The Path to Geneva: The Quest for a Permanent Agreement, 1996-2004 [Hardcover]

Yossi Beilin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

From the early days of the secret Oslo talks through the recent crises and new developments in Israel and Palestine, Yossi Beilin has been at the center of it all. This book highlights his intensive and historic meetings with President Clinton, Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, Hosni Mubarek, King Hussein of Jordan and Madeleine Albright, as well as Beilin’s crucial connections with such seminal Arab leaders as Yassir Arafat, Saeb Erikot, Faisal Husseini and the first prime minister of “Palestine,” Abu Mazen. The Beilin-Mazen agreements are the basis of the current “road map” to Middle East peace.

The reader is carried with Beilin to Bill Clinton’s Oval Office, Mubarek’s Cairo, Hussein’s Amman, and many other centers of global power—becoming privy to historic encounters and the surprising details of those negotiations, both public and secret.

In Path, we learn how Beilin came to be this world leader in search of peace, how he overcame all the inherent difficulties, how he interfaced with world leaders and how he sees a solution to this ancient problem that creates a fair resolution for all sides.

This book is an extremely important and inspiring document, giving hope via pragmatism and the personal will of a dedicated, brilliant diplomat and visionary participant in this most challenging of arenas.

Dr. Yossi Beilin served as Israel’s Minister of Justice from 1999 to 2001. A member of the Knesset for 11 years, Beilin has held ministerial positions in the governments of Rabin, Peres and Barak. He is a leading proponent of the peace process and initiated the secret talks resulting in the ’93 Oslo Accords. He is the author of several books, including Israel: A Concise Political History, Touching Peace, and The Manual For Leaving Lebanon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beilin, a member of Israel's Knesset and former government minister, was an architect of the 1993 Oslo accords; here he offers a comprehensive but dry insider's view of the recent years of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. Beilin's account accords with his image as a true believer in negotiations who has tried to bridge the gap between the two sides. He devotes much of the book to a blow-by-blow description of the failed attempts to make peace, critical of both the Palestinians and Israeli leftist leaders such as Ehud Barak; he regards the latter as well-meaning but flawed. But he saves most of his criticism for Israeli hawks like Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he sees as determined to avoid an agreement at any cost. The last chapter is the most vivid, as Beilin assesses why the peace process went off track: the Palestinian failure to fight anti-Israel incitement and Israel's failure to realize that ongoing settlement building would be seen by the Palestinians as a sign of lack of seriousness about making peace. But for Beilin, a confirmed optimist, the sign that peace is still possible is the Geneva Accord he helped negotiate in 2001 with a group of Palestinian leaders—the text is included in an appendix—and fellow optimists will learn much from Beilin's account. Map.
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Review

"Beilin’s recollections should be required reading for anyone interested in the search for peace in the Middle East." -- Jimmy Carter

"[Path] shows that civil society in Israel and the West Bank is still alive and refuses to give into pessimism." -- Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times, November 2003

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: RDV Books (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097192063X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971920637
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,966,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars The Path to Geneva leads nowhere, January 27, 2012

By 

Matthew Smith "Roger Mexico" (TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Path to Geneva: The Quest for a Permanent Agreement, 1996-2004 (Hardcover)

I bought this book because Yossi Beilin is a long time peace warrior. He has been in the middle of some of the most important negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and is the architect of the first comprehensive peace agreement between these two peoples. His story is as compelling as his accomplishments, and the reason I bought this book is to here this man's story. I wanted to hear his story about his experiences in the negotiating rooms, and more importantly I wanted to hear his side of the Geneva Accords. I wanted to know what it was like trying to hold peace talks during the second Intifada and the premiership of Sharon. I wanted to know what it was like fighting for peace at a time when peace had never seemed so distant, and what it was like pursuing this peace in the wake of an Israeli government more suited for war than peace and very much opposed to his actions.

I wanted the insiders account that only Mr. Beilin could offer, instead what he delivers is nothing more than an analysis of negotiations held by other people. He discusses the Oslo Accords, Camp David and the Taba talks in great detail but not so much as a participant but as an outside observer. The main problem is that hundreds of books have been written analyzing these negotiations by historians, political scientists, participants, ect that this book begs the question of why should anyone read this one. The author doesn't go into any detail of his own experiences but leaves these outside, instead deciding to focus on what other people did. I have read numerous books written by those that did participate in the actual discussions, and I have also read books that analysts that discuss these talks from the outside, and so I found myself unable to figure out a reason to read yet another book that did not give me the unique perspective of the author, instead what I got was his perspective on what the other participants did. I can get this from a hundred other sources.

The author's take on Barak and the Palestinians is not new or particularly inciteful. His take on Camp David provides no insights, and as for Taba any reader would be much better off reading Shlomo Ben-Ami or Gilead Sher. There are just better books that cover these same areas.

The biggest failing is the lack of discussion about the Geneva Accords. I still don't understand why there was no focus on one of his biggest achievements. The book would have redeemed itself with just forty or fifty pages devoted to this topic but it wasn't to be. In the end I can't and don't recommend this book. There are better books out there that cover the same issues in a much more astute way. His is an opinion peace that doesn't have enough weight.

5.0 out of 5 stars A consummate work on negotiation, April 18, 2010

By 

Aaron M. Slattery "Medic 1" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Path to Geneva: The Quest for a Permanent Agreement, 1996-2004 (Hardcover)

This book is a true insiders guide on how negotiation is done. Even if you aren't particularly interested in the question of settlement, the principles of REAL conflict resolution and negotiation can be applied to CEO's or everyday life. Yosse's determination and commitment to the process demonstrates that the individuals involved in the process are almost as important as the point in question.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Posiblity for Peace Still Exists, September 8, 2005

By 

OddsyGirl (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Path to Geneva: The Quest for a Permanent Agreement, 1996-2004 (Hardcover)

This book provides a great insight into the quest for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The author is an Israeli government insider having been a member of the Knesset and the cabinet. He was involved in the negotiations for peace. He gives an inspiring view of the moderate Israeli fight to create a permanent solution to the 50 years of war.

This book takes a real view to the end of negotiations and the reality of the second intifada. The author holds out for negotiations to begin again and knows that when they do there is no reason to start the peace process again, but should start with the agreements reached in Taba in 2001. Or the posibility exists that negotiations could be based on the authors own personal negotiations that continued beyond Taba, the Geneva Agreement.

After reading this book, I was happy to see that there are both Israelis and Palestinians who have continued to work on hammering out the differences that were left after the end of official negotiations. It gave me a sense that the possiblity for peace can still be a reality.