When it comes to the political situation in Israel, particularly in regard with the Palestinian population, most of the books are either black or white, up to the ideological affiliation of the writers. If unsure a book is worth, or not, your time and your money, you only have to Google the author and you can easily figure out which orientation he or she has and the main thesis and assumptions are almost crystal clear.
It is a pityful pathetic intellectual situation, but this is how things are. After all, it is not bad to take sides, but the ideological sides are very narrow and obstruct the real view, particularly when it comes to Israel. Although I have my own view - narrow also - about the 'situation', I realized that I need more understanding and insights from the 'other side' therefore when offered the chance to get an ARC from Nir Baram book, I decided to take the challenge and offer myself the opportunity of a different lecture.
I think that one of the mistakes done in this case, either you are right or ('wrong') left is that we are tempted to ignore arguments and look only for the over-validation of our points of view. But if you are curious by nature, this is not enough, and things may change as people can change too.
In the tradition of Amos Oz and David Grossman, Nir Baram is visiting Palestinian villages and inquires about what future stays ahead for the relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Unfortunately he doesn't look necessarily to answer his questions with new questions, but there are interesting facts revealed that may help to do your own further research. Like, for instance, how happened that in Betlehem the percentage of Chrisian Arabs decreased, a fact noticed by the author but not worth the effort of a serious journalistic research. The book is less ideological than expected though therefore, especially if you are curious to gather arguments and even get a sociological overview of the profile of the Palestinian leaders and their background there are some good information to take from it, although parsimoniously.
As for the future, is very unclear after so many chances were missed or peace plans were drawn without taking into consideration the local dynamic. Personally, I keep my assumption that in order to build a state you need elites and if there is any serious research that will show me the potential of a Palestinian elite able to take over the state bureaucracy and lead it to the creation of a modern - not terror-based state - I am more than happy to take the challenge. Otherwise, we are not taking about a dream but a scary nightmare.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
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