Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories, 1967 to the Present

Cursed Victory by Ahron Bregman is a history of Israel and the territories it occupies. It is divided into three parts. The first is the decade from 1967 to 1977, the second is from 1977-1987, and the final part covers 1987-2007. Each section was full of information but Bregman does a good job of not throwing too much at the reader at any one time.

The author has firsthand experience with the Israeli occupation, as he is Israeli and, like all adult Israelis, has served in their military. Because of his personal experience with the subject, it is impossible for Bregman to write an unbiased account of the events. He acknowledges this and so doesn’t attempt to make Cursed Victory unbiased. He makes it into a very convincing argument for Isreal to end the occupation of Palestine. Many of the things he described made me cringe in horror, especially the censorship of reading materials for Palestinians, as well as tearing down an entire neighborhood while giving those that lived there only two hours’ notice.

Bregman does a wonderful job articulating his argument and supports it with facts and firsthand accounts. It was definitely worth reading.