This is the story of the cultural and political struggle between Christians and Muslims, and of the rapid Islamicization of Nazareth - the birthplace of Christianity - ironically, under the rule of the Jewish State of Israel.

A sophisticated and engaging ethnographic account of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the first since the 1970s, Overlooking Nazareth examines specific situations of friction, conflict and co-operation in Natzerat Illit. This Israeli new town is built on formerly Palestinian land, just outside the biblical town of Nazareth, and has a population of 25,000 Jewish Israelis and 3,500 Palestinians. Dr Rabinowitz has written widely on the current political situation in Israel and has conducted extensive fieldwork in Galilee, and he describes his study as a guided walk along a border, a sketch of interfaces 'where the complex, often paradoxical aspects of the border situation are negotiated and acted out most vividly'. He highlights the extent to which anti-Palestinian sentiments for which the town is known actually reflect widespread views of most Israelis. This is a major contribution to our understanding of the confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians. It offers powerful critique of reflexive anthropology and offers fresh insights into notions of ethnicity and identity, nationalism and liberalism.

Modern urban spaces are, by definition, mixed socio-spatial configurations. In many ways, their enduring success and vitality lie in the richness of their ethnic texture and ongoing exchange of economic goods, cultural practices, political ideas and social movements. This mixture, however, is rarely harmonious and has often led to violent conflict over land and identity. Focusing on mixed towns in Israel/Palestine, this insightful volume theorizes the relationship between modernity and nationalism and the social dynamics which engender and characterize the growth of urban spaces and the emergence therein of inter-communal relations. For more than a century, Arabs and Jews have been interacting in the workplaces, residential areas, commercial enterprises, cultural arenas and political theatres of mixed towns. Defying prevailing Manichean oppositions, these towns both exemplify and resist the forces of nationalist segregation. In this interdisciplinary volume, a new generation of Israeli and Palestinian scholars come together to explore ways in which these towns have been perceived as utopian or dystopian and whether they are best conceptualized as divided, dual or colonial. Identifying ethnically mixed towns as a historically specific analytic category, this volume calls for further research, comparison and debate.

Concise and comprehensive, A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict presents balanced, impartial, and well-illustrated coverage of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The authors identify and examine the issues and themes that have characterized and defined the conflict over the past century tying in a twenty-first century perspective. The seventh edition exposes readers to recent events in the Middle East. Altering relations between Israel and neighboring states, political and religious uncertainty as a result of the Arab Spring and the increased scrutiny of Iran's nuclear program are explored in this updated edition.

Danya, a literate, independent-minded young woman, grows up in the village of Nazareth. Personal betrayals, social restrictions, and family tragedies crush Danya's dream of fighting to free her people from Roman domination. Instead she is married off and lives as an outsider in the sophisticated city of Sepphoris, the Roman capital of Galilee. Danya struggles to write her own life, a story woven into the political, religious, and cultural conflicts of the tumultuous world of ancient Palestine early in the first century. Her companions include some real historical and scriptural figures: Joanna, the wife of Herod's chief steward; Judah ben Hezekiah, the leader of a Galilean insurrection; Jesus, before his public life; and his mother Mary, among others. This extensively researched, fast-paced narrative has its roots in the study of the historical Jesus. However, Danya's writings give voice to the silent women of that era. Her search for a meaningful life, though unique to her world, is both universal and contemporary.