Book Description
The tale of a simple act of faith between two young people - one Israeli, one Palestinian - that symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East.
In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly twenty years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.
This act of faith in the face of many years of animosity is the starting point for a true story of a remarkable relationship between two families, one Arab, one Jewish, amid the fraught modern history of the regio. In his childhood home, in the lemon tree his father planted in the backyard, Bashir sees dispossession and occupation; Dalia, who arrived as an infant in 1948 with her family from Bulgaria, sees hope for a people devastated by the Holocaust. As both are swept up in the fates of their people, and Bashir is jailed for his alleged part in a supermarket bombing, the friends do not speak for years. They finally reconcile and convert the house in Ramle into a day-care centre for Arab children of Israel, and a center for dialogue between Arabs and Jews. Now the dialogue they started seems more threatened than ever; the lemon tree died in 1998, and Bashir was jailed again, without charge.
The Lemon Tree grew out of a forty-three minute radio documentary that Sandy Tolan produced for Fresh Air. With this book, he pursues the story into the homes and histories of the two families at its center, and up to the present day. Their stories form a personal microcosm of the last seventy years of Israeli-Palestinian history. In a region that seems ever more divided, The Lemon Tree is a reminder of all that is at stake, and of all that is still possible.
Customer Reviews:
Good book, we read it in class.......2007-10-14
It's a good fairly objective book (although it's pretty much impossible to be truly unbiased in anything). It's definitely good at getting on two sides of this multifaced beast of an issue to cover. You'll never find a book on the Arab-Israeli conflict that everyone agrees on, NEVER, some people will always think Israel had a spotless and sin free birth despite the facts, and others will never admit the Arabs made mistakes and had selfish non-altruistic motives. For such a sticky situation, this book does well.
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the MIddle East.......2007-10-03
This book is a poignant story of the people drawn up into the Arab-Israeli conflict. It takes the premise that both sides have committed atrocities and both sides have been victimized. It does so by following both a Palestinian and Jewish family, linked together by residence of the same home during different periods. Each family learns to understand the other, but still a inpenetrable barrier remains between them.
The Lemon Tree.......2007-10-02
THE LEMON TREE, by Sandy Tolan, is a historical perspective of the Palestine/Israel problems viewed from two lives, one Arab man and one Israeli woman. Their factual stories are given from the history of the land and the divisions made by outside influence. The U.N. and Great Britian were very involved in the partition and resettlement of the people of this area.
The two personal lives were intertwined by having consecutive lives in one house as "one home" for the two families. Both of these lives reflect on people of great faith, great education, and great involvment in the situation.
The author uses much research, factual relativity, and impartiality to his report. A very complicated situation exists and the book allows the information to understand the impossibility of the area and future peaceful settlement.
A biased view of the Middle East conflict.......2007-08-23
Although when I began The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, I believed this book would be a balanced and nuances work about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The book opens with a description of a home which had been built and inhabited by Palestinians and in which Israeli Jews live after the 1948 war. Great, I thought! We'll see two sides of the dreadful tensions and violence in the region. I was disappointed by the time I finished reading because Tolan loads the argument in favor of the dispossessed Palestinians, barely mentioned the horrific consequences of suicide bombings and attacks on innocent civilians. One example is the reference to the problems in Gaza. Tollan describes the attacks by Israel as violent and gratuitous on the Gazans, and actually suggests that the rockets Hamas fired into Israel (after the Israelis pulled out) are harmless. Surely, the author doesn't believe that the intention of Hamas was to fire "harmless rockets" into enemy territory. Throughout the book, we see very little about the wars the Arab nations began, especially the one that immediately followed the establishment of the state of Israel. The 1967 war was initiated by the Israelis, true, but Egyptian forces were massed on the border. If that wasn't provocation, I don't know what is.
I am not sorry I read the book. I enjoyed much of it, and I was certainly more sympathetic with many Palestinians who suffered so much after having read Tolan's presentation of their lives and losses. The book would have been more successful for me had it been more balanced and honest.
The Lemon Tree.......2007-08-07
This is an excellent book - extremely well documented. It affords the reader greater understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It arouses sympathy for those who have suffered injustice - also admiration for people on both sides for their resilience and determination to seek the truth. This book also inspires a feeling of hope through the compassion shown between Jew and Israeli. Would that more people could strive for understanding and peace!
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- Award-Winner, Mind-Altering Information, Useful, Scholarly
- Why don't you own this book?!!
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Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Similar Items:
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Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft
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Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Peacemaking
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Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East
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The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation (Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict)
ASIN: 0195160894 |
Book Description
For most of the twentieth century, the most critical concerns of national security have been balance of power politics and the global arms race. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the motives behind them, however, demand a radical break with this tradition. If the United States is to prevail in its long-term contest with extremist Islam, it will need to re-examine old assumptions, expand the scope of its thinking to include religion and other "irrational" factors, and be willing to depart from past practice. A purely military response in reaction to such attacks will simply not suffice. What will be required is a long-term strategy of cultural engagement, backed by a deeper understanding of how others view the world and what is important to them. In non-Western cultures, religion is a primary motivation for political actions. Historically dismissed by Western policymakers as a divisive influence, religion in fact has significant potential for overcoming the obstacles that lead to paralysis and stalemate. The incorporation of religion as part of the solution to such problems is as simple as it is profound. It is long overdue. This book looks at five intractable conflicts and explores the possibility of drawing on religion as a force for peace. It builds upon the insights of Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (OUP,1994)--which examined the role that religious or spiritual factors can play in preventing or resolving conflict--while achieving social change based on justice and reconciliation. The world-class authors writing in this volume suggest how the peacemaking tenets of five major world religions can be strategically applied in ongoing conflicts in which those religions are involved. Finally, the commonalities and differences between these religions are examined with an eye toward further applications in peacemaking and conflict resolution.
Customer Reviews:
Award-Winner, Mind-Altering Information, Useful, Scholarly.......2004-04-30
Let's start with the award. I was so impressed with this book that it received one of the ten Golden Candle Awards for most constructive and innovative work in the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) field. It represents the second book in a body of work that may eventually be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. The citation reads:
To Dr. Douglas M. Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, for his path-finding efforts with regard to Preventive Diplomacy as well as Religion and Conflict Resolution. Among his many works, two stand out for defining a critical missing element in modern diplomacy: Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford University Press, 1994), and Faith-based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik (Oxford University Press, 2003). He has restored the proper meaning of faith qua earnestness instead of faith qua zealotry, and this is a contribution of great importance.
With a foreword by no less than The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, today a leader of the 9-11 Commission, the book drives a stake in the heart of secular "objective" negotiation and focuses on how faith (not zealotry, but earnest faith) can alter the spiral of violence in such places as Sudan, Kashmir, and the Middle East.
The editor and contributing author has assembled a multi-national and multi-religion cast of experts whose work in the aggregate completely supports the premise of the book: that the 21st Century will be about religion instead of ideology, and that what hopes we might have for reconciling "irreconcilable differences" lie in the balanced integration of religious dialog and conflict prevention, rather than in pre-emptive military action and unilateralist bullying.
I found two core concepts especially relevant to national security: the first is that we need an Office of Religious and Cultural Intelligence within the Central Intelligence Agency, and we need, as the authors suggest, to put religious attaches into every Embassy. The second, and this is a truly core concept, is "The price of freedom is cultural engagement--taking the time to learn how others view the world, to understand what is important to them, and to determine what can realistically be done to help them realize their legitimate aspirations."
This is a brilliant, scholarly, practical, world-changing book. It joins Max Manwaring's various books, but especially "The Search for Security," Joe Nye's earlier books on understanding the world and engaging the world with soft power, and George Soros as well as the several other books on my standard national security reading list. The conclusion of the book lists a number of means by which religion can impact on diplomacy and state-craft, and I for one have become a believer--this book completely altered my perspective on the role of religion as a peacemaker of substance and day-to-day practicality.
Why don't you own this book?!!.......2003-03-12
Faith-based Diplomacy, Trumping Realpolitik offers a fresh perspective on how to deal with religious militancy. It goes beyond traditional notions of power politics to get at the heart and soul of how to deal with religious terrorism, thus superseding in effectiveness Washington-centric notions of guns and missiles. The creativity of the authors offers much grist for policymakers to "think outside the box" of how traditional power politics are conducted and offers new insights into the process of conflict transformation. A very interesting, insightful, and helpful book for the politician, religious leader and educated layperson.
Book Description
What kinds of civic ties between different ethnic communities can contain, or even prevent, ethnic violence? This book draws on new research on Hindu- Muslim conflict in India to address this important question. Ashutosh Varshney examines three pairs of Indian cities--one city in each pair with a history of communal violence, the other with a history of relative communal harmony--to discern why violence between Hindus and Muslims occurs in some situations but not others. His findings will be of strong interest to scholars, politicians, and policymakers of South Asia, but the implications of his study have theoretical and practical relevance for a broad range of multiethnic societies in other areas of the world as well. The book focuses on the networks of civic engagement that bring Hindu and Muslim urban communities together. Strong associational forms of civic engagement, such as integrated business organizations, trade unions, political parties, and professional associations, are able to control outbreaks of ethnic violence, Varshney shows. Vigorous and communally integrated associational life can serve as an agent of peace by restraining those, including powerful politicians, who would polarize Hindus and Muslims along communal lines.
Customer Reviews:
Biased and incorrect historically... must be at least sympathetic to their co-citizens.......2007-07-31
Mr. Ashutosh has taken a very controversial subject but the high ground he had to take with integrity in dealing with such a sensitive subject is missing.
He is blaming Muslims for the riots. Nothing can be further than the truth. Muslims are not in power hence can do nothing with no administration and police support. They don't make policies nor laws and have practically no say in any thing. One wonders how one can orchestrate riots that Mr. AShutosh is accusing the Muslims of. Defies logic.
The problem is they have been sidelined from all departments of Indian and State Governments as a matter of State Policies. They have been singled out for discrimination in all walks of life. Without State Policy helping them to be driven out of the mainstream this could not happen.
Muslims are also Indians and must not be discriminated at any cost. Their presence must be made to be felt in all Government and Private services, only then can we say that we are a great secular democracy. They are a sizable chunk of the Indian population. Rajiv Gandhi at least had realised the need to uplift Muslims and was thinking in the right direction until Narasimha Rao took over and derailed the process yet again.
The problem is Muslims do not read the constitution and take people like Narasimha Rao and Narender Modi to courts.
I plead with Mr. Ashutosh to be more sympathetic to their co-citizens and understand their needs and plight. It hardly matters what religion one propheses in a secular India. Or does it?
Book does not deserve schlorship.......2007-04-30
Mr. Varshney seems to have some agenda with this book.This book with it emphasis tries to blame muslims for the instigators of all riots . May I suggest another book called "The production of Hindu muslim violence "by Paul Brass . This book is more balanced and deals very well the real issues of riots . Infact Mr. Varshney was so critical of this book that he misquotes the authors intention and harshly critisizes his schlorly work in his review with the Times of India.In reply, Mr. Brass posts his objections and analysis about criticism from Mr. Varshney in a poignant and subtle manner.
Groundbreaking research.......2004-06-03
I've worked and taught in the field of peacebuilding for 25 years and consider this book the single most important research that has been done in the field. Varshney breaks new ground in conducting indepth research into why some cities in India into fell into violence and some did not during times of high national tension.
He presents clear and extremely useful findings about what is useful and what is not useful in resisting violence. Specifically, his research shows that creating structures that bring people together to work for a common cause or benefit(such as Hindu-Muslim traders cooperatives, joint community development committees, peace committees, etc.) has a marked effect in reducing violence.
I present Varshney's findings in a variety of settings worldwide and find audiences always highly responsive. My students love the book and find Varshney's ideas so clear and insightful that the often refer back to him later.
This book in my view is an example of scholarship at its best: well-designed, provocative, clear in its conclusions. On top of that is it unusually lucid in writing style. I consider it a "classic" - a book that will endure for many years and that deserves to be on the shelf of any serious student of ethnic or religious violence.
You can read the first and last few chapters and get the real benefits of the book.
Ron Kraybill
Professor of Conflict Transformation
Eastern Mennonite University
Disappointing!.......2003-04-24
Varshney had the opportunity to examine the Hindu-Muslim divide in India using fresh glasses, and he has failed at it. His book is a litany of hackneyed generalizations and simplistic arguments.
a work of excellence.......2002-10-01
Varshneys research is particulary impressive because of the concise research method that he upholds. I am pleased that he has studied both peaceful and violent cities--giving his research model a basis for comparison. I have purchased 20 copies of Ethnic Conflict and Civic life and have circulated the work among my friends. Varshney's work gives us hope for world peace. this is the work of utter genius. very impressive research. particulary interesting was his intricate methodology of janwars in conflict. I highly recomment this book.
a beintot,
julliette
Book Description
Nominated several times for the Noble Peace Prize, world-renowned Palestinian priest Elias Chacour narrates the gripping story of his life spent working to achieve peace and reconciliation among Israeli Jews, Christians, and Muslims. From the destruction of his boyhood village and his work as a priest in Galilee to his efforts to build schools, libraries, and summer camps for children of all religions, this peacemaker's moving story brings hope to one of the most complex struggles of our time.
Customer Reviews:
The Massacre in Gish.......2006-07-08
In Blood Brothers, Abuna mentions the massacre/mass grave in Gish very briefly. Abuna's motivation has been, and continues to be the search (and work) for peace. Yet there are those who dispute him because the truth is too hard to swallow. Abuna does not write a polemic and is not apologetic in his views. He simply and deeply wants peace. I am not a religious person at all, but I am from Gish. Members of my family in 1948 were instructed by jewish soldiers to collect the dead bodies from roof tops and narrow alleys and move them to the mass burial place in Gish. All of us kids [of Gish] knew where that spot was and we never played near it. Some people will accept the truth only when it fits their beliefs. But unless we learn from history and come to terms with certain atrocities (both palestinian and israeli), peace has no chance.
An excellent book by a man of peace.......2005-03-02
Elias Chacour is a man of peace and a man of God. He has been awarded the World Methodist Peace Prize for his efforts, as well as many other accolades. He has brought together people of many faiths and races and broken down barriers of hate and discrimination without himself succumbing to these forces. At the same time, he has told the story of Palestine's tragedy just as it is. I am a Palestinian Christian and I can attest to the accuracy of his facts. His Web site (look under Mar Elias College) tells of the great things he and his supporters around the world have done to educate Palestinian youth who were denied the opportunity to learn by the Israeli school system. The review by Lars399 is stilted, particularly as it is influenced by Maronite Christians whose allegiance to Israel and hatred for Palestinians is a well known fact. Lars was duped. This book is a great eye-opener and a useful starting point for understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially for American Christians who are so influenced by the one-sided media blitz after 9/11 and the Iraq war.
If you want to see the Truth for what it really is........2002-12-14
If all people thought and lived like Abuna Chacour war would not exsist. A true follower of Jesus Christ, Abuna truly walks the walk and talks the talk. How can anyone Not read these books and how can anyone having read them not believed every word as gospel? American Christians especially supporters of Zionism need to wake up and realize what they are really supporting. How silly to think that we can hurry the return of Christ by blindly supporting Isreal (the Zionist and their supporters) and their ungodly actions. REALLY humans hurrying the RETURN of Christ? How silly. One must also know that not all Jews in the Middle East support Zionism. One question that needs to be asked is where have all the Christians gone that once lived in the land where Christ walked? People do your research. Are we not told to question/test all things?
Lars399 is misinformed and pushing a faulty agenda.......2002-07-31
The response written by "lars399" reveals to the educated reader that he is misinformed and pushing a (theologically questionable) Zionist agenda.
The facts related in Father Chacour's literature are not only truthful, but mild in comparison to the full facts facing the myths that Israel propogates about its inception. I am very displeased to find that so many people found his review helpful. If one takes a look at his previous record, he also very boldly refutes other scholarly work on the subject, particularly that of Israeli New Historian Tom Segev.
Before taking "lars399"'s word as gospel truth, the reader of this review should spend sometime having a brief history lesson of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the theological underpinnings of Christian Zionism (based in dispensational theology). As a Palestinian (Protestant) Christian who has visited and studied this area, I can attest to the truth of Father Chacour's historical analysis. If you hoping to free yourself from propoganda and theological error, challenging the perceptions that American (Christian Zionists) blindly hold on this issue, Fr. Chacour is a good place to start. Most respected academians and states around the world have recognized this truth-including Israel. It's time Americans started thinking critically and challenging the bias that is so ill-informed.
peace.......2002-01-09
Love. If anyone can express the idea, emotion and action of the word it is Elias Chacour. I too, have had the honor of meeting this man, who is truly the most normal of peole who has mad ehis life into one giving peace and love to people through hard work. This book expresses the little hope I have to the Palestinian Israeli (pardon my spelling) conflict, and really or the people all over the worl who cannot live together in peace. Hearbreaking and vivid, meaningful more than just literature.
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Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia: Small Town Wars (Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series)
Gerry van Klinken
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 0415417139 |
Book Description
Through close scrutiny of empirical materials and interviews, this book uniquely analyzes all the episodes of long-running, widespread communal violence that erupted during IndonesiaÂ's post-New Order transition.
Indonesia democratised after the long and authoritarian New Order regime ended in May 1998. But the transition was far less peaceful than is often thought. It claimed about 10,000 lives in communal (ethnic and religious) violence, and nearly as many as that again in separatist violence in Aceh and East Timor.
Taking a comprehensive look at the communal violence that arose after the New Order regime, this book will be of interest to students of Southeast Asian studies, social movements, political violence and ethnicity.
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Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective
Andrew Sung Park
Manufacturer: Orbis Books
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ASIN: 1570750785 |
Book Description
Palestinian Amal Rifa'i and Israeli Odelia Ainbinder are two teenage girls who live in the same city, yet worlds apart.They met on a student exchange program to Switzerland. Weeks after they returned, the latest, violent Intifada broke out in the fall of 2000.But two years later, Middle East correspondent Sylke Tempel encouraged Amal and Odelia to develop their friendship by facilitating an exchange of their deepest feelings through letters.In their letters, Amal and Odelia discuss the Intifada, their families, traditions, suicide bombers, and military service.They write frankly of their anger, frustrations, and fear, but also of their hopes and dreams for a brighter future.Together, Amal and Odelia give us a renewed sense of hope for peace in the Middle East.
Customer Reviews:
a wonderful book--please read it!.......2004-12-17
Forget the negative reviews---this is a wonderful, sweet, realistic and educational view of what it's like to live in Jerusalem, as seen through the eyes of two teenage girls...one Muslim and the other Jewish. I am impressed with the intelligence of these two young women. They don't chat about rock music or Britney Spears or trendy clothing--instead, they describe the love they feel for their city and how they can each do their part to create lasting peace. The girls get into serious political debates and they disagree quite frequently, but they respect each other as human beings and the friendship is strong. It's fascinating to learn what young Israelis think of America--Odelia, for instance, believes it's far more dangerous to live in New York than in Jerusalem! This is a warm and endearing book. I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary Jerusalem (or all of Israel) and what life is like there. I learned a lot from reading it.
Decent book, but the chronology has several big errors.......2004-08-09
It is interesting to see the views of two young women caught up in this conflict. My main complaint about this book is the chronology in the back of the book.
1. Under 1947 Temple writes "The Jewish population in Palestine rises from 24,000 to 630,000 due to several ways of immigration (aliyah; plural, aliyot) between 1882 and 1948. This more than triples Palestine's Jewish population at that time" It seems to me that the Jewish population increases by 26 times, why use triple? I really have no idea what she is referring to.
2. Under 1948 Temple writes "Declaration of the independent state of Israel on May 14 by Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Guerion. On the following day, troops from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia attack Israel. The Jewish underground movements, Lechi and Ezel, launch a wave of attacks against Arab civilians, which culminates in the massacre at Deir Yassin, where 245 inhabitants lost their lives. According to UN estimates, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven out of their homes." Deir Yassin occurred on April 9, five weeks before Israel declared independance and Arab armies intervened. Most of the Palestenians who were driven out of their homes were expelled before May 14.
3. 1956 - Not mentioned, England, France and Israel invade Egypt. Retreat under US pressure.
4. 1987 - Temple writes "In opposition to the nationalistic PLO, Israel supports the foundation Islamic factions, which will be the origin of he fundementalist Hamas (Arabic for "enthusiasm/excitement") under its leader Sheikh Achmed Yassin."
Hamas was formed in the late 1970's and had been supported by Israel from the beginning.
5. 1994 - Temple writes "Hamas commits suicide bombings with the goal of sabotaging the peace process." Hamas committed it's first suicide bombing in response to murder of 29 muslims at a mosque in Hebron by Baruch Goldstein an american born far right settler. Temple leaves out the part about Baruch Goldstein.
There are some other things that I don't think she is very evenhanded or possibly even correct about in the chronology but I don't have time to research everything. The most glaring error is getting the date of Deir Yassin wrong, simple historical research.
It is the tale of a friendship and intellectual exchange........2004-07-26
In the summer of 2000, a group of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers were invited to Switzerland. Despite many misunderstandings between the Jews and Muslims on the trip, tentative friendships were formed. However, just before the students returned home to Israel, the second Intifada broke out reminding each participant of their differences. Two young women on the trip who did become friends were Palestinian Amal Rifa'i and Israeli Odelia Ainbinder. Two years later, in June of 2002, journalist Sylke Tempel began looking for a young Israeli and a young Palestinian to exchange letters and ideas in order to create a book that would tell the story of Palestine, Israel and the Intifada in their own words. She found the ideal pair in Amal and Odelia. The result is WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE, a series of letters and conversations between Amal and Odelia.
Just 18 years old when they begin corresponding, the women are wise beyond their years and patient with each other's points of view. There is much potential for name-calling, disrespect and worse in such a dialogue, but Amal and Odelia behave with a restraint and open-mindedness often sorely lacking in regards to this difficult and delicate subject. Covering topics such as Jerusalem (where they both live, geographically close but socio-cultural worlds apart), school and the Israeli army, both women are not only quite honest and articulate about their feelings, but are also well versed in their cultural and religious history and tradition. To further illustrate certain points, each invites family members to share her story and thus we read about Odelia's parents and Amal's grandfather in their own words.
Even with such an open dialogue, Amal and Odelia realize there are some things they may never see eye to eye on --- each has a different interpretation of the formation history of the State of Israel, each interprets the plight of the Palestinians in a very different way. Yet they both agree that continued violence is not the answer and hope for strong leadership for the Israelis and the Palestinians. One major problem they both identify is the lack of knowledge about each other's culture, religion and history. Knowledge, they stress, is key to a sustainable peace.
As the book was being written, both Amal and Odelia faced adult life and responsibility --- Amal was engaged to be married and Odelia was preparing for her mandatory service in the Israeli army. Yet the tone of the book still reflected a youthful hopefulness and youthful frustration.
Poignant, brutally honest and sometimes heartbreaking, WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE is written with the idealism of youth and the cynicism of those who grow up amid war and violence. This is a book that puts a human face on the violence and destruction of the Israeli-Palestinian war and invites the reader to question her beliefs and opinions. Amal and Odelia are brave and admirable, willing to open their hearts and minds to each other.
WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE is not about solutions or roadmaps to peace. It is the tale of a friendship and intellectual exchange in spite of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. I highly recommend this book for those who want a glimpse of what life is like for teenagers in Israel.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
we just want to live here.......2004-04-24
"Boom," a bomb goes off two blocks away from your school, just as you are leaving class. This isn't that rare of occasion for the two teenage co-authors of the book, We Just Want to Live Here. In this book they are often left to decide how they feel about the suicide bombings and other occurrences in their hometown, Jerusalem. Sylke Tempel put the fascinating letters between these very different teenage girls together into this great factual book about living in Jerusalem during the second Intifada.
Sylke Tempel does a great job putting together the letters in a logical order that helps the reader to understand the conflict in Jerusalem from both opinions. By using a Palestinian girl (Odelia Ainbinder) and an Israeli girl (Amal Rifa'i) you were flushed with both aspects of such topics as the suicide bombings, the army, school and even normal girl talk such as boys. Through both girls' lives, their views of the other side were only composed of what they heard from their friends, family and media making them only see a glance of the big picture. The girls' way of expressing their feelings made you get in the shoes of both sides of the conflict. They didn't leave anything out about their beliefs on what should be done to solve the conflicts between the Palestinians and Israelis. their feelings are even supportive of the other side. For example they agree on such things as how influential their parents were to their lives, yet abruptly disagree on such issues as whether Odelia, the Israeli girl, should join the army after her year off. Sometimes all they would do through their letters was learn more about the other persons culture, which is what happened when they started talking about such things as school and getting married and moving in with boys. This book is very un-biased because it shows how real teenagers on both sides feel about the conflict. Sylke Tempel makes it very clear that she wants people to receive no bias towards either side. She does this by showing both sides of the argument and showing how neither girl is evil. Because of the way Tempel broke up the book, it reads very fast and is easy to understand. The girls' discussion was very interesting and sometimes even shocking to learn how they felt on different issues.
We Just Want to Live Here, is a great read for people of all ages. It would probably be better for girls to read because it is written by girls and sometimes would get a little into girl talk. Being the letters of real girls, this book would be great to read as a class in history or English. This is because it is very factual and a great un-biased way to learn about the conflict in Jerusalem. Before reading this book I would suggest to have previous knowledge of the conflict to better understand what girls are talking about. Overall this was a great, educational book filled with many different opinions and thoughts. I would definitely recommend this book to someone wanting to expanse his or her knowledge in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
A non- bias view on the conflict.......2004-04-24
Ashley Southard
English Book Review
April 16, 2004
The Arab/ Israeli conflict has been discussed in many books, and Americans hear of it every day in the news. But do you really know both sides to the story? We Just Want to Live Here, a story of teenagers Amal Rifa'I (a Palestinian) who is planning on studying special education in an Israeli college, and Odelia Ainbinder (an Israeli) who is part o a socialist/Zionist movement before she gets ready to join the military living in Israel, shows the opinion of both sides of the conflict. Amal and Odelia met one summer while at an exchange program in Switzerland. After, they were asked by journalist Sylke Tempel to begin writing to each other discussing the conflict in which they are living.
This non-fiction book is presented as a compilation of the letter the girls wrote to each other. In these heart-to-heart letters, Amal and Odelia discuss political, social and ethnic issues. This book was published for people who are passionate about the "bad blood" between the Palestinian and Israeli issues. These letters really dig deep into the soul of the people of Israel, Palestinian and Israeli alike, and readers begin to feel compassion for these girls. One of the only weaknesses of this book was the fact that there was really no plot or suspense to keep a person reading. Many people watch TV shows consistently because of the suspense, and many people like books that are the same way. This book lacks that appeal, and it is easy to become bored with this book if you don't wish to delve into the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Unlike most books, these letters truly had no bias. Each teenager is from one side of the conflict, and they discuss the modern issues in such a way that the reader genuinely gains an understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Readers begin to realize the stupidity of the prejudices that people hold and realize that you cannot make judgment about this dispute until you completely understand the emotions of both peoples.
I would recommend We Just Want to Live Here for readers who are interested in this dispute. People who are passionate about this ongoing war will not become bored with the lack of plot in these letters. The letters really help to achieve true understanding of this everlasting issue.
Customer Reviews:
Great Title-Poor Content.......2007-10-03
Great title, poor content. Please do not purchase this book. It appears the author read a few books on conflict management and the church, and then spliced together this poor work. The text is like a dictionary or reference book on "HOW TO GET TO AMEN" NOT!!!
In appendix A, she shares a case story of a pastor in conflict with another church leader. This "pastor's" solution to the conflict was to get rid of the church leader (a Teacher). Not once was there any dialog in regards to restoration or compromise. I know the pastor is the pastor. The pastor is not always right.
I see this behavior in many churches; if you don't agree with the pastor, watch out!
Our church leaders do not want "YES MEN/Women".
This is the first book I did not use my high-liter on! I was posed many times to high-lite something then I found myself saying, oh no she didn't.
Save your money. There are other texts out there that will give you clear and usable material.
Save your money. Look harder for another source.
Book Description
Faced with a world in which unspeakable crimes not only went unpunished but were rewarded with glory, profit, and power, the Bosnians of all faiths who testify in this book were starkly confronted with the limits and possibilities of their own ethical choices. Here, in their own words, they describe how people helped one another across ethnic lines and refused the myths promoted by the engineers of genocide. This compelling book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the reality of the "ethnic" conflicts of the late 20th and the 21st century.
Customer Reviews:
Great book about smal people.........2006-01-15
Agression on Bosnia 1992-1995. This book is giving extraordinary testimonies about small everyday people who helped others, cherishing compassion and human kindness, even many times putting them-self in deadly situations, crossing the lines of ethnic divisions, religions or political opinion. All stories are proof that human goodness must prevail over human darkness, that human being alone and small as it look,can make huge difference in our world. Bosnian story can happen anywhere, so it is highly recomended in todays world, where more compassion is needed in our every day life.
Thank you Svetlana for your great work.
Outstanding book.......2004-11-15
Bottom line, this is a great book. The introduction alone,
by editor Laurie Kain Hart, is absolutely extraordinary,
and the author's own preface is exceptional. But the text,
and the heart, of "Good People in an Evil Time" is simple
accounts by ordinary Bosnian people of their experiences
during the war.
Many other books have addressed political, military, and
historical aspects of that war, but frankly few of them
seem to help in understanding the human side and the
present day. For those who did not experience the war first
hand, answers to the human questions have been very slow in
coming, but this book has them by the dozens in the voices
of ordinary people.
For the creation of this book Broz was exceptional in
several ways. She is a granddaughter of Josip Broz,
commonly known as Marshal Tito, Yugoslavian hero of World
War II and head of state of the communist post-war
Yugoslavia. Her family name carried respect that
undoubtedly gave her entree to pass many gates that would
have closed to others and provided a foundation for trust.
Her status as a doctor gave her standing to request entry
to combat zones to try to help those who were suffering,
and her personal qualities brought her to act where most
others would not.
In Broz's own words, "Treating people of all three religious
traditions, I felt their need to open their souls and tell
me, shyly at first, what had happened to them during the
war. From these brief stories on cardiology wards, I
realized how thirsty people were for a truth that was subtle
and nuanced where the shells were falling, in a way that it
wasn't in Belgrade or in the worldwide black-and-white
coverage."
A great achievement of this book is to show so clearly how
people are more than their membership in an ethnic group.
Hopefully, it will also remind us to look beyond
caricatures of ethnic groups in conflict and to search for
victimizers and power seekers who hide themselves or profit
by casting blame everywhere but on themselves.
For the Bosnians and those near to them, this book also
helps to confirm that goodness among them was not isolated,
to remember and honor some of those who practiced it. My
wife and her family came to America from Bosnia as refugees
during the war, and many members of their extended family
still live in different parts of Bosnia. While without
doubt there are bigots, villains and crooks as well as
decent people in the former Yugoslavia, the voices in this
book echo the many experiences and first-hand accounts of
the mutual understanding and simple unconcern over ethnic
differences among ordinary people of the region.
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