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Dreams Deferred: A Concise Guide to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Movement to Boycott Israel
Dreams Deferred arrives as debates about the future of the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensify under the extraordinary pressure of a region in chaos. The book empowers readers to be informed participants in conversations and debates about developments that increasingly touch all of our lives. Its sixty concise but detailed essays give facts and arguments to assist all who seek justice for both Israelis and Palestinians and who believe the two-state solution can yet be realized. Inspired both by the vision of a democratic Jewish state and by the need for Palestinian political self-determination, the book addresses the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its current status. It demonstrates that the division and suspicion promoted by the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement will only undermine the cause of peace.
- GenresIsrael
275 pages, Hardcover
Published July 11, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 25, 2017
Encyclopedia of some Israeli history and the reason why BDS is not the answer.
December 5, 2018
If you could see how many pages I've dog-eared (hint: too many to count at the moment), you'd perhaps glean a sense of how valuable I think this book is. "Concise" may be a relative term—this book still clocks in at 300+ pages before source citations and other back matter. But it truly is a guide to the conflict and the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. And it's a clear and well-researched one, too. To quote the back-cover endorsement of Eric Alterman, it's "a rare blast of cogent analysis, reliable information, and just good sense about an issue desperately in need of all three." I am grateful that I was able to pick up a free copy at a recent conference.
February 5, 2017
Does a good job of explaining all sides of the argument in a concise, intellectually honest manner. Good introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are voices on the right and left in this book, but all agree that a two-state solution is the ideal. Some very interesting history that I did not know. I would have liked more on arguments about the history of settlements; however, there is a list of books at the end, and I think I now know what I need to read to find out more about that. I came away from reading this books with a better appreciation for the Palestinian perspective.
July 24, 2019
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering whether or not to support the movement to boycott Israel (known as BDS for Boycott Divestment Sanctions). This volume has plenty of valid criticism of Israel, yet manages to strike an appropriate balance --basically I believe we should be criticizing Israel the same way we criticize the U.S. or any other country that has failed to live up to all the ideals of equality upon which it was founded, and this book does that. It also includes suggestions for how a two-state solution could proceed. I want the best for the Palestinian people and for the inhabitants of Israel (20% of whom are Arabs, BTW), and I do not see those desires as a zero sum game. I do not believe we have to hate one group to want peace and security for the other.
Furthermore, this book illuminates some highly shocking antisemitic behavior from founders of BDS and academics who support it. There is a world of difference between criticizing the short-comings of a nation and denying its right to exist. The BDS movement denies the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish nation, and believes that any contact with Israel or Israelis is therefore unacceptable. This book carefully shows the ways in which many of the beliefs and tactics of anti-Israel movements are simply antisemitism by another name.
Many white people in the U.S. do not consider themselves racist, yet participate in a culture that gives them white privilege and perpetuates racism. In the same way that many people of color in the U.S. are correctly calling out well-intentioned white people to examine their privilege and stop blindly participating in the systems of the country that continue to undermine black lives, those who are blindly supporting anti-Israel actions need to listen when Jews tell them the effects of their actions are antisemitic. Just as you don't have to be burning crosses on someone's lawn or using the "n" word to participate in a society with racism, you don't have to actively burn synagogues or call someone a "kike" to be participating in antisemitism. The BDS movement and others like it are often virulently antisemitic while laughing at or outright attacking anyone who suggests they are participating in antisemitism. I know the most rabid supporters of any movement are unlikely to read or listen to views that question their beliefs, but I hope the people in the middle or the undecided will take a moment to stop and listen.
A word about how this book is organized: rather than written in an overarching narrative, as most books are, this one is divided into many short thematic sections. I prefer to read a book straight through, but if you're someone who just wants to look up a handful of topics, you can skip to relevant sections that interest you. The downside of that is missing out on some really interesting information, which is why I don't favor this type of organization, personally. But it could be more approachable if you are new to the subject to read a few pages on one topic at a time.
Furthermore, this book illuminates some highly shocking antisemitic behavior from founders of BDS and academics who support it. There is a world of difference between criticizing the short-comings of a nation and denying its right to exist. The BDS movement denies the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish nation, and believes that any contact with Israel or Israelis is therefore unacceptable. This book carefully shows the ways in which many of the beliefs and tactics of anti-Israel movements are simply antisemitism by another name.
Many white people in the U.S. do not consider themselves racist, yet participate in a culture that gives them white privilege and perpetuates racism. In the same way that many people of color in the U.S. are correctly calling out well-intentioned white people to examine their privilege and stop blindly participating in the systems of the country that continue to undermine black lives, those who are blindly supporting anti-Israel actions need to listen when Jews tell them the effects of their actions are antisemitic. Just as you don't have to be burning crosses on someone's lawn or using the "n" word to participate in a society with racism, you don't have to actively burn synagogues or call someone a "kike" to be participating in antisemitism. The BDS movement and others like it are often virulently antisemitic while laughing at or outright attacking anyone who suggests they are participating in antisemitism. I know the most rabid supporters of any movement are unlikely to read or listen to views that question their beliefs, but I hope the people in the middle or the undecided will take a moment to stop and listen.
A word about how this book is organized: rather than written in an overarching narrative, as most books are, this one is divided into many short thematic sections. I prefer to read a book straight through, but if you're someone who just wants to look up a handful of topics, you can skip to relevant sections that interest you. The downside of that is missing out on some really interesting information, which is why I don't favor this type of organization, personally. But it could be more approachable if you are new to the subject to read a few pages on one topic at a time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews