The Case for Peace: How the ArabIsraeli Conflict Can be Resolved: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved

I just had to buy 'The Case for Peace' by Alan Dershowitz and he did not disappoint. It is truly sad that such an intelligent man has such a one sided view of the world. Yes, Mr Dershowitz suggests that peace can be obtained provided that the Palestinians accept the position of Israel completely. Moreover, because they never accepted the peace offered by Israel the last time they will have to suffer a little bit more and loose another few percentage of the crumbs on the table. Now all reasonable people must accept Mr Dershowitz's analysis because that is what reasonable people do. If you do not accept his arguments then you cannot be reasonable in fact you are unreasonable and all hell and damnation will be directed towards you.

I hoped that Mr Dershowitz would offer something new but sadly he does not. He stands by how good and generous Israel is. He suggests that they may have made a few errors in some minor proposals but the errors were not worth repeating or reviewing. Israel only wants to defend itself and be sure that it can continue to do so in the future. I suspect the Palestinians want the same. The Israelis have the right to peace and security as does the Palestinians but I only wish Alan Dershowitz was as forthright in defending both sides. His case fails because he is not brave in his ideas and he assumes that Israel has a strong desire for peace. Israel does have a strong desire for peace but on their terms and that is not acceptable to reasonable men and women.

He discounts the one state solution without any convincing arguments other than it would result in the development of another bad (my words) Muslim state and we seem to have many of them. In one of his previous book he makes his argument for why Israel has the right to exist. All reasonable men would agree with him or so he believes. I would argue that you should not create a new state from land that belongs to another people. You do not kick out millions of people from their own land and invite millions of your own people in to ensure numerical superiority. If he does not see the injustice in this then he certainly cannot argue for peace.

Mr Dershowitz argues that Israel is Jewish and democratic. It certainly is for the Jewish members but he cannot be serious in suggesting that the Arab citizens have the same rights and privileges. I would agree that Arabs citizens in Israel would prefer a truly democratic state and we need to ask why they cannot have it. He fails to correctly address the demographic issues that are developing inside Israel itself and how his peace proposals will affect the 20% of non Jewish citizens in Israel. Israel does seem to have a very good democratic state for its Jewish citizens but why can it not offer this to all the people of Palestine and I include the Jews in this. This model of democracy could be the basis of a one state solution the only difference is that it would be a secular democracy and not a Jewish democracy. Unfortunately Alan Dershowitz is too blind to even consider this possibility and because of this inability to think differently is why his peace (?) proposals are a non starter.

I also believe that he fails to address the rights that Jews have to emigrate to Palestine but there is no right of return for Palestinians. Is this not a double standard?

He also appears to support the Holocaust industry in their ability to extract compensation from Swiss Banks, The German Government or German Corporations. I wonder how much the poor wretched creatures have actually received. Part of the peace process will be obtaining compensation for all displaced people of Palestine. Mr Dershowitz would have made a very convincing argument if he has committed himself to obtain the maximum amount of compensation for all involved. He has the legal skill and knowledge to do this but sadly he does not commit himself to this element of the peace process.

Alan Dershowitz appears two faced with this book. His language may appear very reasonable and he continually impresses upon the reader how reasonable men would accept his arguments but unfortunately he comes across as a wolf in sheep clothing.

He argues that the Arabs, the Europeans, the South Americans etc are all bad and they are the reason why peace cannot be made. He writes extensively about how much hatred there is towards Israel and the Jews. When he writes about this hatred it concerns me because there is truth is his observations and because of that I have concerns for the safety of Israel and the Jews just I have concerns for the millions of Palestinians. All of us need to think about how we reassure and work with Israel and Jews on how to obtain peace but it has to be a just peace for all. The proposals by Alan Dershowitz of how peace can be obtained are humiliating to the Palestinians and I suspect he knows this. Is he really a man for peace or is he just the mouthpiece of a strong and selfish position?

An Excellent Read!!! (12/20 people found this helpful)

The Case for Peace is an extremely worthwhile contribution to the debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Beginning with an examination of thirteen apparent geopolitical barriers to peace - these include Israeli counterterrorist operations, the security fence, the division of Jerusalem and the Iranian nuclear threat - Dershowitz suggests how these bulwarks can be overcome. In this respect, the sub-division of the book makes it particularly accessible, and it is enhanced further by the author's writing style and clarity, which are both exceptional.

Moreover, in analysing the above issues, Dershowitz does not flinch away from criticising Israeli policies when he believes such censure is appropriate. Indeed, there is even a specific section in the book in which he criticises right-wing Israeli settlers, politicians and religious leaders. (Dershowitz himself is hardly a neo-conservative; he opposed the re-election of President Bush and the war in Iraq.)

Therefore, only those with uncompromising, pre-conceived and parochial ideas are likely to be disappointed with this book (see the original reviewer, for example, who clearly hasn't bothered to read it). Ultimately, if you want a well-written and balanced perspective on the Middle East, this book is an excellent starting point.

Do not buy this book (9/30 people found this helpful)

How such a well respected academic can write a book that is clearly rubbish and have it accepted as good scholarship is beyond me. The only redeming feature about this book is the skill which dershowitz uses in weaving his lies together. Nearly all of the material that used in this book is twisted by him to exhonerate Israel form any wrong doing. But it is not this but the fact that he dose not even attempt to answer any of the questions he puts forward, insteasd choosing to use the pages to score points against the people he percives as being anti-Isreali, that make this book totally worthless. If you actullay want to learn something about the Arab-Isreali conflict read Edward Said, Norman Finkelstein or Noam chomsky (in that order).

The Case for Peace: How the ArabIsraeli Conflict Can be Resolved: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved

Alan Dershowitz

Reader Reviews:

Man of Peace? (0/0 people found this helpful)

An Excellent Read!!! (12/20 people found this helpful)

Do not buy this book (9/30 people found this helpful)

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