Walled: Israeli Society at an Impasse (Paperback)

by Sylvain Cypel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This scathing indictment probes Israel's soul as much as the substance of its treatment of the Palestinians. Cypel, a Le Monde editor and a Jew who lived in Israel for many years, revisits crucial episodes in the Arab-Israeli conflict, from the expulsion of Palestinians during the 1948 War of Independence to the controversial 2000 Camp David negotiations whose failure led to the current intifada. Citing Israeli scholars, Cypel debunks the standard Israeli accounts and pillories what he contends is Israel's systematic repression of Palestinians in the occupied territories. From this somewhat haphazard critique (the book presupposes extensive knowledge of Israeli history and politics), he explores the ideology and mentality behind Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. His diagnosis is dire: a deep-seated "denial of reality" marked by anti-Arab racism, an irrational sense of victimization and an obsession with military security at the expense of political compromise, leading to a pervasive "brutalization" of society; "as [Israel] goes from victory to victory, the country is being morally destroyed." (Cypel takes some swipes at the Palestinians, but clearly feels that Israel bears more responsibility for the impasse.) Cypel's book can be heavy going—contentious, rambling, repetitive and full of dense psychologizing. Still, his is an impassioned, often perceptive challenge to the Israeli consensus. (June)
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From The New Yorker
In this survey of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (translated anonymously from the French), Cypel, an editor at Le Monde who spent twelve years in Israel, writes with the ardor of a believer and the critical eye of a distant observer, producing a nuanced assault on the blindness and inertia that have afflicted both sides. Cypel is a harsh critic of the failures of Palestinian leadership—he excoriates the "Oriental despot" Arafat and the "impotent" regime he built—but believes that Israel needs to be saved from its own incipient brutalization. This process, which he carefully documents, is marked by a "cult of force," a denial of history, an obsession with security at the expense of human rights, and a shocking willingness to discuss, publicly, the forcible cleansing of Palestinians from Israeli territory. These are symptoms of occupation, Cypel argues, and they can be cured only by its end.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 534 pages
• Publisher: Other Press (June 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590512103
• ISBN-13: 978-1590512104
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #560,207 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars needed perspective, June 19, 2007

By	Michael Nathanson "book lover" (san jose ca) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unlike most of books on the topic of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, this one concentrates primarily on Israeli mentality and and attitudes towards the Palestinians. Israelis have trained themselves to be immune to the injustices perpetrated by them through the process of denial of facts in evidence and through the well adavanced sense and propaganda of victimhood. Cypel agrees that the sense of victimhood and inability to see the concerns of the 'other' is plaguing the Palestinians as well but without question their reasons by far outweigh those of the Israelis. The book is extremely well written, well documented and painfully honest. The first reviewer in this forum gave the book one star. Don't be fooled. On scanning her other reviews she has given ALL books criticising Israel one star and those in support of Israel 5 stars. This book is not meant to comfort or assuage the reader, on the contrary- it ought to rile him or her against the monstrosity of a 40 year occupation.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Analysis, July 1, 2007

By	A.Rem - See all my reviews

This book is a good analysis of two "cultures" -- the culture of denial and the culture of force -- that characterize Israeli society today. It shows the way the army and the educational system in Israel greatly reinforce this approach to life. They help Israelis totally ignore the reality and the "personhood" of their blood brothers, the Palestinians, who live and suffer at their hands on the other side of the wall. It's witty, too --a good read and terribly important for an understanding of where Israel and, in fact, the US, are today.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Political and social issues blend in an analysis suitable for college-level collections, July 27, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Any collection strong in Israeli modern issues and society needs to include WALLED as a top lending pick: it considers the modern state of mind of Israeli's citizens, offering up a history of Israel which moves from the roots of Zionist thinking to the state's construction and the history and current state of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. The 'wall of protection' of the West Bank is a physical symbol of Israeli society in danger, argues Cypel, a senior editor at Le Monde who has extensive background in media analysis and politics. Political and social issues blend in an analysis suitable for college-level collections, but accessible to public library patrons as well.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch