Nationalist narratives, such as those underlying Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, present us with a skewed and incomplete rendition of history. Two other factors further erode their usefulness. First, nationalist narratives assume that nations – such as the ones whose genealogy they describe – have existed throughout history. Nationalist movements, they assert, exist merely to bring those nations to a state of self-awareness. This assertion is far too modest. Nationalist movements do not bring preexisting nations to a state of self-awareness; nationalist movements create those nations. Second, nationalist narratives obscure or ignore the similarities between the nations whose history they claim to relate and other nations. This, of course, is done deliberately: By making it appear that its nation is distinctive, a nationalist narrative confirms the right of that nation to self-rule and sovereignty over a designated piece of real estate.

Zionism and Palestinian nationalism were cast in the same mold. Furthermore, while the advent of Zionism and the advent of a distinct Palestinian nationalism were never foregone conclusions, there can be no doubt that in a world in which nation-states provide the model for organizing political communities, Jews and the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine would claim to belong to some nation – either their own or someone else's – and espouse some nationalist creed. Again, this nationalist creed would be either their own or someone else's.