifada, which took place from 1987 to 1993 and led to over 2,000 deaths, as an example of successful popular resistance against oppression. According to the book, “The First Intifada was an outstanding example of popular resistance against oppression and can be considered as being the first unmitigated victory for the Palestinians in the long colonial war that began in 1917.”
{Matzav.com}