Working for Peace
al., Everett Mendelsohn et
Working for Peace A COMPASSIONATE PEACE: A FUTURE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST A report prepared for the American Friends Service Committee by Everett Mendelsohn, Arthur Day, Joseph Elder, Marcia...
...Though what was thought "radical" and "naively idealistic" in 1970 seems thoroughly reasonable and pragmatic today, it was with great anticipation that I read A Compassionate Peace: A Future for the Middle East...
...An important perspective included is the effect of the role of occupier on the Israeli psyche...
...The authors repeat the question raised by a growing number of Israelis: "Where in the dreams of the Zionist founders of Israel was there a vision of Israel as an army of occupation...
...Heralded by many as the definitive contribution by the American pe,ace movement toward a better understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it was also met by a wave of denunciations, often bordering on hysteria, and frequently was the victim of gross misrepresentations...
...Not unaware of the historic bellicosity of Arab rulers toward the Jewish state, the authors address questions of Israel's security needs in a sensitive and practical manner...
...A particularly important chapter deals with a practical overview of various peace proposals and a discussion of how a Palestinian state on the West Bank and in Gaza could become a gradual reality...
...The Friends have once again done a great service in furthering our understanding of the mosaic of Middle Eastern conflicts...
...Those of us who have always doubted the popular claim that the Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank has been humane and beneficial for the area's inhabitants, yet were equally suspicious of the propaganda of pro-Palestinian groups, will appreciate the chapter on the occupied territories...
...t has been twelve years since the publication of Search for Peace in the Middle East, the pioneering study by the American Friends Service Committee...
...Sensitive and useful, if incomplete, analyses of the situation in Iran and Afghanistan are included as well...
...In its place is a firm belief that the parties of the conflict are themselves capable of reaching a solution...
...226 pp...
...Yet because there is so much at stake, it is important that we educate ourselves to do so...
...12.95 hardcover...
...6.95 paperback...
...Hill and Wang...
...Specifically, they suggest that the United States "could reduce U.S...
...Less popular is the Friends' belief that Israel's real security interests—and ultimately its survival— depend not on belligerence, military occupation, and weapons acquisitions, but on a willingness to live in peace with its neighbors...
...The chapter on Lebanon is especially informative and should help erase the gross misunderstanding of the origins of that tragic conflict...
...Like the issue of abortion, where strong emotions often taint the legitimate arguments of both sides, the Middle East often seems too much to take on in a balanced, rational, and hopeful manner...
...Stephen Zunes (Stephen Zunes is a graduate student at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington...
...Working for Peace A COMPASSIONATE PEACE: A FUTURE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST A report prepared for the American Friends Service Committee by Everett Mendelsohn, Arthur Day, Joseph Elder, Marcia Sfeir-Cormie, and Gail Pressberg...
...disapproval of Israel's claim to full sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza...
...According to the introduction, its bias is "toward people and against arms, toward peace and against strife and suffering, toward justice and against fear and insecurity...
...While the undertaking is clearly too much for a single volume, they have succeeded remarkably well...
...A Compassionate Peace can be a valuable tool in that process...
...They are highly critical of U.S...
...He has traveled extensively in the Middle East...
...The final chapters deal with the geopolitical elements of the conflict, the politics of oil, the arms race (including the risks of nuclear proliferation), the roles of the United States and the Soviet Union, and specific proposals for the development of a more rational policy for the major powers...
...The authors give a concise but thoroughly documented overview of a situation that many Americans would rather not hear about: repression in the occupied territories...
...On the threat of terrorism, they observe that Israeli air strikes in Lebanon against civilian targets are no less a moral outrage than Palestinian commando raids against Israel...
...Though it fails to pay adequate attention to the fascist roots of the Phalangist movement—the major "Christian" faction—or the need for the secularization of the Lebanese political system, it helps dispel the myth that the conflict in Lebanon is primarily a sectarian one...
...As typical of Quaker writings on controversial issues, A Compassionate Peace is reasonable and moderate, almost excessively so...
...aid in proportion to Israeli expenditures for West Bank settlements as a strong symbolic representation of U.S...
...Despite implications from its opponents to the contrary, the AFSC has consistently held that recognition of Israel and guarantees to its security should be a cornerstone of any solution to the conflict...
...The AFSC recognizes the need for both Israel and the United States to negotiate directly with the Palestine Liberation Organization...
...unwillingness to oppose Israeli initiatives in the occupied territories, especially the settlement policies...
...One apparent shift from the AFSC's position in its 1970 publication is its decreased emphasis on the role of outside mediators...
...Such concern is no less emphasized today...
Vol. 46 • July 1982 • No. 7
