Recommended Reads: Conflict in the Middle East

As this year’s round of Mideast peace negotiations have been underway under President Obama’s watch, most of us wonder what kinds of solutions there could ever be to the serious problems these leaders and their populations face.

According to MSNBC.com in its coverage of the September peace negotiations held in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once a fervent opponent of Palestinian statehood “wants negotiations to succeed after 17 years of failed attempts. He also called for creative solutions to complicated problems…”

Abbas’ view in regard to Israeli restrictions on most West Bank settlement construction last November, is that “…anything but an extension of the current slowdown is unacceptable.”  According to the Islamic militant Hamas group, Abbas does not have the right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.  As of late October, according to CNN.com, Mideast Peace talks have stalled over Israeli construction on disputed land.

What is the history behind some of these issues, causing these deadlocks? You may want to understand more about how the current crisis evolved as you read through the daily headlines. Now we have major political unrest in Egypt to add to the region’s unrest. For readers interested in learning some of the background behind the conflict in the Middle East, these titles may be of interest.

Recorded cassette (RC), digital book (DB), and braille (BR) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these titles.

Prepared by Linda Rossman, Reference Services Librarian
Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat
RC 65740, DB 65740 (BARD Download)
A young woman from Ramallah describes her childhood memories from 1967 to 1971.  She recalls Islamic traditions, visits to relatives, family celebrations, being detained by Israeli soldiers, the Six-Day War, and the fears that constantly stalked her as a Muslim living in Israel. Some violence. For junior and senior high readers. 2007.

The Case for Israel by Alan M. Dershowitz
RC 59972, DB 59972 (BARD Download)
Famed Harvard law professor and author of The Vanishing American Jew (RC 45524) justifies Israel’s "right to exist, to protect its citizens...and to defend its borders." Reviews the history of Middle East conflict and refutes what he claims are "contentious and one-sided accusations" that vilify Israel and its culture. 2003. 

Where God Was Born: A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion by Bruce S. Feiler
RC 61658, DB 61658 (BARD Download)
The author of Walking the Bible (RC 52171) journeys to Israel, Iraq, and Iran with Israeli archaeologist Avner Goren. Feiler reinterprets accounts of Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land, David and Goliath, the capture of Jericho, and the prophets while contemplating religious intolerance. 2005.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce S. Feiler
RC 54940, DB 54940 (In Process)
The author of Walking the Bible (RC 52171) returns to the Middle East on a personal quest to better understand Abraham, the common ancestor of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. This travelog mixed with theological meditations shows how the three religions’ differing interpretations of Abraham have sparked interfaith disagreements for years. Bestseller. 2002.

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman
RC 30222, DB 30222 (BARD Download)
For about ten years, Friedman, an American Jew, lived in the Middle East. He provides a brief historical background, then writes of Beirut, drawing portraits of such persons as Yasir Arafat and Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. He also describes Jerusalem, discusses Israeli politics in the 1980s, and analyzes Israeli policies toward the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. An account of how the past affects the present and confounds the future. Bestseller. 1989.

Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism by Dore Gold
RC 55888, DB 55888 (BARD Download)
Former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations discusses the hidden political agenda of Saudi Arabia. Concludes that the radical Islamic creed of Wahhabism has influenced Saudi rulers to support global terrorists, including Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. 2003.

Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across the Middle East Divide by Jeffrey Goldberg
RC 64275, DB 64275 (BARD Download)
A journalist recounts his experiences as an American Jew in Israel and the friendship that he established with Rafiq, a Palestinian prisoner. Goldberg describes the desert prison camp where he served as a military guard and initiated a debate with Rafiq on the conflict between Muslims and Jews. Strong language. 2006.

Death As a Way of Life: Israel Ten Years After Oslo by David Grossman
RC 56948, DB 56948
Essays by an Israeli author in response to the escalating regional violence in the decade since signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords--a supposed framework for peace--by Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasir Arafat. Grossman comments on further peace negotiations and disappointments, terrorist attacks, and possibilities for a harmonious coexistence. 2003.

Autumn of Fury:  The Assassination of Sadat by Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal
BR 5680
A former editor of the Cairo daily Al Ahram offers a controversial analysis of the leadership failings of Anwar Sadat, which left the Egyptian president virtually unmourned in his own land after his assassination in 1981. Haykal argues that Sadat had isolated himself in the Arab world, achieving Western "superstar" status, but failed to meet Egypt’s many needs.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem: Passion and Politics by Lesley Hazleton
BR 6306
The author arrives in Jerusalem in 1964, an idealistic twenty-year-old fresh from the peace marches in England. She describes how she is both attracted and repelled by a land fraught with hatred and racism built on resentment and fanaticism. Some descriptions of sex. 1986.

The Great Arab Conquests:  How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy
RC 67462, DB 67462
Chronicles Arab Muslim conquests in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe that occurred from 632 C.E., following the death of the prophet Muhammad, to 750 C.E. Interprets early Arabic accounts of the events to describe the battles, settlements, and conversion of the lands and peoples. 2007.

American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945 by Douglas Little
RC 55918, DB 55918 (In Process)
A history professor explores attitudes, interests, and issues underlying United States-Middle East relationships since World War II. Focuses on America’s stereotypes about the region and the unintended consequences of cultural misunderstandings. Also examines U.S. foreign policy, oil, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and increased nationalism in Middle Eastern countries. 2002.

Battling for Peace: A Memoir by Shimon Peres
RC 42514
In this account, written before he became prime minister following the death of Yitzhak Rabin, Peres portrays himself as both victor and victim. Peres explains how he was influenced by David Ben-Gurion and became part of his cabinet and how from then on politics became a major part of his life, including a time as prime minister prior to Rabin. He also discusses his part in Israeli peace agreements. 1995.

Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography by Barry M. Rubin
RC 57851, DB 57851 (BARD Download)
Journalists portray the man who became leader of the Palestinian nationalist movement in 1959 when he founded Fatah. Using interviews and archival materials, they analyze his upbringing, his early military experiences, and the development of his reputation as a revolutionary and survivor, focusing on the elusive man himself. Includes chronology, glossary, and bibliography. 2003.

The People of Nowhere: The Palestinian Vision of Home by Danny Rubinstein
RC 34390
Rubinstein, an Israeli journalist for more than twenty years, examines the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis that has affected their country for almost fifty years. Using messages found in Palestinian poetry and prose as well as established facts, he assesses both people’s ideas of homeland, discusses the contested issues, and suggests glimmers of hope.  1991.

Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine by Raja Shehadeh
RC 55285, DB 55285 (BARD Download)
A Palestinian lawyer residing in Ramallah recounts his family’s reactions to the Israeli military occupation of their homeland while he was growing up. His memoir explores his unresolved relationship with his politically active father, who was murdered in 1985. Discusses his ideological problems with the continuing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Some strong language. 2002.

Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David K. Shipler
RC 25164, DB 25164 (BARD Download)
As the New York Times Jerusalem correspondent, the author focuses a canny journalistic eye on the Israeli people, who lead lives complicated by long histories, bitter feuds, and complex identities. He also concentrates on the images and stereotypes the Arabs and Jews have of each other and on the fears those images evoke. A vivid portrait of two peoples sharing everything except peace.  1986.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
RC 63875, DB 63875 (BARD Download)
Traces the dialog between Palestinian Bashir and Dalia--the daughter of Bulgarian Jewish refugees who have occupied Bashir’s parents’ home in Ramla, Israel, since 1948. Details their families’ histories and the younger generation’s 1967 encounter. Ponders the future of the region, symbolized by the lemon tree Bashir’s father planted. Violence. 2006.

Exile's Return: The Making of a Palestinian American by Fawaz Turki
RC 42389
The author of Soul in Exile (RC 30375) returns to Israel some forty years after his family’s 1948 expulsion. He interweaves his impressions of his homeland with memoirs of his intervening odyssey: Beirut, the Australian outback, Katmandu, and the United States. Despite his roots, he is critical of Palestinian mores and the PLO. 1994.

Israelis and Palestinians: Why Do They Fight? Can They Stop? by Bernard Wasserstein
BR 15231, RC 57256, DB 57256 (BARD Download)
A history professor offers reasons for the conflict in Israel other than ethnic and religious differences. Posits that neither Jews nor Arabs "are animated by crazed psychopathy" but rather fight over definable interests. Suggests that multifaceted analysis of demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and territorial dimensions of the struggle may facilitate a peaceful resolution. 2003.

A Portrait of Egypt:  A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam by Mary Anne Weaver
RC 53014
A journalist with more than twenty years of experience in the Middle East, Weaver provides insights into the public and private aspects of a society where militant Islam is on the rise. Contains observations on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, and the Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. 1999.

Egypt by Selina Wood
BR 17661
This overview of the land of pyramids along the Nile River covers Egypt’s history but focuses on modern geography, natural resources, festivals, family life, and political and economic facts. For grades 3-6. 2007.

Dreams and Shadows:  The Future of the Middle East by Robin Wright
RC 68842, DB 68842
Wright, a veteran reporter covering the Middle East, reflects on thirty years of changes in the Muslim world and ponders a future influenced by technology, demographics, and globalization. Captures opinions from Palestinians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Syrians, Iranians, and Moroccans about their respective countries. Also discusses the U.S. presence in Iraq. 2008.