''A History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Era'' is an
empty book
Empty books or blank books are novelty books whose title indicates that they treat some serious subject, but whose pages have been left intentionally blank. The joke is that "nothing" is the answer to whatever the title of the book asserts.
A ...
by Assaf Voll that uses blank pages to suggest that
Palestinians
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
have no history, based on a false argument that a group may only call itself "a people" if it has always existed. It has continued to circulate on social media among the Israeli right-wing.
It was published in paperback and digital formats in 2017, and most of its contents are blank pages. The book rose in
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
's best-selling titles in the category of "Israel and Palestine History", reaching second place before it was pulled from sale by Amazon. Its publication has been described as a "cruel joke". The incident has been said to signify "the continued vitality of a more enduring political, social and cultural impulse to abrogate Palestinian history and identity - on the part of Israel, and by extension, among its Western allies."
Contents summary
Besides the front cover, back cover, and
title page
The title page of a book, thesis or other written work is the page at or near the front which displays its title (publishing), title, subtitle, author, publisher, and edition, often artistically decorated. (A half title, by contrast, displays onl ...
the book contains a quote attributed to the ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' character
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rela ...
: "Just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it." The rest of its pages are blank. The Hebrew version of 120 pages is shorter than the 132-page English version. Voll said that a planned German version will be significantly longer.
Composition and publication
Voll is a columnist for Israeli publications, and involved in public relations and advertising. Holding an M.A. in Jewish Studies from
Haifa University
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
, Voll has also lectured at the university as an external lecturer.
The book was described by its author as "a fruit of many years of research" and "the most comprehensive and extensive review of some 3,000 years of Palestinian history, with emphasis on the Palestinian people's unique contribution to the world and to humanity". Interviewed on the
Kol Chai
Kol Chai ( he, קול חי) is a Haredi and National Religious radio station in Israel established in 1996. The station, based in Bnei Brak, broadcasts six days a week: not on Shabbat.
Frequencies
Contributors
;Current
*David Lau
* Mordech ...
radio station, Voll stated that "The Palestinian people believe they are a people, and someone needs to tell them the truth even if it hurts. Look what happens when they were given the feeling that they are a real people."The Secret Behind Bestseller on Palestinian History JPost, Joy Bernard, June 21, 2017New Book On Palestinian History: 120 Blank Pages Breaking News Israel, Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, June 19, 2017
Reception
Support
The publication was received with both humor and anti-Palestinian commentary in elements of the Israeli and American media.
Promoted by American weekly ''
The Jewish Press
''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly".
''The Jewish Press'' has an online v ...
'', the book also received positive user reviews and rankings. It sold well for books related to the Middle East on Amazon.com, quickly reaching the second place in the category of "Israel and Palestine History", and 9th in "Middle East History".Palestinian history – is there such a thing? Arutz7, Mordechai Sones, 19 June 2017New Book on Palestinian History Gets Rave Reviews HaModia, Dov Benovadia, 20 June 2017JewishPress.com Pushes 'A History of the Palestinian People' to Top Amazon Ranking Jewish Press, 19 June 2017 Positive reviews appeared on Jewish Press,
Jewish Voice
''The Jewish Voice'' (''JV'') is a conservative weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, that was founded in 2003 as ''The Sephardic Voice''. ''The Jewish Voice'' has a pro-Israel editorial outlook. It covers Israeli and American news (the ...
,
Channel 20 (Israel)
Channel 14 ( he, ערוץ 14; ) is an Israeli commercial television channel aimed at a right-wing audience.
In 2021, it was announced that Channel 20 will be rebranded to Now 14 ( he, עכשיו 14) and subsequently moved to the 14th slot on ...
,
Arutz 7
''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well as l ...
,
Hamodia
''Hamodia'' ( he, המודיע – "''the Informer''") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israe ...
, "Kipa" and "Srugim" .A New Book Surveys the History of the Palestinian People (in Hebrew) Channel20 (Israel), Bat El Binyamin, 19 June 2017
A review by Israeli Channel 20 wrote "in the 120 pages in his new book Voll surveys and analyzes step by step the annals of Palestinian history from the ancient era to the modern one. The reader will be surprised from the first moment and won't be able to leave the book until reaching the end".
Addressing Arab members of
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
in a speech, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tzipi Hotovely
Tzipi Hotovely ( he, צִיפִּי חוֹטוֹבֵלִי, born 2 December 1978) is an Israeli diplomat and former politician who serves as the current Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom. She served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affai ...
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, with organizations such as IfNotNow asking their followers to contact Amazon and complain. The book faced some customer complaints and low ratings on Amazon.
In a column published by ''
Mondoweiss
''Mondoweiss'' is a news website that began as a general-interest blog written by Philip Weiss on ''The New York Observer'' website. It subsequently developed into a broader collaborative venture after fellow journalist Adam Horowitz joined it ...
'',
Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook (born 1965) is a British writer and a freelance journalist based in Nazareth, Israel, who writes about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He writes a regular column for '' The National'' of Abu Dhabi and Middle East Eye.
Bac ...
wrote that the book had antecedents, in 1969,
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
declared to the world: “
There was no such thing as Palestinians
"There was no such thing as Palestinians" is part of a widely repeated statement by the then-newly appointed Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in an interview with Frank Giles, then deputy editor of ''The Sunday Times'' on June 15, 1969, to mark ...
" and that in 1984 the book ''
From Time Immemorial
''From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab–Jewish Conflict over Palestine'' is a 1984 book by Joan Peters, published by Harper & Row, about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab wo ...
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' said that nations are a result of modernity and that "no nation—as we currently understand and use the term—dates to antiquity, not even the Jews." According to Shanes the formation of Palestinian nationhood occurred lockstep with the formation of Jewish nationhood in the 19th century, but this does not say either are "invented" and that in any event the Palestinians today, regardless of their historical origin, are a nation. An attempt to deny the existence of the opposing side is a path to irreconcilable conflict. In a separate review on Haaretz it was claimed that "The author's argument that the Palestinians are not a people because they are void of history isn't new – it's a mainstay of the Israeli right".
In an article in
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...
, Professor Steven Weitzman of the
Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania—commonly called the Katz Center—is a postdoctoral research center devoted to the study of Jewish history and civilization.
History
The Katz Center is t ...
said that Voll's book is
Shlomo Sand
Shlomo Sand (pronounced ''Zand''; he, שלמה זנד; born 10 September 1946) is an Israeli Emeritus Professor of History at Tel Aviv University.The Invention of the Jewish People
''The Invention of the Jewish People'' ( he, מתי ואיך הומצא העם היהודי?, italic=yes, translit=Matai ve’ech humtza ha’am hayehudi?, literally ''When and How Was the Jewish People Invented?'') is a study of the historiograp ...
argument in reverse applied to Palestinians instead of Jews. Weitzman further said "What was offensive about the book is that it is completely blank, the author’s way of arguing that the Palestinians are not a real people and have no real history—an argument that other scholars have made in more conventional ways".
Ahmed Dabesh in Lebanese daily Al Akhbar wrote that Voll didn't mention that the "Zionist entity" was born out of aggression against the Palestinians and the rape of their land, attacked the Zionist Archaeology policy, and asserted that the Palestinians have roots dating back until at least the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
,
4000 BCE
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
(sic).
Conversely, on
Arab News Network
Arab News Network (ANN) was an Arab news channel broadcast on satellite from London.
History and profile
ANN was established in 1997. The channel is currently owned by Siwar al Assad, a first cousin of the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. The ...
it was claimed the Palestinians have
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
ite roots dating back at least 4500 years, and that the book is an unsuccessful response to the
Occupied Palestine Resolution
The Occupied Palestine Resolution is the common name for Document 200 EX/25, passed on October 13, 2016, and formally ratified on October 26, 2016, as a decision of the Executive Board of UNESCO. The resolution is a formal condemnation of Israel ...
in
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
A review in Al-Modon said that Israel is empty as the book is empty, that the book is part of continuing Zionist methodology of claiming that Palestine is a land without a people, the same methodology that led the Zionists to steal the Palestinian cuisine and claim worldwide that
hummus
Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...
and
falafel
Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...
are Israeli inventions.
A review in the Egyptian
Youm7
''Youm7'' ( ar, اليوم السابع, , meaning ''The Seventh Day'') is an Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper. It was first published as a weekly paper in October 2008 and has been published daily since May 2011. It is published in Arab ...
said the book is part of a continuing provocation and fabrication against the
Arab identity
Arab identity ( ar, الهوية العربية ) is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as an Arab and as relating to being Arab. Like other cultural identities, it relies on a common culture, a traditional lineage, the com ...
of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian land, and the holy places.
A report in
Al Mayadeen
Al Mayadeen ( Arabic: الميادين; The Plazas) is a pan-Arabist satellite news television channel launched on 11 June 2012 in Beirut, Lebanon. Its programming is predominantly news. It has news reporters in most Arab countries. In the pan- ...
said that the publication of the empty book underscores the need for resistance and protest on
Quds Day
Quds Day (), officially known as International Quds Day ( fa, روز جهانی قدس, Ruz Jahâni Quds), is an annual Palestinian nationalism, pro-Palestinian event held on the Friday prayer, last Friday of the Islam, Islamic holy month of Ra ...
.
An
An-Najah National University
An-Najah National University ( ar, جامعة النجاح الوطنية) is a Palestinian non-governmental public university governed by a board of trustees. It is located in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The university has 22,000 studen ...
publication said the book was written from a vantage point of supposed "superiority" and exhibits the "innermost subconscious of the Israeli methodology" and that furthermore American conscious and unconscious sympathy to Israel arises from the American genocide of Native Americans as exhibited by Munir Akash's book, "America and genocides – the right to sacrifice the other".
The Bosnian newspaper
Oslobođenje
''Oslobođenje'' (; 'Liberation') is a daily newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in the capital city Sarajevo. Founded on 30 August 1943, in the midst of World War II, on a patch of territory liberated by Partisans, in what was otherwise a ...
, in an article on the Palestinian-Israel anniversaries marked in 2017 said that the book is not just a distant echo of
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
's statement "there is no such thing as Palestinians", but also the attitude of the current right-wing Israeli politicians, despite Palestine gaining recognition by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
.
Removal from sale
Amazon stopped selling the book in June 2017, removing it entirely from their site, though the book remained on sale elsewhere. Amazon in a letter to Voll said:
During a quality assurance review of your CSP catalogue, we found that your book(s) are resulting in a disappointing customer experience. Indicators of a poor customer experience may include customer refunds and feedback. As a result, the following book(s) have been removed from sale on Amazon.
In response, Voll said that there were other blank books on sale in Amazon, giving the best-seller '' Reasons To Vote For Democrats'' as an example, that there was no intention to deceive anyone regarding the contents of the book, and that some of the poor customer feedback was due to a campaign by anti-Israel activists such as the website "Welcome to Palestine".Amazon removes controversial bestseller about Palestinian history Jerusalem Post, Joy Bernard, 28 June 2017
The book reached 16th place in sales on the
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
site, before being removed from sale from this site as well.