On Palestine

In 2016, I had the great honor and privilege of being part of a university course dedicated to analyzing the history of Palestine through the lens of settler colonialism. Below follows a list of texts we were assigned to read for the course, sorted roughly by time period, as they were provided by the course facilitator. Combined, these texts form one of many excellent starting points for learning more about the history of Palestine, the experiences of Palestinians, and the infrastructures of settler colonialism. Wherever possible, I've linked to downloadable PDFs of the referenced texts. If you'd like assistance finding others, please e-mail me at [Work AT RiveraErica DOT com].

Read for Refaat

Between January 15 and 21, 2024, I participated in Read for Refaat, a day of action that kicked off a week of solidarity events focused on reading Refaat Alareer's work out loud and in public. You can listen to my recordings of selections from the texts on this page at the link above.

Read in Solidarity

On April 27 and 28, 2024, I also recorded myself reading from another list of texts relating to Palestine, including excerpts from the essay collection From the River to the Sea: Essays for a Free Palestine, as well as many of the texts that are available for free on Verso Books's "In Solidarity with the Students" page. You can download those texts on Verso's website or at the link above, and you can listen to those recordings at the link above as well.


Understanding Settler Colonialism

Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native

by Patrick Wolfe
Alternative PDF download below

Introduction - The Settler Colonial Situation

excerpted from Settler Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview
by Lorenzo Veracini
PDF download below

1882 - 1947

Chapter 7 - Purchase by Other Means: Dispossessing the Natives in Palestine

excerpted from Traces of History: Elementary Structures of Race
by Patrick Wolfe
Alternative PDF download below

Introduction and Chapter 1 - Zionist Transfer Ideas and Proposals, 1882-1938

excerpted from Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of "Transfer" in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948
by Nur Masalha
Alternative PDF download below

1948 - 1966

Chapters 4-8 from The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

by Ilan Pappe
Alternative PDF download below

Zionist Colonialism in Palestine

by Fayez Sayegh
Alternative PDF downloads below

1993 - 2000

"The Morning After"

by Edward Said
PDF download below

The Political Economy of Israeli Occupation: What is Colonial about It?

by Leila Farsakh
Alternative PDF download below

2000 - 2006

Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation

by Eyal Weizman
Available via the Internet Archive

Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation

by Saree Makdisi
Available via the Internet Archive

2007 - present

"The Gaza Bombshell"

by David Rose
PDF downloads below

Chapter 5 - Class and State in the West Bank: Neoliberalism Under Occupation

Excerpted from Lineages of Revolt: Issues of contemporary capitalism in the Middle East
by Adam Hanieh
Available via the Internet Archive
Alternative PDF download below

Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict

Also known as the Goldstone Report (2009)
Available via the Internet Archive
Alternative PDF download below

This is How We Fought in Gaza: Soldiers' testimonies and photographs from Operation "Protective Edge"

Produced by Breaking the Silence