Translated into English for the first time after its publication in 1967, Ghassan Kanafani's On Zionist Literature makes an incisive analysis of the literary fiction written in support of the Zionist colonization of Palestine.

Interweaving his literary criticism of works by George Eliot, Arthur Koestler, and many others with a historical materialist narrative, Kanafani identifies the political intent and ideology of Zionist literature, demonstrating how the myths used to justify the Zionist-imperialist domination of Palestine first emerged and were repeatedly propagated in popular literary works in order to generate support for Zionism and shape the Western public's understanding of it.

The new preface by Anni Kanafani and an introduction by Steven Salaita place On Zionist Literature in its broader historical context and make a compelling case for its ongoing significance more than five decades since its original publication, illustrating the extent to which "Kanafani was a searing and incisive critic, at once generous in his understanding of emotion and form and unsparing in his assessment of politics and myth."

Purchase On Zionist Literature here. All proceeds go to Mohammed’s family.

“In this searing critique, Kanafani lays bare the ways in which language, fiction and film were employed in the service of Zionism to manipulate popular western imagination – paving the way for political Zionism, a chauvinist and supremacist ideology that aimed to colonize Palestine and usurp the natural rights and claims of indigenous Palestinians…Finally translated into English, this work is a monumental contribution to anglophile Palestine studies and to critical postcolonial and neo-colonial theory.”
-Susan Abulhawa

“This superbly translated book is a splendid example of the Palestinian political commitment to know one's enemy…Brilliantly argued and comprehensive in its coverage, the book remains most relevant to understanding Zionist and western representations of Palestine and the Palestinians historically and at present. Its searing insights are as accurate and revealing today as they were when it was published in 1967. A Palestinian classic.”
-Joseph Massad