How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less: Without Leaving Your Apartment

by Gregory Levey

Gregory Levey’s modest goal is to solve the Middle East conflict—all by himself. After returning to North America following a stint in his midtwenties writing speeches for the Israeli government—first at the United Nations and then for the prime minister in Jerusalem—he thinks he is leaving the madness of the Middle East conflict behind. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Levey soon discovers that everyone on this side of the Atlantic seems to think that they have the solution to the intractable conflict—and they all feel the need to tell him about it. Fatigued by the endless debate, the constant hostility, and the cacophony of shrill voices, he decides that the only way he is going to escape it all is if he solves the conflict himself, once and for all.

So Levey sets out on a hilarious, quixotic, and surprisingly illuminating quest to broker a peace deal where a long line of world leaders have failed.

Interacting with White House officials, DC lobbyists, congressmen, advisors to presidential candidates, high-profile journalists, secretive fundraisers, former Israeli spies now living in North America, and hundreds and hundreds of Jewish grandmothers, Levey tries to understand why the Middle East situation refuses to be resolved, and why so many people who live a world away are so obsessed with it.

He combs through theories ranging from the eminently reasonable to the completely insane, engages in virtual peacemaking simulations, investigates an “online suicide bombing,” spends time with a former advisor to Yasser Arafat, undergoes training with a half-baked Jewish paramilitary group, goes undercover as an Evangelical Christian, and somehow ends up at a real-life castle owned by an eccentric, cape-wearing crusader for peace.

In How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment, Levey brings his trademark brand of street-smart levity to a situation that many see as hopeless— and thereby reveals the very human and sometimes very silly side of a brutal, decades-old geopolitical conflict. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters that would be outright funny if the situation weren’t so dire. The result is a fast-paced, humorous, and insightful romp through U.S. policymaking in the Middle East.

Genres: Book Club, Israel, Middle East, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2010

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book too dovish and not hawkish enough. :)

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone with embarrassingly limited knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book was very approachable, and very entertaining to boot. Gregory Levey, after having found himself as a speech writer for the Israeli government, returns to the U.S. fed up with the relentless back-and-forth over the problems in the Middle East and sets out to solve the conflict himself. There is an undoubted imbalance in the book, with much more insight offered into the pro-Israel perspective, however, the author himself does not much show his personal leanings one way or the other. The book, despite being written in layman terms, isn't meant to serve as an introduction to the problems in the Middle East, so I'm walking away from the book with a lot of questions about issues that were skimmed over or excluded entirely, but I do feel more understanding of the situation in general. A fun, informational read.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 4-stars not because it is high brow literature, but because I thought he did a nice job sharing a lot of information in a way that was interesting and entertaining. My main quibble with this book was that pretty much all of the sources that Levey accessed were from the pro-Israel side of the debate. The fact that he acknowledges this made me want to cut him a bit of slack since at least he was honest about it. I do kind of envy his network of contacts -- even though he complains about the many people he wanted to talk to who declined to talk with him, he did have access to an awful lot of pretty heavy hitters. I look forward to discussing it soon w/ my favorite goodreads peeps!

[Ariel Burbaickij · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is fine, it exhibits some of the more usual Litvak black humor one would expect (at least I did, maybe because of the similar background like: will M. Ross really have TIME magazine with him?, hypothetical filing for divorce on author's wife side after him parading around in peacemaker underpants in his parlor (this is how Israeli "salon" was translated) -- but indeed almost everything was attempted in this conflict (and genocide is cheating, indeed) so why not to try it with some black hummor)

[David]

Made it about half way through then realised I had so many other books to read, why bother with one that was going nowhere and could likely be summed up in a couple of pages with "It will not happen, some views are irreconcilable, and groups outside of the middle east may hinder more than help the process." Oh well

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was honestly going to rate this 2 stars because I felt the perspective was biased at times due to the author being of Jewish descent himself and seemingly interviewing mostly Israeli and Jewish sources, but near the end, the author agreed that he did not interview enough Palestinian sources to fully reach his goals. Overall, the text was easy to read and the author is indeed witty and an enjoyable storyteller, I just wish that personal bias wasn't so apparent throughout the book. I do appreciate learning more about how different groups and people along the political spectrum think and feel about the Middle East conflict - especially those I personally do not agree with - that I may not have considered before. A decent read to perhaps balance with texts that consider more of the Palestinian perspective.

[Lydia Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing, well written, maybe a bit pointless?

[Mia S · Rating 2 out of 5]

hardback

comedic but too american focused

[Yasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gregory Levey brings humor to the Israel/Palestine issue while presenting various sides of the issue through a number of interviews. As he says at the outset, he (like anyone else would) brings his own biases to the table.
For the me the most interesting point he makes is how much people who don't live in the region care about what happens in Israel and Palestine. I'd recommend it if you want a quick, lighthearted look at different perspectives on the peace process without expecting anything life-changing.

[Rebeccah Marrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHile I don't agree with his intentions or final conclusion, I really liked the tone the book was written in, providing humor along with seriousness in an inoffensive way. He also does an excellent job of explaining complicated situations to even a very uninformed reader. I felt the book starting to falter more as it came to a close but it was still a strong showing.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Levey uses humor to deflect the seriousness of some of his subject matter without going over the top.

[Angela Randall]

Found out about this book through this unlikely article.

[Zvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Levey, future-husband, and talented writer. Loved it!! Let them make peace.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sprinkled with worthwhile insights, overall the writing style is a little stream-of-consciousness for my taste.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny look at peace in the middle east.

[Foxglove · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very funny book, but it never seemed to get to the point.