Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation [Paperback]

Michael Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2003

Healing Israel/Palestine shows that it is possible to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, and provides a clear blueprint for a peace settlement. Unequivocally opposed to war makers and terrorists, Rabbi Michael Lerner asserts that a spiritual and progressive perspective, rooted in the highest values of the human race, is crucial. Perfect for individuals, discussion groups, and organizations, this book answers difficult philosophical and political questions that emerge when advocating peace and justice in the Middle East. It includes extensive historical information with a focus on current events, photographs, and detailed political maps of the region. An appendix provides resources for readers interested in activism.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rabbi Lerner, founder of the progressive Jewish journal Tikkun, may or may not have the answer to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but he does have answers for progressive Jews who are trying to find a way of understanding the conflict and find a stance that is pro-Israel without being anti-Palestinian. "The first step in the process of healing is to tell the story of how we got where we are in a way that avoids demonization," he writes. So he relates the history of Zionism and the state of Israel in a way that acknowledges both the rights, and the wrongs, of Jews and Palestinians alike. His evenhandedness may irritate readers who feel strongly for one side or the other, but his answers to tough questions (why should Israelis deal in good faith with the Palestinian people? How can the violence end when some Palestinians want to destroy Israel?) will aid many who are perplexed by the complexity of the region's long-lasting conflict. b&w photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Rabbi Michael Lerner has been one of the great Jewish liberal voices, and his work on behalf of Israel will be remembered with gratitude by Jews in future generations who understand that his courage to critique Israeli policy toward Palestinians is motivated by the deepest love and caring for the survival of the Jewish people."
-Abba Eban, former Foreign Minister of the State of Israel

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (September 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556434847
• ISBN-13: 978-1556434846
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to make peace in the world, March 11, 2004

By 

Elsie Wilson (Aberystwyth, Cymru) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation (Paperback)

A thoughtful analysis of the Israeli/Palestinian situation, with some concrete suggestions and affirmations about the way to achieve peace in that land. From the first, Lerher strongly affirms that he is not anti-Palestinian, nor anti-Israeli; the purpose of the book, and indeed of the Tikkun Community which he represents, is to show how it is possible to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine.

The main recommendation that Lerner has is one which really strikes the reader as illogical at first, though on thinking it through it becomes obvious that it is, in my opinion, the only possible real resolution to the situation. That recommendation ~ stronger than a recommendation really, an urging, a plea ~ is for non-violence; not just the absence of violence, but as an active means for change, as Mahatma Gandhi used it, or Martin Luther King, Jr. Lerner envisions this non-violence being used, first, by the Palestinians; this will have several results, all good. First,and most important, it will, eventually, work to convince the majority of Israelis who are open to conviction that they do not have anything to fear from the Palestinians, despite the Occupation of their land and the violence practised against them by the Israeli state. Second, it will have the effect of ostracising the minority of Palestinians who are wedded to violence as a way of life ~ or death ~ and make it clear again that they, and their trainers, are nothing more than common criminals, to be punished as such. A third result, stemming from the first, and Lerner's plea for the Israelis, is that Israel will be freed to pull back from the Occupation, the holding of the territories taken from the Palestinians during and since the Six Day War, in 1967.

This pulled-back position is what Tikkun envisions as the final, peaceful solution: Israel no longer occupying any of the land left to the Palestinians in 1948; Palestine as a fully functioning nation; neither permitting nor sponsoring violence against the other; both committed to living in peace and, perhaps even, harmony. Lerner is certainly not naïve enough to think that this result can occur with anything less than full commitment from both sides, and from others in the world too, most especially the United States of America. To aid in the attempt at rousing people to that full commitment to peace necessary for success, he includes a final section to the book, a series of questions that may well be asked ~ have been asked ~ by those unsure about the process, or the result, or the commitment. These questions and answers are perhaps the most valuable part of the book, in that they take away a lot of possible reasons for not acting; if you are not going to support the peace process with Tikkun you are going to have to come up with some other reasons why than the usual: The usual have been answered.

The other fascinating section is the first part of the book. In it, Lerner retells the story of Zionism and the settling of Palestine by Jews without making good guys or bad of either side. He asserts several times, that such a telling of history, without blame and making demons of the other side, is the prerequesite for any possible peace process.

Any possible peace process, i repeat, because it is quite clear that the programme laid out here is adaptable to any and all conflicts within the world ~ Kashmir, Congo, Iraq, the USA against the World ~ in all of them the first step towards true peace is a beginning of an understanding of the Other; the second is a complete commitment to non-violence as a means of conflict resolution.

Questions or doubts still may be harboured about the viability of Tikkun's programme; i confess that i am largely convinced through Lerner's writing.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but probably won't work, May 2, 2009

By 

S. R. Schnur "srschnur" (ME USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation (Paperback)

One thing one always notices about this conflict is that whose side one is on depends upon how far back in history one goes before starting the narrative. The author goes back and writes the history with understanding for both sides. Some of this is not exactly as I remember it, but I was reading news back here in the US, not participating in it. As I remember it, the people in the area, with the help of the UN wrested a sliver of a nation from the British occupiers and were immediately attacked by the Arabs. See what I mean?

This is why we MUST convince the warring parties to IGNORE the past. Each side has wronged the other too often to make any progress if they look backward. Each must present a vision for the future and negotiate only on that. Rabbi Lerner seems to think that protests can be done nonviolently. A big problem is how often non violence is met with violence. But this is a direction the parties must try to go.

Cross your fingers and, if you are inclined that way, pray for George Mitchell.

4 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting philosophy, but completely removed from reality, May 18, 2005

By 

A. Kahana (Ann Arbor, MI, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation (Paperback)

Lerner presents a utopian view of the Israeli/Arab conflict. It might make for feel-good philosophy, but has nothing to do with reality. The Israeli/Arab conflict is not one of "criminals" but a religious and national war. If everyone was as sane as Lerner proposes, we would never have gotten to this point. The Arabs opposed the establishment of Israel in 1948, and continued to oppose Israel to this day. Arabs controlled the West Bank and Gaza until 1967, yet they never established a Palestinian country there, and continued to attack Israel and try to destroy her. The war against Israel and the Jewish right to self determination is, and has always been, a religious Jihad against "infidels." As such, it cannot be reasoned with. Lerner presents an American, Western, idealistic, "progressive" utopian vision. It is utter nonsense. Don't waste your time or money on it - you will learn nothing useful, only mumbo-jumbo. Pretending that we all can "just get along" is not only wishful thinking, it also subscribes to the idea that truth is relative, righteousness is relative, and that all sides are equally correct. In my opinion, this is dangerous talk. Terrorists are not common criminals - they are much worse. And there is never, ever, ever any excuse for blowing up children on buses and in restaurants. And self defense against hostility and terrorism is not the same as aggression targetted at innocent civilians. This is the kind of nonsense that got us to this point in the first place.