middle east

A necessary addition to the pantheon of books on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Those who try to brand the author a "self-hater" or "anti-semite" or "Arafat supporter" have not read it or will not listen to anything critical of Israeli policy. The Arafat described in this book is a malign thug who asks young men to do his dirtywork while he grants favors, more mafioso than liberator. He has a willing counterpart in the Sharon described here, whose entire power base is dependant on continuing both the Arab apartheid and the conflict.

Mr Ben Cramer has spent a great deal of time in Israel, both the 1948 settlements and the "occupied" zones. He clearly demonstrates how the occupation of lands won in the six-day war led to a fracturing of Israeli society, ending what had been a Social Republic and forming a tribal, disunited and reactionary state. There are also examples in the book on how the Israeli business climate is now dependant on fostering the continuing struggle and how Israeli society is unable to adapt to a peace setting. The book rightly condemns atrocities by both Arabs and Israelis, with many harrowing examples from both sides. Recommended for all concerned citizens with an open mind, it does not demonize but illuminates.

Though Richard Ben Cramer's analysis would hardly raise eyebrows in Israel, where many people agree that the solution to the conflict -- if not the political will to achieve it -- is very simple, it is very difficult to discuss it in this country, where there is a very narrow definition, in public discourse, of what it means to be pro-Israel. Cramer believes, along with many Israeli intellectuals, that Israeli aggression against the Palestinians whose territory it has occupied since 1967, is hurting Israel, both militarily and morally. His beautiful stories about the victims on both sides of this tragedy are compassionate and compelling. The book has had rave reviews in the Denver Post, Washingtonian magazine, the Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, New York Review of Books (by the great Israeli intellectual Amos Elon), and other publications. But it's best to read it for yourself....you can't trust anyone to read a book on this subject and discuss it fairly and honestly. The argument is too polarized.

Cramer's book is a crude diatribe that is superficial, often sloppy, and badly one-sided. His insults of Israel's leaders and contempt for its citizens betray him as a one-sided hack disguised as a journalist. This book has one audience only: left wing supporters of suicide bombers and other terrorists. Anyone with a mind will see it for what it is: a joke!