LA Times Book Review - 'Just another rant about the Mideast'

[Englander]

# The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved;
Alan Dershowitz; John Wiley & Sons: 246 pp., $22.95

By Amy Wilentz, Special to The Times

ON the subject of Israel, Alan Dershowitz writes in a white heat, and what he's defending is not always so much Israel but himself. His latest book, "The Case for Peace," is a mishmash of quotes, screed and rant; it's topped by a Dostoevskyan assault on Dershowitz's detractors, a cabal — as he sees it — of entrenched anti-Semites. In his final obsessive pages of attack and vitriol — which, one suspects, are the real reasons Dershowitz put together this compilation of unoriginal ideas and arguments — he sounds like a mad Russian prophet who has been stalked beyond human patience by a rabble of doppelgängers who will not let him be.

Before reading this book, I had always had faith in a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine sharing the land, with an established border and real sovereignty for both. But reading Dershowitz defend it with intemperate, ill-considered rhetoric and poor argumentation made me begin to appreciate how others might have come to question it — even to reject it.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the world's most intractable problems, one that at times has seemed to threaten the security not only of the people of the Middle East but also of the wider world. The struggle dates back to artificial borders drawn in the region by European leaders after World War I and the tragic displacement of European Jews after World War II. It's as if a little piece of those world crises has continued to fester long after much of the rest of the world has moved on.

In this book, Dershowitz provides many old, uninteresting answers to already asked questions. The way he looks at every problem is skewed by his fierce love of Israel — never quite stated but always in evidence — and his almost total adherence to Israeli government policy.



More at;
Los Angeles Times

[barb162]

1. praise for "The Case for Peace" starting with Clinton

"Alan Dershowitz brings his exceptional skills as a legal and political thinker to this concise and compelling argument for Middle Eastern peace. The simple chord that resonates through the complex scenarios described in The Case For Peace is one of decency and respect—for Palestinians, for Israelis, and, ultimately, for humanity itself. With an eye toward shared benefits and lasting resolution, Dershowitz offers a pragmatic proposal rooted in the lessons of the past and the opportunities of the present. Hopeful and wise, the blueprint for stability presented in this book is among the best in recent years."

President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States




Alan Dershowitz has been on the forefront of making the case for Israel and against terrorism. Now he turns his attention to making the case for peace. He understands, as I do, how difficult it is to achieve peace with security. He confronts these difficulties with insight and with the benefit of years of experience.

Ariel Sharon




Alan Dershowitz's The Case For Peace is a sober, pragmatic and yet enthusiastic voice for peace between Israel and Palestine, to be based not on sentimentalist wishful thinking and not on dogmatic theorizing but on realism and empathy. I read it with thrill.
Amos Oz, Author





Alan Dershowitz has done it again! Just as he brilliantly presented the Case for Israel, he has cogently argued that now is the time for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, with the passing of Yasser Arafat and the democratic election of Mahmoud Abbas. The Case for Peace, like the Case for Israel, takes aim at Israel’s enemies, but Alan Dershowitz now recognizes that the enemies of peace, in the extremist camp of the Palestinians and Israel, are also enemies of an Israel that deserves to have peace within secure borders next to a Palestinian state. He properly takes special aim at those American academics who insist that only a one state solution will provide justice for Palestinians, a certain prescription for the end of Israel as a Jewish state.

Stuart Eizenstadt, Former Senior Official in the Carter and Clinton Administrations

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http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/dershowitz/praise.html

[Violet_Crumble]

2. After reading 'The Case For Israel'...

It sounds like this new book is more of the same. The Case For Israel had him arguing like he was defending Israel in a criminal trial, and I thought most of his arguments were flawed and all his efforts were focused on painting the Palestinians as the enemy, while Israel was the totally innocent victim. And all he did from what I remember was parrot the talking points clung to by the Israeli govt and US based 'supporters of Israel'. So just like with any sequel to an already uninspiring original, I'm not going to be putting 'The Case For Peace' on my shopping list...

Violet...

[bemildred]

3. Much as I like Ms Wilentz, I could not bring myself to read it. nt