Can anyone recommend a good History book/textbook about Israel and Palestine? I'm looking for one that will explain to me the history of their conflict, and also United States relations with Israel, and how Israel was founded, and the violence that sprung from it.

You will probably never find an objective book that analyses both sides of the conflict.

Sadly, everything written is done so with bias, so i wouldn't bother unless you want to read propaganda...

I dont know about a good book but I can give you a few places to start.

Apparently Israelis have only been on the land once before in history... I have seen other articles that show Zionism being around long before 1880, but I haven't gone that far bak myself just yet.

1880 -1897 - both to do with Zionism and the creation of the movement.

WW1 and Zionism - Check out Balfour declaration

England 1918 / 1948 - Occupation

WW2 and Zionism - A little bit about NAZI's and Zionists.

Zionism 1948 - Genocide in Palestine.

That is just an outline.. In between you will find plenty of information concerning the modern conflict at least. It is important to go right back to the beginning of the Zionist movement though and also see what those guys were planning 50 years prior to the actual occupation of Palestine.

You probably already know most of it but I thought I would throw it out their anyway just incase you didn't. If its just a book your looking for, then I have no idea. Hope you find what your looking for.

Arabs and Israel for Beginners by Ron and Susan David

This is a book that I read in the summer of 2001. I pulled it randomly off the shelf at the bookstore, and it turned out to be incredibly fateful. When 9/11 hit, and everyone was running around asking, "Why did this happen?" I wanted to shout at my TV, because I knew exactly why it had happened.

The book is simple and clearly-written, fair but tough, and absolutely devastating. It exposes the hidden history of the state of Israel and some of the dark things that have gone on to found and maintain it.

The best part is that it is not written by a Muslim or some neo-Nazi, but by a Jewish man who loves his people and is heartbroken about what is going on over there.

The book was re-released in 2007, and I can't vouch for that edition-maybe some pressure was put on the author to change some things.