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Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land
The expanded and updated edition of David Shipler's Pulitzer Prize-winning book that examines the relationship, past and present, between Arabs and Jews
In this monumental work, extensively researched and more relevant than ever, David Shipler delves into the origins of the prejudices that exist between Jews and Arabs that have been intensified by war, terrorism, and nationalism.
Focusing on the diverse cultures that exist side by side in Israel and Israeli-controlled territories, Shipler examines the process of indoctrination that begins in schools; he discusses the far-ranging effects of socioeconomic differences, historical conflicts between Islam and Judaism, attitudes about the Holocaust, and much more. And he writes of the people: the Arab woman in love with a Jew, the retired Israeli military officer, the Palestinian guerrilla, the handsome actor whose father is Arab and whose mother is Jewish.
For Shipler, and for all who read this book, their stories and hundreds of others reflect not only the reality of "wounded spirits" but also a glimmer of hope for eventual coexistence in the Promised Land.
In this monumental work, extensively researched and more relevant than ever, David Shipler delves into the origins of the prejudices that exist between Jews and Arabs that have been intensified by war, terrorism, and nationalism.
Focusing on the diverse cultures that exist side by side in Israel and Israeli-controlled territories, Shipler examines the process of indoctrination that begins in schools; he discusses the far-ranging effects of socioeconomic differences, historical conflicts between Islam and Judaism, attitudes about the Holocaust, and much more. And he writes of the people: the Arab woman in love with a Jew, the retired Israeli military officer, the Palestinian guerrilla, the handsome actor whose father is Arab and whose mother is Jewish.
For Shipler, and for all who read this book, their stories and hundreds of others reflect not only the reality of "wounded spirits" but also a glimmer of hope for eventual coexistence in the Promised Land.
726 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 1986
203 people are currently reading
3472 people want to read
About the author
David K. Shipler
16 books89 followersDavid K. Shipler reported for The New York Times from 1966 to 1988 in New York, Saigon, Moscow, Jerusalem, and Washington. He is the author of four other books, including the best sellers Russia and The Working Poor, and Arab and Jew, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and has taught at Princeton University, at American University in Washington, D.C., and at Dartmouth College.
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December 28, 2009
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the toy company Kenner produced Star Wars action figures (a.k.a. plastic dolls, with guns). Kenner therefore is responsible in many ways for developing my imagination. For example, many a languorous August afternoon, I had the Walrus Man action figure give it to the Princess Leia (Bespin Gown) action figure straight up the butt. Of course, I didn't really know or understand the precise mechanics of what they were supposed to be doing, but I was sure it was very, very Cinemax After Dark. The juxtaposition of that firm plastic booty and those vague amphibious frontals was enough to allude to all sorts of well-lubed mortal sins. The whole idea of it, foggy as it was to me, was sufficient to give me a good little stiffy.
Have I digressed?
Anyway, the action figures (see the images of the Sand Person, also known as Tuskan Raider, above) had holes in the bottoms of their feet into which little pegs on the playsets would fit. You'd stick Bossk's feet holes on the pegs on the Millennium Falcon so that when it did all kinds of dangerous air show maneuvers around your bedroom, Bossk would stay put. He'd remain in his designated area.
Thank you, Kenner. This is a great solution for the Arab-Jew 'problem.' We could sort of divvy up the land*, you know, and then put these pegs in the ground. Then we'd drill holes in the Jews' and Arabs' feet and snap them onto a peg so that they can't move. See how easy? No more bombings at Sbarro's or malls or Tel Aviv 'discotheques' because nobody can move.
Stage two: Implementation. (That's somebody else's job. I'm the idea man.)
* Have you seen that land, by the way? It's about a hundred square feet of postapocalyptic charred earth. Who wants it? Blech. If the Jews and Arabs had half-a-brain between 'em, they'd join forces and attack Tahiti or something. But no. They apparently wanna inhabit a soundstage from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
October 30, 2023
Arab & Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David Shipler is an extraordinary, powerful & balanced glimpse at life in Israel & the Palestinian Territories by the former New York Times correspondent, based in Jerusalem. I found the book quite engrossing because it seemed so open to the people who live there and to the possibilities, however slim, for an eventual reconciliation between the Arabs & Jews who share and contest the area also known as the Holy Land.
To be sure, there is much complexity here but I think the author argues both objectively & consistently for understanding, for stripping away the ethnic & cultural barriers to peace in this part of the world.
For various reasons, many are much more aware of the more recent terrorism committed by the Palestinians than of the terrorism & massacres perpetrated by the Irgun & other Jewish forces against both the British and Palestinians in the time leading up to the official founding of the state of Israel in 1948 and the continuing displacement of Palestinian people.
Examples of terrorism are described in a chapter labeled as "The Banality of Evil", borrowing a phrasing from Hannah Arendt. In Israel, it seems the early history is often masked in textbooks and within the general narrative, something the author refers to as the creation of a "synthetic history" of Israel. There is an interesting detailing of the differences between the early Jewish immigrants to Palestine who were mostly Ashkenazim, Jews from Europe and the later arrivals, who were in many cases Sephardic Jews & often seen as rather alien by their fellow Jews with deeper roots in Israel.
At times, I was reminded of books that represent oral histories by the late Studs Terkel, offering a compilation of the views of a wide spectrum of humanity in Israel/Palestine, the voices of ordinary people as well as rabbis, academics & an occasional philosopher.
One of the profiles that most impressed me was the story of a man named Juliano Mer, the son of a Palestinian Christian father who was an ardent Communist & an Israeli Jewish mother who followed a Socialist path, a man with "no religion, no identity, no nothing--a human being, that's all."
Juliano lived for a time in the former Czechoslovakia, once tossing a "Molotov cocktail" at an invading Soviet tank & wryly noted that the next time he threw one was when he was cast in a film as a Jewish guerrilla in the Stern Gang in the days when the Jews were still fighting British forces. Living on seemingly neutral territory in London, Juliano felt similarly out of place.
He has been called at times a "dirty Jew" and at other turns, a "filthy Arab" but seems to feel that either way, he is always seen as part of the enemy, even while living in the land where he was born. His various roles as an actor seem to allow him the freedom to play out both sides of his complicated identity, including as a Palestinian terrorist and as a Mossad agent in the film version of John le Carre's Little Drummer Girl.
Naturally, there are elements of a book written in 1986 that may seem dated, in spite of a revision in 2002 and with another in the works for the fall of 2015. Gaza is no longer under Israeli control and there has been an ever-increasing proliferation of Israeli settlements within the territories on the West Bank presently occupied by Israel but felt to be part of the Palestinian homeland .
However, I found the delineation of the various historical & cultural contexts within this Pulitzer Prize winning book to be virtually timeless. And beyond that, the writing is always very compelling, in a quiet sort of way, drawing the reader forward in search of further illumination & new voices. In fact, Shipler's book almost resembles a travel diary & one very much feels a part of the story as it unfolds.
David Shipler speaks of many Arabs & Jews living in the occupied territories as representing "conflicting absolutes with each living as close neighbors entangled in each other's fears". Meanwhile, the Israeli Arabs seem bent on the maintenance of a dual identity while not having the benefit of an equal citizenship. One Israeli Arab makes the analogy of wishing nothing more than to live as Jews do in America, equally a part of the fabric of life in that country.
And the author comments that in some cases, "Palestinians have bought the Holocaust Symphony from the Jews, to play in their own way", using words like pogrom, ghetto & even Zionism to meet their own needs.
In the midst of an area often beset by violence, there are however hopeful notes within Arab & Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land and among them are details of groups like Interns for Peace, operating in Galilee & elsewhere, including some young mixed groups who spend a summer in Maine. There is also an attempt at communal discussion between Arabs & Jews at Beit Hillel on the campus of Hebrew University in Bethlehem.
And, another endeavor at creating harmony is Neve Shalom, an Arab-Jewish community that is called "the model of a dream", a kibbutz of sorts where the members grow olives & nuts and raise sheep and bees, created initially by monks from a Trappist community at Latrun. Each of these attempts at harmony represent "small sparks of decency" on a troubled landscape. And apparently, none is afforded even a shekel of government support.
I read David Shipler's 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning book while preparing for a visit to Israel & the Palestinian territories and found that the book amply supported my time in the area. Presently, there is a revised & updated edition but I read Shipler's original version. In any case I highly recommend the book to anyone in search of a greater understanding of this part of the world.
To be sure, there is much complexity here but I think the author argues both objectively & consistently for understanding, for stripping away the ethnic & cultural barriers to peace in this part of the world.
For various reasons, many are much more aware of the more recent terrorism committed by the Palestinians than of the terrorism & massacres perpetrated by the Irgun & other Jewish forces against both the British and Palestinians in the time leading up to the official founding of the state of Israel in 1948 and the continuing displacement of Palestinian people.
Examples of terrorism are described in a chapter labeled as "The Banality of Evil", borrowing a phrasing from Hannah Arendt. In Israel, it seems the early history is often masked in textbooks and within the general narrative, something the author refers to as the creation of a "synthetic history" of Israel. There is an interesting detailing of the differences between the early Jewish immigrants to Palestine who were mostly Ashkenazim, Jews from Europe and the later arrivals, who were in many cases Sephardic Jews & often seen as rather alien by their fellow Jews with deeper roots in Israel.
At times, I was reminded of books that represent oral histories by the late Studs Terkel, offering a compilation of the views of a wide spectrum of humanity in Israel/Palestine, the voices of ordinary people as well as rabbis, academics & an occasional philosopher.
One of the profiles that most impressed me was the story of a man named Juliano Mer, the son of a Palestinian Christian father who was an ardent Communist & an Israeli Jewish mother who followed a Socialist path, a man with "no religion, no identity, no nothing--a human being, that's all."
Juliano lived for a time in the former Czechoslovakia, once tossing a "Molotov cocktail" at an invading Soviet tank & wryly noted that the next time he threw one was when he was cast in a film as a Jewish guerrilla in the Stern Gang in the days when the Jews were still fighting British forces. Living on seemingly neutral territory in London, Juliano felt similarly out of place.
He has been called at times a "dirty Jew" and at other turns, a "filthy Arab" but seems to feel that either way, he is always seen as part of the enemy, even while living in the land where he was born. His various roles as an actor seem to allow him the freedom to play out both sides of his complicated identity, including as a Palestinian terrorist and as a Mossad agent in the film version of John le Carre's Little Drummer Girl.
Naturally, there are elements of a book written in 1986 that may seem dated, in spite of a revision in 2002 and with another in the works for the fall of 2015. Gaza is no longer under Israeli control and there has been an ever-increasing proliferation of Israeli settlements within the territories on the West Bank presently occupied by Israel but felt to be part of the Palestinian homeland .
However, I found the delineation of the various historical & cultural contexts within this Pulitzer Prize winning book to be virtually timeless. And beyond that, the writing is always very compelling, in a quiet sort of way, drawing the reader forward in search of further illumination & new voices. In fact, Shipler's book almost resembles a travel diary & one very much feels a part of the story as it unfolds.
David Shipler speaks of many Arabs & Jews living in the occupied territories as representing "conflicting absolutes with each living as close neighbors entangled in each other's fears". Meanwhile, the Israeli Arabs seem bent on the maintenance of a dual identity while not having the benefit of an equal citizenship. One Israeli Arab makes the analogy of wishing nothing more than to live as Jews do in America, equally a part of the fabric of life in that country.
And the author comments that in some cases, "Palestinians have bought the Holocaust Symphony from the Jews, to play in their own way", using words like pogrom, ghetto & even Zionism to meet their own needs.
In the midst of an area often beset by violence, there are however hopeful notes within Arab & Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land and among them are details of groups like Interns for Peace, operating in Galilee & elsewhere, including some young mixed groups who spend a summer in Maine. There is also an attempt at communal discussion between Arabs & Jews at Beit Hillel on the campus of Hebrew University in Bethlehem.
And, another endeavor at creating harmony is Neve Shalom, an Arab-Jewish community that is called "the model of a dream", a kibbutz of sorts where the members grow olives & nuts and raise sheep and bees, created initially by monks from a Trappist community at Latrun. Each of these attempts at harmony represent "small sparks of decency" on a troubled landscape. And apparently, none is afforded even a shekel of government support.
I read David Shipler's 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning book while preparing for a visit to Israel & the Palestinian territories and found that the book amply supported my time in the area. Presently, there is a revised & updated edition but I read Shipler's original version. In any case I highly recommend the book to anyone in search of a greater understanding of this part of the world.
August 21, 2007
To those who've ever wanted to understand how complex the Israeli/Palestinian situation is, please read this. The saddest part of the book is when you finish it, turn to the copyright page, realize it was written in 1984 and that zero progress has been made since.
July 31, 2023
Admirably tries to play neutral, but he ends up playing the middle ground too much. Time to admit apartheid.
April 4, 2021
I am seriously down rating this book although I have just finished an attempt to re-read the book in the 2015 revised audible and Kindle versions. I think the revision attempt has been seriously lacking and my attempt to combine the two revised format books has been frustrating to say the least. I had understood that the revision that was 10 years after the initial publication and a longer period since the actual immersion of the author in the Middle East was an effort to look at the advances that had occurred in the years just before 2015. The initial book was a horror story about the unmitigated failure of efforts to reconcile Arabs and Jews in and around Israel. However the revised edition Barely improves on the presentation of the situation in the troubled area. It’s most hopeful aspect is some extensive looks at efforts to bring together young Arabs and young Jews to better understand each other. But as the author repeatedly acknowledged this effort brings together a very very small percentage of the impacted population. While it may bring better understanding to the problem, it mostly substantiates many of the problems that resulted in the circumstances that were so vividly portrayed in the early book. The criticism of the first book seems to be coming more and more valid as the period that it focused on is now Increasingly historical rather than currently relevant. The revised version of the book simply does not give us much hope or methodology to make a change in the relationship between Arab and Jew. And the revised Kindle and revised audible books from 2015 do not sync. This part of the world is a muddle and this book does not contribute a vision of a way out.
______________
I am giving this book 5 stars mostly because it was a very important book for me to experience right now. Although the book has been updated since it’s original publication, it is predominately focused in the 1980s. The author has written a number of books and a pretty wide range of topics. Some time is spent at the beginning of this book indicating his experience and expertise that permits him to speak knowledgeably on this relatively contentious topic.
The book is pretty pessimistic and the facts that are presented give the pessimism a pretty legitimate sound. Of course you have to accept that the information presented is in fact factual. This is an area the relationship between Arabs and Jews and the events in and around Israel are filled with propaganda and political massaging from all sides. For the time being I have some conviction that the author has presented a reasonably balanced view based on his real life experience and knowledge.
There is a lot of history in this part of the world. And there is a lot of history Included in this book as well as quoting from the Bible, the Koran and the Torah. Part of the dispute in this part of the world is about land and who has the right and who has the history on their side. That information was presented here not excessively detailed but still with more detail than I could reasonably absorb or was really even interested in observing. But I was convinced that a lot of people in that part of the world do absolutely care about these kind of arcane details.
The examples of enmity between Arabs and Jews is presented in a very convincing fashion. This is done in a wide variety of ways and page after page is no way that leaves little doubt that this is a pretty well established problem. And it is a problem that is lead to serious conflict over a long period of time. Recent history is covered in significant enough detail to be convincing. It takes up a good chunk of the book.
For most of the book I kept wondering if there was ever going to be any consideration of peaceful ways to resolve these intractable appearing issues. Or if the conclusion was going to be that they were just going to keep fighting. Thank goodness The final portion of the book did give some consideration to effort’s to get young Arabs and Jews together to overcome the stereotypes and create potential relationships.
As I am listening to this book in 2019 the focus of the world is on Gaza. It seems like a part of the world where the concept of non-violence has absolutely no hope for being brought to bear. The words and rhetoric of nonviolence are not a part of the language of this book. It mostly spends some detailed time talking about programs that tried to bring young people together who would normally have no contact with their opposite numbers. A couple of programs are examined in some detail. There is a comparison between the views of young people during times that are hopeful as compared to times that are conflict riden. Regrettably the book ended at a time of significant conflict and therefore with a sense of pessimism.
This book is excellent in that it provides a good deal of background information. This is good for those of us who have not actively followed this issue during the many years in recent history that events here have unfolded. but it cuts off 20 or more years ago and this is a place where a lot more has happened. Or maybe it is just a place where the same thing keeps happening over and over and over and over.
The book touches on many issues briefly. Let me just mention a couple that I think are particularly fascinating. It suggests that no one chooses to be an oppressor. End it also suggests that all sides whether seemingly the Victors or the vanquished are both or all victims.
______________
I am giving this book 5 stars mostly because it was a very important book for me to experience right now. Although the book has been updated since it’s original publication, it is predominately focused in the 1980s. The author has written a number of books and a pretty wide range of topics. Some time is spent at the beginning of this book indicating his experience and expertise that permits him to speak knowledgeably on this relatively contentious topic.
The book is pretty pessimistic and the facts that are presented give the pessimism a pretty legitimate sound. Of course you have to accept that the information presented is in fact factual. This is an area the relationship between Arabs and Jews and the events in and around Israel are filled with propaganda and political massaging from all sides. For the time being I have some conviction that the author has presented a reasonably balanced view based on his real life experience and knowledge.
There is a lot of history in this part of the world. And there is a lot of history Included in this book as well as quoting from the Bible, the Koran and the Torah. Part of the dispute in this part of the world is about land and who has the right and who has the history on their side. That information was presented here not excessively detailed but still with more detail than I could reasonably absorb or was really even interested in observing. But I was convinced that a lot of people in that part of the world do absolutely care about these kind of arcane details.
The examples of enmity between Arabs and Jews is presented in a very convincing fashion. This is done in a wide variety of ways and page after page is no way that leaves little doubt that this is a pretty well established problem. And it is a problem that is lead to serious conflict over a long period of time. Recent history is covered in significant enough detail to be convincing. It takes up a good chunk of the book.
For most of the book I kept wondering if there was ever going to be any consideration of peaceful ways to resolve these intractable appearing issues. Or if the conclusion was going to be that they were just going to keep fighting. Thank goodness The final portion of the book did give some consideration to effort’s to get young Arabs and Jews together to overcome the stereotypes and create potential relationships.
As I am listening to this book in 2019 the focus of the world is on Gaza. It seems like a part of the world where the concept of non-violence has absolutely no hope for being brought to bear. The words and rhetoric of nonviolence are not a part of the language of this book. It mostly spends some detailed time talking about programs that tried to bring young people together who would normally have no contact with their opposite numbers. A couple of programs are examined in some detail. There is a comparison between the views of young people during times that are hopeful as compared to times that are conflict riden. Regrettably the book ended at a time of significant conflict and therefore with a sense of pessimism.
This book is excellent in that it provides a good deal of background information. This is good for those of us who have not actively followed this issue during the many years in recent history that events here have unfolded. but it cuts off 20 or more years ago and this is a place where a lot more has happened. Or maybe it is just a place where the same thing keeps happening over and over and over and over.
The book touches on many issues briefly. Let me just mention a couple that I think are particularly fascinating. It suggests that no one chooses to be an oppressor. End it also suggests that all sides whether seemingly the Victors or the vanquished are both or all victims.
December 22, 2023
Extrem de insightful, echidistantă și nuanțată. Nu am simțit în niciun moment o generalizare la nivel de categorie de populație, doar sporadic măsuri politice și administrative prezentate într-o lumină mai critică. E scrisă în '86, dar updatată cu evenimente până prin 2000+. Am descoperit-o într-un podcast recent The Daily în care autorul (jurnalist New York Times) mi-a atras atenția spunând că atunci când pui două victime în același loc e ca și cum amesteci foc și benzină. Scrisă foarte factual, perspectivele subiective aparțin strict persoanelor intervievate, de la oameni de stat până la oameni din sate, adulți și copii, soldați, profesori, medici, oameni în căsătorii mixte, cetățeni și non-cetățeni etc.
November 20, 2019
As the author stated in the introduction, this book is not a political or military history, though there is a little of that. It is mostly full of much more personal accounts of the experiences of individuals within the conflict and how it has affected their lives and ways of thinking. I would have liked a bit more of the higher level history, but the book helped open my eyes to the violence perpetrated on both sides. I learned better that in the Arab-Israeli conflict there is no consistent victim and no consistent aggressor. Both sides have greatly contributed to the hostility because of the way they have treated each other. There is so much mutual hatred built up between the two people that I don't think there will ever be a solution short of divine intervention that comes in a spectacular way.
Individuals on both sides of this and other conflicts can and often do put aside their personal hatreds. But human history does not shed a promising light on the hope that any large group of people will be willing to stop hating and fighting long enough to let the wounds heal that perpetuate the type of situation that exists between the Jews and Arabs in Palestine. Societies seem to need someone to hate, and if they don't have an obvious reason for hating those that are different then them, will make up one . . . like what I see going on in the USA between different political groups.
John Lennon thought that elimination of religion would make the world a better place. But the author of this book makes the point that many of the Arabs and Jews involved in the violence and hate are not particularly religious. Political and social disagreements can result in the very same kind of fanatical hatred of others that is often said to be the special purview of religion by those who don't believe.
Individuals on both sides of this and other conflicts can and often do put aside their personal hatreds. But human history does not shed a promising light on the hope that any large group of people will be willing to stop hating and fighting long enough to let the wounds heal that perpetuate the type of situation that exists between the Jews and Arabs in Palestine. Societies seem to need someone to hate, and if they don't have an obvious reason for hating those that are different then them, will make up one . . . like what I see going on in the USA between different political groups.
John Lennon thought that elimination of religion would make the world a better place. But the author of this book makes the point that many of the Arabs and Jews involved in the violence and hate are not particularly religious. Political and social disagreements can result in the very same kind of fanatical hatred of others that is often said to be the special purview of religion by those who don't believe.
July 12, 2013
Four and a half stars, but I particularly like this author's writing in the parts about Palestinian and Israeli-Jewish youngsters coming together and maybe giving us some hope for the future ... or then again maybe not, as the more things change (since the 80s when this book was written) the more they remain the same (like in the updating footnotes of this revised edition). This is a very informative book. I have a hard time understanding how ANYone thought in the 1940s that establishing the state of Israel was a good idea. I am not denying that the Jews had a home there historically (and I'm flabbergasted that there are some people, apparently, who DO deny that, for political reasons, claiming that there was never a temple at Jerusalem, etc. WTF?!) But think about it. What is now the U.S.A. should easily still belong to Native Americans, but kicking every single non-Indian U.S. resident out of their homes and cities with -- here's the kicker -- nowhere else to go would create a global crisis, and that's after only a few hundred years of USA. Israel claiming the land as a birthright after 2000 years was destined to cause more problems than it solved, no? (That said, I would happily hand over all political and legal authority to Native American tribes...) On top of that, there is all the religious hullabaloo ("God said it's my land!" "Oh yeah? Well He told me it's MY land." etc.) Someday maybe the problem of Israel will be peacefully resolved. I've always been partial to the if-you-kids-don't-stop-fighting-over-the-toy-then-I'm-taking-it-away-and-nobody-gets-to-play-with-it solution, but no one listens to me. Meanwhile, anyway, we have informative books from interesting author journalists such as this one.
July 13, 2014
This is one of the best books on the Arab Israeli issue I have ever read. Since I've read over 200 books on the topic- that actually carries some weight. Quite balanced, really.
November 9, 2010
The book's premise is that the reason that peace eludes Israel and Palestine is due more to the innate and visceral dislike between the two people which in turn feeds the never ending stalemate politics in the region. The book shows what these stereotypes are between these two people (how they see each other). The only hope for the region is to have a transcendental leader (ie: a Nelson Mandela or a MLK figure) that can transform the region into peace. The problem for the Islamic and Jewish people is they do not have a (transcendental religion) that is both their religions are really what a just man not God would do; or, there would be government-backed forced integration program in their schooling (a la school busing in the civil rights era). Also, I think a two state solution with clear borders should be created. So perhaps, segregation is needed initially needed until the violence between the two people abates and becomes a distant memory. After which, a period of integration perhaps state forced (such as what happened in the civil rights movement) so people could see each other as individuals instead of caricatures that are portrayed in popular books and magazines.
Aside from a transcendental figure that is needed to stop the circle of violence, I think the three important groups of people that have significant crossover appeal to both sides and could hasten peace and understanding between Islamic Arabs and the Jews are middle class Sephardic Jews, West Bank Christian Arabs, and Israeli Arabs.
The first part of the book deals with Aversion:
1) War - This chapter showcases the murkiness of war in Israel's war of Independence and subsequent war with the Arabs. Not surprisingly, it turns out that Israel was culpable in numerous atrocities in war as the later Palestinians with their suicide bombers. It is harder to have peace when both sides have lost love ones in war or uprisings. For the US who fancies itself as having a higher moral vision than other countries, we must at all times keep our country as a vision that can be proud of. As such, Israel is merely a strategic partner in middle east not anything more.
But can one blame Israel for this hatred for the Arabs when the US ourselves had the same response in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in inhumanely treating prisoners because of Al Quaeda's attack on 9/11?
Whatever the ending of all this, one thing is clear violence always leads to violence unless the war is just (WWII vs Hitler)and it is executed in a just way.
As in all new nations who want to portray themselves in a positive light, their history books focused on them as saviors instead of villains. It is only recently do their history books cite atrocities that Israel committed in their past wars. Similar to the US in which a balance view of "manifest destiny" and its effects to both to the settlers and Native Americans. I like this balanced view of history (thankfully I had during my high school years) as opposed to the propaganda history that the state of Texas has passed in which it only places the US in a positive light.
Although I am a positive person myself and I agree with American spirit of positivity and opportunity, I am troubled by Texan conservatives trying to white wash American history to enhance American pride. I think that American pride should be tempered with reality so if something does not work we can fix it. The problem with the traditional way to teaching history is that it is white focused instead of rightly multi-culturally focused. And although I myself thought that part of American history was dull, I still think it was a great experience for me because it brought to light America's ills as well as its successes.
Nationalism:
It turns out that the Palestinians yearning for nationalism ( a Palestinian state) mirrors that of the earlier Zionist movement. As the Zionist movement was originally brought about by the feeling of being dispossessed and rootlessness in foreign countries so too does the current Palestinian statehood roots from being dispossessed. But it is interesting how, for political purposes, the PLO likes to keep the refugee camps alive because it is the refugee camps that are the hotbeds for activist movement b/c of their view of the right to return. But the troubling aspect in all of this, is the deep seated belief in both sides that the whole land is theirs. I think the solution is to have a two state solution without the right to return with clear borders meaning the West Bank cannot be carved out with pockets of Israeli soldiers guarding the West Bank. The borders have to be clear and precise! And the dreams of both sides to have a "whole country" should be replaced with the realities of the situation.
Terrorism:
The focus of this chapter is the terrorist plots that occur in both Israeli and Arab camps. Since the world is well aware of the Arab terrorism, I will focus more on the Jewish terrorism. It is amazing to me that among the settlers of the west bank terrorism is justifiable way for them to "protect" themselves just as it is for the Arabs. And the Jewish terrorism plots have an ambivalent audience in Israel on the one hand most condemn the violence but on the other understand the reason for it which then gives the terrorist tacit approval. Even the courts in Israel give Israeli terrorist a lighter sentence than Arab terrorist. To me, it reminds me of the deep south in the time of segregation in which black lynching, hanging, and burning were sometimes given tacit approval by the law enforcement in the south. Just like the south in those times, the two-faced nature of the justice system leads the Palestinians distrust and even fear the Israeli law enforcement organization. The solution again is a two state in which the Israeli settlers will be kicked out of the West Bank or stay there at there own risk. Palestine must have clear borders.
Reading about the leniency that Israeli Sharon as Defense Minister on the Jewish terrorist groups as well as his complicit massacre of Palestinian refuge camp in Lebenon, made me understand why him going to the Dome of the Rock with armed guards caused the 2nd Intifada.
Religion:
I think if there is one main thing that propels the attitude of revenge killings other than the fact that is innately human reaction, it is the eye for an eye attitude that both Judaism and Islam have inherent in their religion. Even though Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all "people of the book", it seems that Judaism and Islam seem to be more closely linked than either is to Christianity.
I think the reason revenge killings is so mainstream in both religion is due to the fact that their hero's and holy men are all warrior types. Case in point, Muhammed for the Islamic people is their prophet but Muhammed spread Islam through conquest of the "infidels". Although Judaism may not be so drastic, there two main people of importance are also conquerors in their own right. The first of this is King David who expanded the borders of Israel (via killing and pillaging) in the name of God. The second and perhaps the most important figure in Judaism is Moses. Moses and Joshua drove out the Canaanites from their land so the Jews could live in Israel. Also Jewish people have the feeling that they are the chosen people of God which creates a dissonance in a multi-cultural world because it enforces exclusivity at the expense of the other.
So having these three central figures in Judaism and Islam is it any wonder the reason for the revenge killings as the mode of action in Israel today used by Jews and Muslims?
I believe that the enemy to progress in the middle east is religious absolutism (fudamentalism). Both sides claim that it is their religious duty that binds them into claiming totality of Israel or Palestine for themselves. In this case, religion is mixed with militancy which is dangerous. I often wondered how the radical Christian right associated itself in the past with Jewish settlement movement especially since Christianity is really a religion of peace. But I think the reason is that the Christian-right movement with its guns come from the culture of manifest destiny in which the belief is that God had bequeath transcontinental America to the Americans and anyone against that was to be subjugated and conquered.
But again, this is the reason why church and state should be separate because when state is infused with religious righteousness, it can be a very dangerous reality.
STEREOTYPES:
It is hard to change stereotypes especially when both Jewish and Arab people indoctrinate negative stereotypes against each other in their school system. Although stereotypes do have a grain of truth in them, they enforce negativity in a group that is heterogeneous which is dangerous. It is also hard to have peace when Arabs throw rocks and fire bombs at school buses and likewise Israeli Jews interrogate Arabs at will and humiliate them and designate killing of civilians as merely collateral damage. The only hope to Arabs and Jews living side-by-side in peaceful coexistence is American Jews and American Palestinian Arabs going back to Israel and living their side-by-side for awhile. In other words, people who look like the inhabitants but do not have the baggage of tribal revenge killings that Israelis/Palestinians seem to be ingrained with.
The stereotype that Israeli Jews have to Palestinian Arabs is a kin to what the "white mans burden" that white people had on black people as well as the others (Filipino, Cubans, Puerto Ricans). The Jews feel that Arabs are backwards whereas they represent progress. This is not really surprising, but what I found surprising was the resultant effect on the Sephardic Jews. The Sephardic Jews came in 1950's and are generally the Jews from the mediterranean and Middle East countries who because they are newer to the country are generally poorer and are looked at with disdain by the white Ashkenazi Jews. In response to their middle east background and the fact they look Arab, the poorer ones try to distance themselves from the Arabs even more by demonizing the Arab. The closest concept that this translates to in the US would be blue collar white people demonizing immigrants/black people or any "other" simply because they are struggling financially.
But interestingly enough, the richer the Sephardic Jews become the more they accept their middle eastern background and thus try to build a bridge between their Jewish heritage and that of the middle eastern Arabs. I think a gradual middle class Sephardic Jews and Christian Arabs are the biggest indigenous hope for understanding between the Jews and Islamic Arabs in the middle east.
On the Palestinian Arab side, they see the Jews especially the Ashkenazi Jews as colonial transplant to the middle east and thus foreign entity that should be kicked out. I think this is due to a clash in culture. Shipler states whereas Arabs tend to be more hospitable to guest befitting a rural quality that I am sure rural America shares, the Israeli Ashkenazi Jews are more similar to big city folks in their way in that niceness gives way to efficiency. There is also a significant backlash to western pop culture akin to America's Christian-right movement that is displayed by traditional Islamic fundamentalism in Palestinian Arabs.
The negative racial stereotyping of Arab and Jews are very similar to the former American stereotyping between whites and blacks and to a certain extent what white lower m.c. Americans feel toward Mexicans today. Like the Mexican labor of today, Arabs are seen as lazy who take jobs from white/Jewish people, but ironically they do the jobs that Jews/white people will not take for the relatively low pay that they garner.
It amazes me that when this book was written 80's that both Jews and Arabs prefer to self-segregate rather than integrate. But just as American society has seen an integration of the races mainly through children interactions, so too, did Upper Nazareth integration become more prominent due to Arabs and Jews living in close proximity. I think it is amazing how much capitalistic economy can be a blind force for integration. For example, the book states due to Begins government-backed building of settlements in the West Bank the housing market in Upper Nazareth was depressed in price and became empty and since Arabs needed housing, they gradually moved into Upper Nazareth which was at that point solely Jewish territory.
But despite the integration of some neighborhoods, there still seems to be a preference to self-segregate so again the solution is creating two states, one Arab and one Jewish in order for them to keep their religious and cultural identity. It is interesting to not that Sharon and Ohmert who was as right-wing as they come gradually are more amendable to the two state solution now because of demographics of Palestinians are soon to outnumber Israeli's in Israel. So if the Jews want to have both a democratic (as oppose to an autocratic one) and remain essentially Jewish, they have to create a Palestinian state.
The issue of intermarriages and sexual mores in Jewish and Arab seems similar to the former caution that whites and blacks have with one another in their intermarriages sexual relationships. The taboo of the interracial relationship seems to be what is driving the exoticness of it. Also since both races want to keep their heritage pure they do not look kindly on interracial relationships.
There is also issue of repressive regimes and sex in that in those regimes prostitution seems to be more excepted as a way to alleviate men's sexual desires because although men have needs women are suppose to be pure.
The picture of Anti-Semitism in Israel is the Arabic form that was passed down to it from European and US anti-semitism of the early 20th century pre-WWII era when Jews were the scapegoat and boogey man of all cultures because they were different with their own culture and religion.
Apparently the specter of the Holocaust haunts both the political left and the right of Israel and it is still is the main underlining driver of policy for both faction. For the left, they want to disentangle themselves from the West Bank and Gaza so they will not have to do to the Palestinians what the Nazi's did to them. So the left is for humanizing the relationship b/w Palestinians and the Jews because the Holocaust reminds them what it was like to be second class citizens. As far as the right is concerned, they use the excuse of the Holocaust to promote war/defense against their homeland so that Jews will never again feel that hopelessness and defenselessness that the Holocaust made them feel (Its like a bully become a bully because his father bullied him when he was younger and he vows that he will never again be in a position of humiliation).
INTERACTION and Ethnographic origins:
From the description between Arab and Jewish culture and religion, it seems to me that both cultures are similar to each other so much so than it is to Western Christian culture. For example in terms of religion, Orthodox Jewish Halakha mirrors Islamic Shria law in that it pervades every aspect of their followers lives that there is no room for democratic interpretation. And according to the book, there was less a clash of civilization between the Islamic states and Jews than there were of Christian states until the 20th century. In fact, the great Maimonadies wrote in Arabic and contributed greatly to Islamic culture. Although like the middle age Christian kingdoms there was certainly discrimination in the Islamic kingdoms, there were not any persecutions (progroms) in the Islamic kingdoms. So, in conclusion, the traditional Jewish and Islamic religion and culture are more closely associated and thus what they have right now is a civil war between familiar cultures. It is not a coincidence that it is the reform Jewish movement and not the Orthodox movement that fits the best with American culture.
The chapter on the nomadic Bedouins is interesting in terms of the Arabs insistence on revenge honor killings. In Bedouin, there is no law that governs them since they are nomads so they take the law into their own hands which means killing those who kill your relatives to show your strength. If you do not kill your enemy, to the Bedouins, it shows your weakness and thus can be continued to be victimized. In terms of present day, it means the Palestinians, because of honor, will not stop killing if they are wronged. Just like the Native Americans, the Bedouins being nomads lost their land to the Israeli who value private property just as the white settlers of the US pushed the Native Americans from their lands and placed them in Indian reservations.
The issue of Shin Bet in an open society that targets Palestinians whole sale without cause really eats at the conscience of Israeli who supposedly found a democratic county. The reason I am against random " arrest without cause, detention without trial, and summary punishment" under Israeli occupation because it breeds terrorism and at the very least sympathies for terrorist actions. I hope the US never reaches the level that the Israeli's experience.
Through my readings, it is clear that Israeli Arabs are second class citizens (like Black people in America for the most part of the 20th century) in Israel in which the Shin Bet watches their every move even if they are law abiding citizens. Also Israeli Arabs who are more moderate in nature are not allowed to be politically active so that means more radical Arabic views from the West Bank and Gaza prevail. For this reason, I support the building of the mosque two NYC blocks from ground zero because it shows that America is friends with the more moderate strain (Sufism) of Islam. Also public funds get diverted from them so they pay taxes but the taxes do not benefit them. But ironically if there is to be peace in Israel, Israeli Arabs living in two cultures must be a part of that peace.
The issue intermarriages is interesting because of the strong identification of culture as well as religion, intermarriages are frowned upon. So both people who decide to marry based on love and their resultant children get ostracized. Reading this book, it becomes clear that ethnicity really plays an important part in most countries sense of identity. Thank God, America is not like that in which ideas not differences in personal background is what is important. As citizens, we must protect this distinction at all cost.
Peace between Israeli Arabs and the Jews can only occur when they begin to see each other as human beings and individual first and political, religious, cultural opponents last. In the book, this interaction comes in the form of cross-cultural outings between Arabs and Jews as well as school curriculum changes that acknowledges that Arabs do live in Israeli society. Also, since the massacre of Arabs with implicit Jewish help in Lebanon, the literature and cinema shows the irony of Jewish holiness in killing Palestinian wholesale (akin to American 60's counter-revolution of showcasing American heroic uniqueness). I also think the peace in Israel really will be fostered by American Jews and Arabs who build mutual programs of understanding such as Seeds of Peace or Interns for Peace.
It is clear to me that both sides are yearning for peace in their hearts now all that is needed is for politicians to act courageously to achieve that peace.
Aside from a transcendental figure that is needed to stop the circle of violence, I think the three important groups of people that have significant crossover appeal to both sides and could hasten peace and understanding between Islamic Arabs and the Jews are middle class Sephardic Jews, West Bank Christian Arabs, and Israeli Arabs.
The first part of the book deals with Aversion:
1) War - This chapter showcases the murkiness of war in Israel's war of Independence and subsequent war with the Arabs. Not surprisingly, it turns out that Israel was culpable in numerous atrocities in war as the later Palestinians with their suicide bombers. It is harder to have peace when both sides have lost love ones in war or uprisings. For the US who fancies itself as having a higher moral vision than other countries, we must at all times keep our country as a vision that can be proud of. As such, Israel is merely a strategic partner in middle east not anything more.
But can one blame Israel for this hatred for the Arabs when the US ourselves had the same response in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in inhumanely treating prisoners because of Al Quaeda's attack on 9/11?
Whatever the ending of all this, one thing is clear violence always leads to violence unless the war is just (WWII vs Hitler)and it is executed in a just way.
As in all new nations who want to portray themselves in a positive light, their history books focused on them as saviors instead of villains. It is only recently do their history books cite atrocities that Israel committed in their past wars. Similar to the US in which a balance view of "manifest destiny" and its effects to both to the settlers and Native Americans. I like this balanced view of history (thankfully I had during my high school years) as opposed to the propaganda history that the state of Texas has passed in which it only places the US in a positive light.
Although I am a positive person myself and I agree with American spirit of positivity and opportunity, I am troubled by Texan conservatives trying to white wash American history to enhance American pride. I think that American pride should be tempered with reality so if something does not work we can fix it. The problem with the traditional way to teaching history is that it is white focused instead of rightly multi-culturally focused. And although I myself thought that part of American history was dull, I still think it was a great experience for me because it brought to light America's ills as well as its successes.
Nationalism:
It turns out that the Palestinians yearning for nationalism ( a Palestinian state) mirrors that of the earlier Zionist movement. As the Zionist movement was originally brought about by the feeling of being dispossessed and rootlessness in foreign countries so too does the current Palestinian statehood roots from being dispossessed. But it is interesting how, for political purposes, the PLO likes to keep the refugee camps alive because it is the refugee camps that are the hotbeds for activist movement b/c of their view of the right to return. But the troubling aspect in all of this, is the deep seated belief in both sides that the whole land is theirs. I think the solution is to have a two state solution without the right to return with clear borders meaning the West Bank cannot be carved out with pockets of Israeli soldiers guarding the West Bank. The borders have to be clear and precise! And the dreams of both sides to have a "whole country" should be replaced with the realities of the situation.
Terrorism:
The focus of this chapter is the terrorist plots that occur in both Israeli and Arab camps. Since the world is well aware of the Arab terrorism, I will focus more on the Jewish terrorism. It is amazing to me that among the settlers of the west bank terrorism is justifiable way for them to "protect" themselves just as it is for the Arabs. And the Jewish terrorism plots have an ambivalent audience in Israel on the one hand most condemn the violence but on the other understand the reason for it which then gives the terrorist tacit approval. Even the courts in Israel give Israeli terrorist a lighter sentence than Arab terrorist. To me, it reminds me of the deep south in the time of segregation in which black lynching, hanging, and burning were sometimes given tacit approval by the law enforcement in the south. Just like the south in those times, the two-faced nature of the justice system leads the Palestinians distrust and even fear the Israeli law enforcement organization. The solution again is a two state in which the Israeli settlers will be kicked out of the West Bank or stay there at there own risk. Palestine must have clear borders.
Reading about the leniency that Israeli Sharon as Defense Minister on the Jewish terrorist groups as well as his complicit massacre of Palestinian refuge camp in Lebenon, made me understand why him going to the Dome of the Rock with armed guards caused the 2nd Intifada.
Religion:
I think if there is one main thing that propels the attitude of revenge killings other than the fact that is innately human reaction, it is the eye for an eye attitude that both Judaism and Islam have inherent in their religion. Even though Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all "people of the book", it seems that Judaism and Islam seem to be more closely linked than either is to Christianity.
I think the reason revenge killings is so mainstream in both religion is due to the fact that their hero's and holy men are all warrior types. Case in point, Muhammed for the Islamic people is their prophet but Muhammed spread Islam through conquest of the "infidels". Although Judaism may not be so drastic, there two main people of importance are also conquerors in their own right. The first of this is King David who expanded the borders of Israel (via killing and pillaging) in the name of God. The second and perhaps the most important figure in Judaism is Moses. Moses and Joshua drove out the Canaanites from their land so the Jews could live in Israel. Also Jewish people have the feeling that they are the chosen people of God which creates a dissonance in a multi-cultural world because it enforces exclusivity at the expense of the other.
So having these three central figures in Judaism and Islam is it any wonder the reason for the revenge killings as the mode of action in Israel today used by Jews and Muslims?
I believe that the enemy to progress in the middle east is religious absolutism (fudamentalism). Both sides claim that it is their religious duty that binds them into claiming totality of Israel or Palestine for themselves. In this case, religion is mixed with militancy which is dangerous. I often wondered how the radical Christian right associated itself in the past with Jewish settlement movement especially since Christianity is really a religion of peace. But I think the reason is that the Christian-right movement with its guns come from the culture of manifest destiny in which the belief is that God had bequeath transcontinental America to the Americans and anyone against that was to be subjugated and conquered.
But again, this is the reason why church and state should be separate because when state is infused with religious righteousness, it can be a very dangerous reality.
STEREOTYPES:
It is hard to change stereotypes especially when both Jewish and Arab people indoctrinate negative stereotypes against each other in their school system. Although stereotypes do have a grain of truth in them, they enforce negativity in a group that is heterogeneous which is dangerous. It is also hard to have peace when Arabs throw rocks and fire bombs at school buses and likewise Israeli Jews interrogate Arabs at will and humiliate them and designate killing of civilians as merely collateral damage. The only hope to Arabs and Jews living side-by-side in peaceful coexistence is American Jews and American Palestinian Arabs going back to Israel and living their side-by-side for awhile. In other words, people who look like the inhabitants but do not have the baggage of tribal revenge killings that Israelis/Palestinians seem to be ingrained with.
The stereotype that Israeli Jews have to Palestinian Arabs is a kin to what the "white mans burden" that white people had on black people as well as the others (Filipino, Cubans, Puerto Ricans). The Jews feel that Arabs are backwards whereas they represent progress. This is not really surprising, but what I found surprising was the resultant effect on the Sephardic Jews. The Sephardic Jews came in 1950's and are generally the Jews from the mediterranean and Middle East countries who because they are newer to the country are generally poorer and are looked at with disdain by the white Ashkenazi Jews. In response to their middle east background and the fact they look Arab, the poorer ones try to distance themselves from the Arabs even more by demonizing the Arab. The closest concept that this translates to in the US would be blue collar white people demonizing immigrants/black people or any "other" simply because they are struggling financially.
But interestingly enough, the richer the Sephardic Jews become the more they accept their middle eastern background and thus try to build a bridge between their Jewish heritage and that of the middle eastern Arabs. I think a gradual middle class Sephardic Jews and Christian Arabs are the biggest indigenous hope for understanding between the Jews and Islamic Arabs in the middle east.
On the Palestinian Arab side, they see the Jews especially the Ashkenazi Jews as colonial transplant to the middle east and thus foreign entity that should be kicked out. I think this is due to a clash in culture. Shipler states whereas Arabs tend to be more hospitable to guest befitting a rural quality that I am sure rural America shares, the Israeli Ashkenazi Jews are more similar to big city folks in their way in that niceness gives way to efficiency. There is also a significant backlash to western pop culture akin to America's Christian-right movement that is displayed by traditional Islamic fundamentalism in Palestinian Arabs.
The negative racial stereotyping of Arab and Jews are very similar to the former American stereotyping between whites and blacks and to a certain extent what white lower m.c. Americans feel toward Mexicans today. Like the Mexican labor of today, Arabs are seen as lazy who take jobs from white/Jewish people, but ironically they do the jobs that Jews/white people will not take for the relatively low pay that they garner.
It amazes me that when this book was written 80's that both Jews and Arabs prefer to self-segregate rather than integrate. But just as American society has seen an integration of the races mainly through children interactions, so too, did Upper Nazareth integration become more prominent due to Arabs and Jews living in close proximity. I think it is amazing how much capitalistic economy can be a blind force for integration. For example, the book states due to Begins government-backed building of settlements in the West Bank the housing market in Upper Nazareth was depressed in price and became empty and since Arabs needed housing, they gradually moved into Upper Nazareth which was at that point solely Jewish territory.
But despite the integration of some neighborhoods, there still seems to be a preference to self-segregate so again the solution is creating two states, one Arab and one Jewish in order for them to keep their religious and cultural identity. It is interesting to not that Sharon and Ohmert who was as right-wing as they come gradually are more amendable to the two state solution now because of demographics of Palestinians are soon to outnumber Israeli's in Israel. So if the Jews want to have both a democratic (as oppose to an autocratic one) and remain essentially Jewish, they have to create a Palestinian state.
The issue of intermarriages and sexual mores in Jewish and Arab seems similar to the former caution that whites and blacks have with one another in their intermarriages sexual relationships. The taboo of the interracial relationship seems to be what is driving the exoticness of it. Also since both races want to keep their heritage pure they do not look kindly on interracial relationships.
There is also issue of repressive regimes and sex in that in those regimes prostitution seems to be more excepted as a way to alleviate men's sexual desires because although men have needs women are suppose to be pure.
The picture of Anti-Semitism in Israel is the Arabic form that was passed down to it from European and US anti-semitism of the early 20th century pre-WWII era when Jews were the scapegoat and boogey man of all cultures because they were different with their own culture and religion.
Apparently the specter of the Holocaust haunts both the political left and the right of Israel and it is still is the main underlining driver of policy for both faction. For the left, they want to disentangle themselves from the West Bank and Gaza so they will not have to do to the Palestinians what the Nazi's did to them. So the left is for humanizing the relationship b/w Palestinians and the Jews because the Holocaust reminds them what it was like to be second class citizens. As far as the right is concerned, they use the excuse of the Holocaust to promote war/defense against their homeland so that Jews will never again feel that hopelessness and defenselessness that the Holocaust made them feel (Its like a bully become a bully because his father bullied him when he was younger and he vows that he will never again be in a position of humiliation).
INTERACTION and Ethnographic origins:
From the description between Arab and Jewish culture and religion, it seems to me that both cultures are similar to each other so much so than it is to Western Christian culture. For example in terms of religion, Orthodox Jewish Halakha mirrors Islamic Shria law in that it pervades every aspect of their followers lives that there is no room for democratic interpretation. And according to the book, there was less a clash of civilization between the Islamic states and Jews than there were of Christian states until the 20th century. In fact, the great Maimonadies wrote in Arabic and contributed greatly to Islamic culture. Although like the middle age Christian kingdoms there was certainly discrimination in the Islamic kingdoms, there were not any persecutions (progroms) in the Islamic kingdoms. So, in conclusion, the traditional Jewish and Islamic religion and culture are more closely associated and thus what they have right now is a civil war between familiar cultures. It is not a coincidence that it is the reform Jewish movement and not the Orthodox movement that fits the best with American culture.
The chapter on the nomadic Bedouins is interesting in terms of the Arabs insistence on revenge honor killings. In Bedouin, there is no law that governs them since they are nomads so they take the law into their own hands which means killing those who kill your relatives to show your strength. If you do not kill your enemy, to the Bedouins, it shows your weakness and thus can be continued to be victimized. In terms of present day, it means the Palestinians, because of honor, will not stop killing if they are wronged. Just like the Native Americans, the Bedouins being nomads lost their land to the Israeli who value private property just as the white settlers of the US pushed the Native Americans from their lands and placed them in Indian reservations.
The issue of Shin Bet in an open society that targets Palestinians whole sale without cause really eats at the conscience of Israeli who supposedly found a democratic county. The reason I am against random " arrest without cause, detention without trial, and summary punishment" under Israeli occupation because it breeds terrorism and at the very least sympathies for terrorist actions. I hope the US never reaches the level that the Israeli's experience.
Through my readings, it is clear that Israeli Arabs are second class citizens (like Black people in America for the most part of the 20th century) in Israel in which the Shin Bet watches their every move even if they are law abiding citizens. Also Israeli Arabs who are more moderate in nature are not allowed to be politically active so that means more radical Arabic views from the West Bank and Gaza prevail. For this reason, I support the building of the mosque two NYC blocks from ground zero because it shows that America is friends with the more moderate strain (Sufism) of Islam. Also public funds get diverted from them so they pay taxes but the taxes do not benefit them. But ironically if there is to be peace in Israel, Israeli Arabs living in two cultures must be a part of that peace.
The issue intermarriages is interesting because of the strong identification of culture as well as religion, intermarriages are frowned upon. So both people who decide to marry based on love and their resultant children get ostracized. Reading this book, it becomes clear that ethnicity really plays an important part in most countries sense of identity. Thank God, America is not like that in which ideas not differences in personal background is what is important. As citizens, we must protect this distinction at all cost.
Peace between Israeli Arabs and the Jews can only occur when they begin to see each other as human beings and individual first and political, religious, cultural opponents last. In the book, this interaction comes in the form of cross-cultural outings between Arabs and Jews as well as school curriculum changes that acknowledges that Arabs do live in Israeli society. Also, since the massacre of Arabs with implicit Jewish help in Lebanon, the literature and cinema shows the irony of Jewish holiness in killing Palestinian wholesale (akin to American 60's counter-revolution of showcasing American heroic uniqueness). I also think the peace in Israel really will be fostered by American Jews and Arabs who build mutual programs of understanding such as Seeds of Peace or Interns for Peace.
It is clear to me that both sides are yearning for peace in their hearts now all that is needed is for politicians to act courageously to achieve that peace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2015
I won this book through Goodreads First-reads. This book is the revised from the original book published in 1986. Jews and Arabs in Israel; they are a parallel, some times close together and other times a far off. The people of Palestine have a memory of what was once theirs. Israel is a very complicated area, with Arabs and Jews living together. Arabs have lived in terror and survive by terror. At one time the Arabs and Jews were together in their efforts to fight off the Assyrians in 843 BC. Some of the stories in the Koran are also in the Bible. In 1000 AD Jews were speaking and writing Arabic. In 1948 when Israel gained independence. They pleaded with the Arabs for peace. Today one out of five in people in Israel are Arab. This was a tremendous book. The author won the Pulitzer Prize.
April 16, 2025
4.5 - The main word I would use to describe this book is comprehensive. For anyone wanting an incredibly detailed account on Arab/Jewish relationships, this is the book for that. It's not one that tries much to offer solutions, and I don't think it'd be appropriate for the author, a non-Jew and non-Arab living in Jerusalem, to think that he can in any way solve anything. He more lays out the state of ethnic-based attitudes, why people think the way they do, and what people are trying to do in order to live in this unique and disjointed society. The format is mostly recounting interviews, and Shipler interviews in insane amount of people from many walks of life. There's a terrible hindsight I feel when I read it, as it was written in '86 with a sense of hopeful optimism that things would get better, which obviously they haven't. I don't think the author takes seriously people's fears of looming genocide even then, as this was written before Hamas was formed and the landscape was wildly different. But generally, I appreciate that he comes at the book from a humanistic perspective. I don't like when researchers trying to be neutral take on a holier-than-thou approach, where they pity the people they're studying and see their squabbles as pointless or easily solved. Shipler definitely doesn't do that and he approaches all interviews with a baseline of respect and lets people speak for themselves, for better or for worse.
December 8, 2015
For anyone reading, as part of the FTC regulations, I must admit that I had received this book completely and absolutely free of charge from the good people at Goodreads. They did not make me send them any of my children, any of my cats or any rectangular pieces of paper with the visage of George Washington on it. As far as the book is concerned, while I was intrigued and very much looked forward to reading, I had a terribly difficult time reading it due to the fact that at the times I was able to read the book (AM commute to work--barely awake and PM commute home--even less awake than the AM) the book was too intelligently written for that time period. I'm sure that with more time and a good night's sleep I would have enjoyed the book more. Based on the language and the quality of the writing and research that I was able to read, I am thoroughly convinced that Mr. Shipler did an incredible job with a very difficult topic. The book is an exquisite piece of work, is incredibly well researched and of the highest quality. I will definitely return to it to finish the task, will more than likely increase my star rating, and would recommend this book to anyone interested.
March 13, 2019
This was a skillfully written book, with both stats and stories. And I learned a lot. But I have to give it 3 stars because while the title implies that it's a balanced discussion, it's not. 90% of the book was how the Arabs have suffered in modern Israel, how the Jews have mistreated them, either systematically or individually. As I said, I learned a lot. My personal connections are much stronger in the Jewish community, so I've heard a lot of their struggles and much less of the other side of the story. So, I was glad to learned details on the Arab challenges. But I also know enough to know that so much was left out of this book. And I don't just mean that I wish more stories were told. Major events, like the 6 Days War or the history of the PLO were only mentioned in passing, no explanation of what happened let alone why.
So, don't read this book in isolation. You'll be missing huge parts of the story. But if you know this world already and want to hear the Arab side of the struggle, then this is a useful read.
So, don't read this book in isolation. You'll be missing huge parts of the story. But if you know this world already and want to hear the Arab side of the struggle, then this is a useful read.
December 8, 2018
Read around 40%. A 200 page book that is spread out over 800 pages. I know it won the Pulitzer Prize but the Israeli-Palestinian problem is very complicated. The answer can’t be that Israel is always wrong.
August 2, 2011
Amazing how tangled this web is. If you think you know who is right and wrong here then you need to read this book.
January 25, 2026
Wow wow wow I’m so glad I’m finished with this book. Undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive works covering the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. And probably the largest book I’ve ever read. But it’s given me such a deep understanding of the complex history between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East and the polarizing narratives that each side views about one other. I would say this is one of the most centrist perspectives of the conflict and very elegantly details both sides’ struggle with identity, self governance, trauma, and history. This was written in 2001 though, so the history stops there. But it provides such a solid basis for the religious and fanatical ideologies that plague both the Israeli and Palestinian societies today, giving rise to the current state of the region. I understand the Palestinian perspective with a much more critical lens than I had in the past, and I’m grateful to this book for widening my perception of Israel’s complicated and at times unjust history. My biggest takeaway from this book is the need for open-ended dialogue between both groups of people and a shared empathy between societies. We’re living in the age of radical dehumanization and characterizing of the other as savage, barbaric, and inhumane, without regard to an individual’s culture, identity, and complex history. There are many many different perspectives of Arabs living in the Middle East, and there is no silver bullet for one solution that encourages peaceful coexistence between both Israelis and Arabs. But the best thing we can try is building empathy and learning from each other’s personal histories, as evidenced by the final chapters’ exploration of group discussions and integration between Israeli Jews and West Bank Palestinians. It’s frustrating that any attempts at peace in the past have been violently disrupted by assassinations, intifadas, or terrorist attacks, but the best thing we can do is keep building bridges.
January 6, 2016
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Blogging For Books/BDWY Books in exchange for an honest review.]
Although this book is written with an excellent prose style, having won a Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in the mid-1980's from an author known for his general left wing views when it comes to race and class in the United States of America, it is a difficult book to read. This is true for at least a couple of reasons. For one, the book is exceedingly long, about 700 pages. For another, the book is full of biases and clear ideological commitments that are somewhat shifting and that make it a difficult book to appreciate. The author, to his credit, has a tightrope to walk that he tries his best to manage, in seeking to present the Arab-Israeli conflict as fairly as possible without equating the two sides completely in moral terms, given that on the Arab side so-called moderates are often terrorists who show little self-criticism about the behavior of the PLO or other terrorist groups, while to support Israel is a task that earns one little credit outside of Jewish and conservative American audiences, and though this author seeks to be fair to Jews, he has little reason to be particularly interested in appealing to conservative audiences, as this book makes abundantly clear.
In terms of its content, the book consists mainly of mostly lengthy chapters, divided into three parts, that contain mostly material written in the 1980's with closing parts of the chapter updated to reflect conditions in 2014 or so. It's not a pretty picture. The first section, Aversion, discusses war, nationalisms, terrorism, and religious absolutism, and paints a picture of two peoples who appear to be committed to brutal and unending conflict despite being neighbors in a small country with little room for either to feel safe. The second section, Images, discusses various stereotypes, of the violent craven Arab and Jew, the primitive, exotic Arab and the alien, superior Jew, and tackles issues of segregation and class, sexual fears and fantasies, mirrors of Semitism [1], and issues of the Holocaust. The third part, Interaction, examines the mingling of cultures, issues of relations with the Arab Bedouin, the ubiquity of secret police, Arab citizens, mixed marriages, and the dream of peaceful coexistence, with an epilogue about the problem of climbing over the wall. Together these chapters contain a great deal of repetition, clear examples of bias on the part of the author, mostly in his desire to demonize right-leaning elements in Israeli and American society, including the Church of God, and a lot of personal stories gained over what appears to be frequent travels in the area.
What is the worth of a book like this? On the one hand, the author has immense ambitions in encouraging cross-cultural communication between Jews and Arabs, and in getting both sides to recognize the difficulties the others have faced, most notably the horrors of the Holocaust that many Muslims still deny ever happened as well as the so-called catastrophe of Arab losses of land in what is now Israel thanks to the intransigence of Muslim nations whose attacks on Israel at the birth of the nation were so spectacularly unsuccessful that they cost Arabs an immense amount of territory and set the context for continuing Israeli victory against their Arab enemies. The author, though, is no optimist, and the book as a whole gives little credence for optimism, as the author well recognizes. Likewise, the author's own biases, both in attempting to create a false equilibrium between Israeli and Arab, and in refusing to recognizing the legitimacy of a biblicist mindset, or of traditional mindsets in general, keep this book from being as successful as it could have been because the author's own editorializing gets in the way of understanding the Middle East over and over again. Likewise, the fact that the author downplays the level of anti-Semitism faced by Jews in the United States throughout our history, which is dealt with by hand-waving that says that Jews do not feel like outsiders in the United States, or have faced any discrimination at all, gives the book a dishonest edge by seeking to downplay the realities Jews have faced, so as to paint their behavior in Israel as more oppressive than it would be seen as with an honest and balanced view, if such a thing is possible. This book is a testament to the intent of the author to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict, but it ultimately leaves the reader with the unpleasant and unpalatable feeling of the author's interest in matters of sexuality, his political biases, and a lot of wasted ink and paper that could have been more productively spent had the author not been so stridently mistaken.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
Although this book is written with an excellent prose style, having won a Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in the mid-1980's from an author known for his general left wing views when it comes to race and class in the United States of America, it is a difficult book to read. This is true for at least a couple of reasons. For one, the book is exceedingly long, about 700 pages. For another, the book is full of biases and clear ideological commitments that are somewhat shifting and that make it a difficult book to appreciate. The author, to his credit, has a tightrope to walk that he tries his best to manage, in seeking to present the Arab-Israeli conflict as fairly as possible without equating the two sides completely in moral terms, given that on the Arab side so-called moderates are often terrorists who show little self-criticism about the behavior of the PLO or other terrorist groups, while to support Israel is a task that earns one little credit outside of Jewish and conservative American audiences, and though this author seeks to be fair to Jews, he has little reason to be particularly interested in appealing to conservative audiences, as this book makes abundantly clear.
In terms of its content, the book consists mainly of mostly lengthy chapters, divided into three parts, that contain mostly material written in the 1980's with closing parts of the chapter updated to reflect conditions in 2014 or so. It's not a pretty picture. The first section, Aversion, discusses war, nationalisms, terrorism, and religious absolutism, and paints a picture of two peoples who appear to be committed to brutal and unending conflict despite being neighbors in a small country with little room for either to feel safe. The second section, Images, discusses various stereotypes, of the violent craven Arab and Jew, the primitive, exotic Arab and the alien, superior Jew, and tackles issues of segregation and class, sexual fears and fantasies, mirrors of Semitism [1], and issues of the Holocaust. The third part, Interaction, examines the mingling of cultures, issues of relations with the Arab Bedouin, the ubiquity of secret police, Arab citizens, mixed marriages, and the dream of peaceful coexistence, with an epilogue about the problem of climbing over the wall. Together these chapters contain a great deal of repetition, clear examples of bias on the part of the author, mostly in his desire to demonize right-leaning elements in Israeli and American society, including the Church of God, and a lot of personal stories gained over what appears to be frequent travels in the area.
What is the worth of a book like this? On the one hand, the author has immense ambitions in encouraging cross-cultural communication between Jews and Arabs, and in getting both sides to recognize the difficulties the others have faced, most notably the horrors of the Holocaust that many Muslims still deny ever happened as well as the so-called catastrophe of Arab losses of land in what is now Israel thanks to the intransigence of Muslim nations whose attacks on Israel at the birth of the nation were so spectacularly unsuccessful that they cost Arabs an immense amount of territory and set the context for continuing Israeli victory against their Arab enemies. The author, though, is no optimist, and the book as a whole gives little credence for optimism, as the author well recognizes. Likewise, the author's own biases, both in attempting to create a false equilibrium between Israeli and Arab, and in refusing to recognizing the legitimacy of a biblicist mindset, or of traditional mindsets in general, keep this book from being as successful as it could have been because the author's own editorializing gets in the way of understanding the Middle East over and over again. Likewise, the fact that the author downplays the level of anti-Semitism faced by Jews in the United States throughout our history, which is dealt with by hand-waving that says that Jews do not feel like outsiders in the United States, or have faced any discrimination at all, gives the book a dishonest edge by seeking to downplay the realities Jews have faced, so as to paint their behavior in Israel as more oppressive than it would be seen as with an honest and balanced view, if such a thing is possible. This book is a testament to the intent of the author to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict, but it ultimately leaves the reader with the unpleasant and unpalatable feeling of the author's interest in matters of sexuality, his political biases, and a lot of wasted ink and paper that could have been more productively spent had the author not been so stridently mistaken.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
July 18, 2024
Pulitzer General Nonfiction Winner 1987. As it happens, the 2024 Winner also examines this same Israeli-Palestinian question. (See A Day in the Life of Abed Salama.) Not much has changed in 37 years.
This book gave me a nuanced portrait of life in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. The author touches on the original vision of Israel, seen through the eyes of elderly citizens who have witnessed that utopian vision shredded by conflict. He also portrays the varied and intricate frustrations of the displaced Palestinians. The middle of the book details how easily regular people can run afoul of these complex hatreds and banal legal cruelties. Shipler concludes with efforts to bring young Jewish and Arab people together in encounter groups and building projects. As hopeful as such projects might sound, they are “like drops in a bitter sea.” The 2024 Pulitzer winner affirms the glacial pace of change.
This book gave me a nuanced portrait of life in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. The author touches on the original vision of Israel, seen through the eyes of elderly citizens who have witnessed that utopian vision shredded by conflict. He also portrays the varied and intricate frustrations of the displaced Palestinians. The middle of the book details how easily regular people can run afoul of these complex hatreds and banal legal cruelties. Shipler concludes with efforts to bring young Jewish and Arab people together in encounter groups and building projects. As hopeful as such projects might sound, they are “like drops in a bitter sea.” The 2024 Pulitzer winner affirms the glacial pace of change.
May 12, 2025
It took a while to read because of the sheer amount of information. Incredibly grateful that I’ve read this book. This is the most in depth I’ve ever gotten into the subject and I’m leaving feeling more confident that I see the nuance. It’s hard being an American and seeing the propaganda only. This breaks through.
April 22, 2025
Centrist trash
December 13, 2023
Feeling pretty hopeless after finishing this. Since its 1984 publication, nothing has improved and as of late actually became increasingly worse. If you're interested in learning more about the conflict - this is a good starting point.
April 21, 2016
“Hatreds burn. They mix with sorrow and pride and helplessness and a furious zeal.” Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer, this revised and updated volume is a comprehensive portrait of the ongoing conflict between the inhabitants of Israel. Most of this review is going to reference quotes because Shipler so eloquently defines what it means to be an Israeli (whether Jew or Arab). In the original forward, Shipler examines the profound impact that living in Jerusalem had on him: “At times a rush of anger would propel me to the conviction that, in their mutual hatreds, both sides deserved each other. And then at other moments I was enveloped by a sense that both sides were right. …what gripped me was not so much the politics as the human dimension of the Arab-Israeli confrontation.” He then goes on to interview hundreds of individuals on both sides of the struggle with varying opinions, loyalties, and convictions.
On entitlement: “The hardships of the Palestinian Arabs in modern history bear no resemblance in scope or depth to those of the Jews. …the Arabs from this crucial slice of Palestine have suffered powerlessness and deprivation of liberty but never genocide.” “Both Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews had practically celebrated their own victimhood without acknowledging the others’.”
On indoctrinated stereotypes: “There is a difficult ambivalence in having to live as neighbors with people deemed as unremittingly hostile and violent.”
On violence: “Terrorism is not an aberration produced by demented personalities. It is an integral part of an existing subculture, encouraged and supported and approved by the mainstream of the society that forms the terrorist’s reference points.”
On ignorance: Despite likening Israelis to Nazis, “Very few Arabs seem to know much about the Holocaust. Its full horrors rarely seem to penetrate… And therefore, they cannot understand Israel.”
On stubbornness: “Along with Temple denial, Holocaust denial became a vehicle of Palestinian rage in the course of the frustrating peace negotiations. It was as if the Palestinian victims could not bear the thought of Jews as victims too…”
On religion: “Islam, like Christianity, is a daughter religion of Judaism… Muhammad’s mentors were Jews, since fewer Christians appeared in the Arabian Peninsula at the time… Also, one of Muhammad’s wives was Jewish, a fact seldom mentioned by Muslims.” “The emerging Islamic faith shared many, but not all, of Judaism’s religious practices and theological themes.” “There was a great cross-fertilization in customs and superstitions between Jews and Arabs.”
The most profound quote came from one interviewee on Arab/Jew relations: “Love is more dangerous than hate.” That pretty much sums up the attitude of the whole book. It is a justification of ongoing conflict and hostile attitudes. While this book is all-encompassing and relevant, it was a beast to get through (it took me over 2 months). But it is an unflinching look at the positives and negatives of both sides of Israel as a nation and an ideal.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Blogging for Books.
On entitlement: “The hardships of the Palestinian Arabs in modern history bear no resemblance in scope or depth to those of the Jews. …the Arabs from this crucial slice of Palestine have suffered powerlessness and deprivation of liberty but never genocide.” “Both Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews had practically celebrated their own victimhood without acknowledging the others’.”
On indoctrinated stereotypes: “There is a difficult ambivalence in having to live as neighbors with people deemed as unremittingly hostile and violent.”
On violence: “Terrorism is not an aberration produced by demented personalities. It is an integral part of an existing subculture, encouraged and supported and approved by the mainstream of the society that forms the terrorist’s reference points.”
On ignorance: Despite likening Israelis to Nazis, “Very few Arabs seem to know much about the Holocaust. Its full horrors rarely seem to penetrate… And therefore, they cannot understand Israel.”
On stubbornness: “Along with Temple denial, Holocaust denial became a vehicle of Palestinian rage in the course of the frustrating peace negotiations. It was as if the Palestinian victims could not bear the thought of Jews as victims too…”
On religion: “Islam, like Christianity, is a daughter religion of Judaism… Muhammad’s mentors were Jews, since fewer Christians appeared in the Arabian Peninsula at the time… Also, one of Muhammad’s wives was Jewish, a fact seldom mentioned by Muslims.” “The emerging Islamic faith shared many, but not all, of Judaism’s religious practices and theological themes.” “There was a great cross-fertilization in customs and superstitions between Jews and Arabs.”
The most profound quote came from one interviewee on Arab/Jew relations: “Love is more dangerous than hate.” That pretty much sums up the attitude of the whole book. It is a justification of ongoing conflict and hostile attitudes. While this book is all-encompassing and relevant, it was a beast to get through (it took me over 2 months). But it is an unflinching look at the positives and negatives of both sides of Israel as a nation and an ideal.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Blogging for Books.
July 2, 2009
The most thorough examination of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that you are likely to ever find. Shipler worked with the New York Times in Israel for years before taking the time off to compile this book. Within he quotes interviews with and observations of public discussions with hundreds of people, ranging from government officials, police, military, and civilians living at all levels of integration and conflict.
To many Americans this is just two factions of religious nutjobs blowing each other up in the desert, and while Shipler devotes a chapter to their centuries-old history of feuds, and another to the religious roots of their tolerances and intolerances, he is under no such illusion. Instead of two polarized sides, he shows the bigotry of secularists, all the splinter factions like the fundamentalist Jewish nomads, minority groups like foreign Christians and Russian immigrants. And instead of hate based on organized religion, he expands to government propaganda, financial motives, stereotypes in public and on television, speeches, the spirit of the jokes people tell, and most importantly, how these elements change with different levels of cultural integration. Many of the most hateful Jews and Arabs don't see each other on a daily basis, and the more integrated, the better chance there is of cooperation.
Shipler is not hopeful, naively showing us how this could work out, but rather diagramming how it all truly is. At this depth it's frightening to realize that the conflict is a hyperbolic example of most schism in any culture, festering on so much past evil.
Arab and Jew is a rare book in its depth. Some books are shallow, and some make you think no more could be written on the subject. Arab and Jew is so deep that it reminds us no book will ever encapsulate everything, and Shipler makes frequent motions that will make the audience wish for even more information. He generalizes about Israeli schools with statistics, and suggests young people at one forum are the most liberal when we can't know the veracity of his claim. To his credit, he sometimes acknowledges his biases and limits, such as in the case of moderating an interview between a Holocaust survivor and a Holocaust denier. Shipler became enraged to the point where he wanted to be violent, where the survivor remained calm and instructed him.
Despite its length and depth, this is not a book for the uninformed. This is not a history lesson, mostly composed of hundreds of perspectives, sometimes given historical context. You're expected to know about the Holocaust, the foundation of and migration to Israel, and the wars that broke out there. The totally uninitated can ready themselves with a read through wikipedia and wing the rest. Whatever historical reading you have to do to prepare for this examination of our world's most entrenched conflict, it is worth it.
To many Americans this is just two factions of religious nutjobs blowing each other up in the desert, and while Shipler devotes a chapter to their centuries-old history of feuds, and another to the religious roots of their tolerances and intolerances, he is under no such illusion. Instead of two polarized sides, he shows the bigotry of secularists, all the splinter factions like the fundamentalist Jewish nomads, minority groups like foreign Christians and Russian immigrants. And instead of hate based on organized religion, he expands to government propaganda, financial motives, stereotypes in public and on television, speeches, the spirit of the jokes people tell, and most importantly, how these elements change with different levels of cultural integration. Many of the most hateful Jews and Arabs don't see each other on a daily basis, and the more integrated, the better chance there is of cooperation.
Shipler is not hopeful, naively showing us how this could work out, but rather diagramming how it all truly is. At this depth it's frightening to realize that the conflict is a hyperbolic example of most schism in any culture, festering on so much past evil.
Arab and Jew is a rare book in its depth. Some books are shallow, and some make you think no more could be written on the subject. Arab and Jew is so deep that it reminds us no book will ever encapsulate everything, and Shipler makes frequent motions that will make the audience wish for even more information. He generalizes about Israeli schools with statistics, and suggests young people at one forum are the most liberal when we can't know the veracity of his claim. To his credit, he sometimes acknowledges his biases and limits, such as in the case of moderating an interview between a Holocaust survivor and a Holocaust denier. Shipler became enraged to the point where he wanted to be violent, where the survivor remained calm and instructed him.
Despite its length and depth, this is not a book for the uninformed. This is not a history lesson, mostly composed of hundreds of perspectives, sometimes given historical context. You're expected to know about the Holocaust, the foundation of and migration to Israel, and the wars that broke out there. The totally uninitated can ready themselves with a read through wikipedia and wing the rest. Whatever historical reading you have to do to prepare for this examination of our world's most entrenched conflict, it is worth it.
July 6, 2016
This book is an excellent look at a very complicated situation. It stays away from taking a side in the conflict and instead talks to both Jews and Arabs within Israel and Palestine to learn about their points-of-view. There is an examination of prejudice and terrible acts on both sides of the conflict as well as more optimistic stories.
It really feels like there's no a stone left unturned in this book. The book explores the wars themselves, the role each education system plays in influencing children, feelings on intermarriage between Arabs and Jews, and more, It's hard to imagine being able to explore it all so well in only one book, but this book does it excellently.
While the book was originally published decades ago, the revised edition discusses both where things haven't changed much and provides any new relevant information. The way it was done (keeping much of the original text but adding post scripts to discuss what's happened since) provided a way to see both what has and hasn't changed since the first edition of the book was published.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone hoping to learn more about the conflict. It is an excellent source for learning more about it in depth.
I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
It really feels like there's no a stone left unturned in this book. The book explores the wars themselves, the role each education system plays in influencing children, feelings on intermarriage between Arabs and Jews, and more, It's hard to imagine being able to explore it all so well in only one book, but this book does it excellently.
While the book was originally published decades ago, the revised edition discusses both where things haven't changed much and provides any new relevant information. The way it was done (keeping much of the original text but adding post scripts to discuss what's happened since) provided a way to see both what has and hasn't changed since the first edition of the book was published.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone hoping to learn more about the conflict. It is an excellent source for learning more about it in depth.
I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
June 11, 2018
The only reason this didn’t get 5 stars is not its fault—-it’s dated.
Otherwise, Shipler does a fantastic job at looking at the Arab-Israeli conflict from a sociological perspective. This is NOT a history of the tensions between the groups from the perspective of military, political, or religious history. As the title suggests, Shipler is concerned with the social creations “Arab” and “Jew,” parentheses intended. He does a fantastic job showing how these constructions are born and reinforced from both perspectives. I found particularly interesting, the chapter on Love and romantic relationships across the invisible sociological lines in the sand.
What Shipler does best, and I suppose this is true of the best history, is give us amazing human portraits of players in this conflict. It’s heartbreaking. In fact, that the book is so old is ACTUALLY, one of the elements that gives some of the writing a MORE heartbreaking irony, as we know well what happens to some of the most well intended plans of the young people Shipler interviews.
Excellent read off the well beaten path of straight Middle East political and military history.
Otherwise, Shipler does a fantastic job at looking at the Arab-Israeli conflict from a sociological perspective. This is NOT a history of the tensions between the groups from the perspective of military, political, or religious history. As the title suggests, Shipler is concerned with the social creations “Arab” and “Jew,” parentheses intended. He does a fantastic job showing how these constructions are born and reinforced from both perspectives. I found particularly interesting, the chapter on Love and romantic relationships across the invisible sociological lines in the sand.
What Shipler does best, and I suppose this is true of the best history, is give us amazing human portraits of players in this conflict. It’s heartbreaking. In fact, that the book is so old is ACTUALLY, one of the elements that gives some of the writing a MORE heartbreaking irony, as we know well what happens to some of the most well intended plans of the young people Shipler interviews.
Excellent read off the well beaten path of straight Middle East political and military history.
September 3, 2023
SJC Review: 4.48
An informative account of the political, social, and religious divide which chracterises the relationship between these two peoples, and the turbulent and tragic history which has resulted.With its detailed and moving personal testimonies, Shipler's work captures the commonly missing human dimension behind the conflict. The first part of the book deftly summarises the historical and cultural background to their struggle, while the second explores the role of education and the media in sharpening the divide through indoctrination and the furthering of stereotypes. Finally, Shipler recounts attempts by inter-faith communities to deconstruct such prejudice and establish common communal goals. Though published a number of years ago, the insights offered are still relevant and far from dated, which provides damning evidence as to the ingrained prejudice and lack of foresight which has been lent to resolving the tensions in this polarised theatre in the intervening years.
An informative account of the political, social, and religious divide which chracterises the relationship between these two peoples, and the turbulent and tragic history which has resulted.With its detailed and moving personal testimonies, Shipler's work captures the commonly missing human dimension behind the conflict. The first part of the book deftly summarises the historical and cultural background to their struggle, while the second explores the role of education and the media in sharpening the divide through indoctrination and the furthering of stereotypes. Finally, Shipler recounts attempts by inter-faith communities to deconstruct such prejudice and establish common communal goals. Though published a number of years ago, the insights offered are still relevant and far from dated, which provides damning evidence as to the ingrained prejudice and lack of foresight which has been lent to resolving the tensions in this polarised theatre in the intervening years.
December 13, 2018
I've had this on my bookshelf for a while....avoiding reading it because I thought it would be heavy going and dated (my copy is from 1988). I thought maybe I should read something more recent, with all the peace talks and promises, I thought that this book would no longer be relevant. Unfortunately, it is. Deep rooted, institutionalized racism, stereotypes and hatred never go away. What shocked me was Shipler's description of the textbooks and the official teaching about Arabs in Israeli schools. The kids that were learning hatred then are now the ones that are building settlements and discriminating against Israeli Arabs. The Arab kids that were taught in different schools grew up in fear and being angry and are now the ones who are throwing stones and bombs because of oppression and hate. This book is very thoughtful, well written and human. There is a slight hint of optimism at the end, but it sadly didn't hold true.
November 21, 2023
As a newspaperman, David Shipler's job is to try for objectivity, and that's a challenge in the Middle East, where he was stationed on behalf of The New York Times for a while in the 1980s. Even so, his collection of observations--what sometimes read like journals rather than journalism--is up-close-and-personal reportage of the experience of individuals, what they've gone through and how they respond to their situation, but it is ultimately dispiriting because so very very little has improved in the almost forty years since he put this together. In fact, it appears that much of the intransigence on both sides of the Jew-Arab fence has been hardened, literally weaponized (a word that is grotesquely over-used in the Western world), and activated as grounds for the ever ongoing violence and mutual hatred that we have somehow managed to become accustomed to in that suffering part of our planet.
Because he has tried to position himself as an observer, as objective as he can manage that particularly challenging responsibility, Shipler does provide some penetrating insights that are all the more acute since they occurred to him. Here he is in a chapter whose title acknowledges Hannah Arendt's comment on "the banality of evil":
"Terrorism is theater. Its real targets are not the innocent victims but the spectators. Those on the political side of the dead are to be frightened, intimidated, cowed, perhaps drawn into ugly retaliation that will spoil their image among the disinterested, who in turn are to be impressed with the desperate vitality and significance of the movement behind the terrorism. Those on the side of the gunmen, the bombers, the hijackers, are to be encouraged that the cause is alive. The goal of terrorism is not to deplete the ranks of an army, to destroy an enemy's weapons, or to capture a military objective. It seeks an impact on attitudes, and so it must be spectacular. It relies on drama, it thrives on attention, it carries within it the seeds of contagion" (84). Since the horrific events of October 7, 2023, there have been some puzzled comments wondering how Western liberals can possibly march in opposition to Israel's military response to Hamas' terrorism. Here is the answer: Hamas' "desperate vitality" impresses the impressionable and Israel's "ugly retaliation" spurs simplistic reaction, aversion, and condemnation. The only adjustment I would suggest to Shipler's still timely comment is that Western liberals tend not to be disinterested, which demands objectivity and lack of bias, but are largely devoted to the cause of the apparent underdog, which in this case is not Israel, clearly.
But he is not merely describing socio-political motivations here. He is very sensitive to the religious underpinnings of the conflict, and he is occasionally acerbic in his observations. This paragraph is one of the best I've ever read on the subject:
"In Judaism and Islam, as in man's other organizations of faith, anyone can find anything he wishes to sanctify his noblest and basest actions. The strict moral code, the even justice, the glittering platitude, the elevation of the believer can foster both the beauty of generosity and the malice of exclusivity. Each virtue preached contains an antithesis within itself. Great wrongs are done in the name of morality, cruelty is advanced as a tool of justice, the holy platitude rationalizes the persecution, and the believer's certainty carries a curse against whoever stands outside. It is as true today as throughout the long history of this land, and of other lands as well, that the bloodshed and the conquest have often been performed in the service of God" (140). That is wisdom, without question.
Another wise point is made in his description of how Israel has wielded its authority since it acquired the power of a nation-state in 1948, mostly over the Arabs who found themselves under its jurisdiction after Jordan lost control of the West Bank in the 1967 war but also over its Arab citizens (who comprised, at the time of this writing, one in six of the population):
"Both edges of the Israeli sword are finely honed, and they cut deeply. The easy arrests, the official violence, and the strategy of humiliation may intimidate much of the West Bank population, deter some Palestinians from anti-Israel political agitation, and unravel incipient plots of terrorism. Undoubtedly, the repugnant methods are partly responsible for foiling many would-be attacks on civilians. But Israeli interests have been wounded as well. Just as the army is now drafting young Jews who have never known their country without a subordinate Arab population subject to martial law, so the PLO and other militant groups are now recruiting young Arabs who have never known a life without the hard, superior hand of the Israeli military occupation" (421). What sociologists have termed "intergenerational trauma" is applicable here, but it is frighteningly more virulent because the antipathy, the unapologetic hostility on both sides, appears to be growing with each generation.
Shipler concludes his book with a chapter called "The Dream," which in part describes an interactive community, Neve Shalom, that brings Jewish and Arab young people together to share, speak, and listen. The participants are free to express their anger and frustration and fear, but they end up learning that the person on the other side is not necessarily their enemy, at least not at this moment. This seed of hope, however, is "sown in the brass earth" (556) and is unlikely, in Shipler's informed opinion, to bear much fruit. Sadly, that has proven to be the case.
This is another in an increasingly tall stack of books that need to be read to acquire some understanding of an often baffling, always frustrating conflict that seems likely to remain contemporary, to our common cost.
Because he has tried to position himself as an observer, as objective as he can manage that particularly challenging responsibility, Shipler does provide some penetrating insights that are all the more acute since they occurred to him. Here he is in a chapter whose title acknowledges Hannah Arendt's comment on "the banality of evil":
"Terrorism is theater. Its real targets are not the innocent victims but the spectators. Those on the political side of the dead are to be frightened, intimidated, cowed, perhaps drawn into ugly retaliation that will spoil their image among the disinterested, who in turn are to be impressed with the desperate vitality and significance of the movement behind the terrorism. Those on the side of the gunmen, the bombers, the hijackers, are to be encouraged that the cause is alive. The goal of terrorism is not to deplete the ranks of an army, to destroy an enemy's weapons, or to capture a military objective. It seeks an impact on attitudes, and so it must be spectacular. It relies on drama, it thrives on attention, it carries within it the seeds of contagion" (84). Since the horrific events of October 7, 2023, there have been some puzzled comments wondering how Western liberals can possibly march in opposition to Israel's military response to Hamas' terrorism. Here is the answer: Hamas' "desperate vitality" impresses the impressionable and Israel's "ugly retaliation" spurs simplistic reaction, aversion, and condemnation. The only adjustment I would suggest to Shipler's still timely comment is that Western liberals tend not to be disinterested, which demands objectivity and lack of bias, but are largely devoted to the cause of the apparent underdog, which in this case is not Israel, clearly.
But he is not merely describing socio-political motivations here. He is very sensitive to the religious underpinnings of the conflict, and he is occasionally acerbic in his observations. This paragraph is one of the best I've ever read on the subject:
"In Judaism and Islam, as in man's other organizations of faith, anyone can find anything he wishes to sanctify his noblest and basest actions. The strict moral code, the even justice, the glittering platitude, the elevation of the believer can foster both the beauty of generosity and the malice of exclusivity. Each virtue preached contains an antithesis within itself. Great wrongs are done in the name of morality, cruelty is advanced as a tool of justice, the holy platitude rationalizes the persecution, and the believer's certainty carries a curse against whoever stands outside. It is as true today as throughout the long history of this land, and of other lands as well, that the bloodshed and the conquest have often been performed in the service of God" (140). That is wisdom, without question.
Another wise point is made in his description of how Israel has wielded its authority since it acquired the power of a nation-state in 1948, mostly over the Arabs who found themselves under its jurisdiction after Jordan lost control of the West Bank in the 1967 war but also over its Arab citizens (who comprised, at the time of this writing, one in six of the population):
"Both edges of the Israeli sword are finely honed, and they cut deeply. The easy arrests, the official violence, and the strategy of humiliation may intimidate much of the West Bank population, deter some Palestinians from anti-Israel political agitation, and unravel incipient plots of terrorism. Undoubtedly, the repugnant methods are partly responsible for foiling many would-be attacks on civilians. But Israeli interests have been wounded as well. Just as the army is now drafting young Jews who have never known their country without a subordinate Arab population subject to martial law, so the PLO and other militant groups are now recruiting young Arabs who have never known a life without the hard, superior hand of the Israeli military occupation" (421). What sociologists have termed "intergenerational trauma" is applicable here, but it is frighteningly more virulent because the antipathy, the unapologetic hostility on both sides, appears to be growing with each generation.
Shipler concludes his book with a chapter called "The Dream," which in part describes an interactive community, Neve Shalom, that brings Jewish and Arab young people together to share, speak, and listen. The participants are free to express their anger and frustration and fear, but they end up learning that the person on the other side is not necessarily their enemy, at least not at this moment. This seed of hope, however, is "sown in the brass earth" (556) and is unlikely, in Shipler's informed opinion, to bear much fruit. Sadly, that has proven to be the case.
This is another in an increasingly tall stack of books that need to be read to acquire some understanding of an often baffling, always frustrating conflict that seems likely to remain contemporary, to our common cost.
May 30, 2011
Really fascinating book about the Arab-Israeli conflict. I think it did a pretty good job being objective and discussing both sides. Shipler focused more on the human stories than the political history, which was fine with me, although I would like to learn more about the history. The book was originally written in the 1980s and was revised slightly with more recent information in the early 2000s. Would be interesting to learn about how things are now, especially in light of Obama's recent speech. Despite it being somewhat out of date, I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't know much about the conflict.
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