The Question of Palestine and the United Nations serves well as a primer to the diplomatic history of Palestine and Israel following the Second World War. Given the extreme bias ascribed to most every other thing written about the crisis between Palestine and Israel, Question makes a noble attempt to describe the half-century of strife and turmoil in a disinterested way. To a large extent it achieves this goal. The pamphlet gives an account of multi-national legislation that shaped the debate in the United Nations alongside developments on the ground. At the same time, several chapters are devoted to the human aspect of the struggle–i.e. what happens to the Palestinians displaced by Israeli occupation? Unlike most literature available in the West/U.S., the book does not assume the common "myths" about Israel being unoccupied prior to the formation of the Israeli state. Also, it is better as describing the various changes the Palestinian organizations and people went through over the years in an attempt to better represent their people and achieve their goals.

Although this may not be the most enthralling read or necessarily earth-shattering, this book should be required for anyone attempting to understand the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. Without some small amount of time devoted to this book, we are left with vague allusions by other authors that have a position to sell. Acting as a north star, his book can refocus the debate in your mind to better understand and increasingly complex issue. ( )