Resources on the Situation in Palestine and Israel

ASA Resources and Reading List (as of October 18, 2023)

This page is a working list of recommended resources that offers some critical context on the situation going on in Palestine-Israel and introduces keywords such as settler-colonialism, decolonization, and militarism.

Beginning with the Third World Liberation Front Strike of 1968 @ San Francisco State University, Asian American Studies has been committed in critiquing the long history of imperialism, militarism, and settler colonialism in the United States, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East/West Asia. Asian American Studies here at UC Davis is situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Patwin peoples, and with this awareness, we are committed in addressing settler-colonialism and supporting decolonial movements.

We hope the list below provides a useful starting point to understand the relationship between Asian American Studies and what’s going on in Palestine and Israel, but it is just a starting point. We will be updating it from time to time. If you notice a key article/book/blog/podcast missing from our list or something is incorrectly cited, please let us know by emailing us at ssmin@ucdavis.edu.

Histories and Context

Articles

Samera Esmeir, “To say and think a life beyond what settler colonialism has made”
Palestinian Feminist Collective
Judith Butler, “The Compass of Mourning.”
Isaac Chotiner
Circuits of Influence: US, Israel, Palestine

Asian American Studies: Building Solidarities and Community with Palestine and other Decolonization Movements

Sunaina Maira and Magid Shihade, “Meeting Asian/Arab American Studies: Thinking Race, Empire, and Zionism in the US”
J. Kehaulani Kauanui, “Asian American Studies and the Pacific Question”
Loubna Qutami, “Rethinking the Single Story: BDS, Transnational Cross Movement Building and the Palestine Analytic”
Junaid Rana and Diane C. Fujino, “Taking Risks, or The Question of Palestine Solidarity and Asian American Studies”

Keywords on Settler Colonialism, Imperialism, Militarism

Iyko Day, Juliana Hu Pegues, Melissa Phung, Dean Itsuji Saranillo, Danika Medak-Saltzman“ Settler Colonial Studies, Asian Diasporic Questions”
Manu Karuka, Settler Colonialism from Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies
Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez, Militarism from Keywords for Asian American Studies
Shelley Streeby, Imperialism from Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies
Shelley Streeby, Empire from Keywords for American Cultural Studies

Books

(As of 10/17/23, some of these e-books books from Haymarket Press—marked with ( * )—can be downloaded for free)

Omar Barghouti, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (*)
Sunaina Maira, Boycott: The Academy and Justice for Palestine
Sumaya Awad and Brian Bean, eds., Palestine: A Socialist Introduction (*)
Steven Salaita, Inter/Nationalism: Decolonizing Native America and Palestine
Maryam Griffin, Vehicles of Decolonization: Public Transit in the Occupied West Bank
Adam Hanieh, Lineages of Revolt. Issues of Contemporary Capitalism in the Middle East.
Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, et al., eds., Light in Gaza (*)
Edward Said, The Question of Palestine
Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Sa’ed Atshan, Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique
Jennifer Kelly, Invited to Witness: Solidarity Tourism across Occupied Palestine
Mohammed El Kurd, Rifka
Jasbir Puar, The Right To Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability
Sunaina Maira, Jil Oslo: Palestinian Hip-Hop, Youth Culture, and the Youth Movement

Podcasts & Blogs

David Palumbo-Liu podcast, Speaking Out of Place “Legal Experts Deconstruct Media Lies about Gaza; Voices from Around the World Shout Out Solidarity with the Palestinian People”
https://stevesalaita.com/except-for-palestine/
https://www.blackwomenradicals.com/blog-feed/black-feminist-perspectives-on-palestine-a-reading-list