Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Council of Foreign Relations) [Paperback]

Donna E. Arzt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 087609194X | ISBN-13: 978-0876091944 | Publication Date: February 1997

This timely book offers a blueprint for resolving what is often called the most intractable subject in the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations: a just and permanent solution to the problem of over 3 million Palestinian refugees.

In a hard-hitting, yet balanced and dispassionate analysis, Donna Arzt advocates that the end of the Middle East conflict can only be achieved when all Palestinian refugees are offered citizenship, compensation for lost property, and voluntary absorption options in either a future state of Palestine, other Arab states in the region, the broader international community, or, on family reunification grounds, repatriation in Israel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an excellent piece of work, the first that I know of that is such a comprehensive examination of the Palestine refugee issue. It is a valuable contribution that will be useful to both specialists in the field of Middle East and refugee studies as well as to generalists." Don Peretz, SUNY, Binghamton -- Don Peretz, SUNY, Binghamton

Refugees Into Citizens offers an unprecedented blueprint for resolving what is often called the "last taboo" in the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations: a just and permanent solution to the problem of over three million Palestinian refugees. Refugees Into Citizens advocates offering Palestinian refugees dual citizenship, compensation for lost property, and/or voluntary absorption options in either a future state of Palestine, other Arab sties in the region, the broader international community, or, on family reunification grounds, reparation in Israel. Refugees Into Citizens argues that compensation should be based on a "no fault" assumption, and that all involved parties share equal responsibility for refugee absorption. Refugees Into Citizens is a challenging and valuable addition to the continuing international debate on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

A Council on Foreign Relations Book

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087609194X
• ISBN-13: 978-0876091944
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,919,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars An idea whose time has unfortunately passed, November 1, 2006

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Anthony Calabrese (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Council of Foreign Relations) (Paperback)

First a disclaimer -- Professor Arzt was a professor of mine so anything I say about this book should be read in that context.

She looks at the history of the refugee crisis, from the begining of the Irsaeli Arab wars to the post-Oslo period. I found the histroical sections straigth forward and informative. While pro-Israeli, she does not sugar coat the past.

Professor Arzt called for an end to the Palestinian crisis by the radical step of making Palestinians citizens of their own state (on the West Bank and Gaza), but also citizens of the states where they reside. She would allow a limited number of older Palestinians to return to Israel, but also move many of the Palestinian refugees out of Lebanon. All Palestinians would be given a passport of the Palestinian state. Those who live in other states (Israel, other Arab states or elsewhere) would also be make a citizen of that state. Emminently reasonable, which is why her proposal was attacked by both sides for strongly. Unfortunately, I fear the solution is no longer viable following 9/11, Iraq, the Intifada and the Israeli-Hezbullah war.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Abdicating Academic and Moral Responsibility, January 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Council of Foreign Relations) (Paperback)

Another book about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict written in the grand American tradition of equivocation. Perhaps this would be a good book for someone so brainwashed by American pro-Israeli media that he or she could not stomache any large portion of the truth. Worse still, it tries to present itself as an even-handed account. But it leaves the larger issues entirely untouched, in order to preserve a false symmetry of guilt between the two sides. For every politically sensitive and contentious issue (such as the cause of the 1948 exodux), the author's response is something along the lines of-- well, people disagree about this issue too much to resolve it here. She forgets that disagreement does not imply a lack of one singular truth, nor does contention and political sensitivity absolve a researcher of her responsibility to try to discern that truth. But I suppose I can expect no more from a tradition of political writing that protrays as equivalent two sides of greatly different power and culpability, at best out of an asthetic desire for symmetry, and at worse, out of a a desire to use protestations of objectivity to obfuscate controversial humanitarian outrages.