Letters To My Palestinian Neighbor

Letters To My Palestinian Neighbor

New York Times bestseller Now with a new Epilogue, containing letters of response from Palestinian readers."A profound and original book, the work of a gifted thinker."--Daphne Merkin, The Wall Street JournalAttempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of?ike Dreamers?irectly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book, empathizing with Palestinian suffering and longing for reconciliation as he explores how the conflict looks through Israeli eyes. And now, in a brand-new Epilogue, Palestinian readers have been given a chance to respond through their own powerful letters.I call you "neighbor" because I don?t know your name, or anything personal about you. Given our circumstances, "neighbor" might be too casual a word to describe our relationship. We are intruders into each other?s dream, violators of each other?s sense of home. We are incarnations of each other?s worst historical nightmares. Neighbors?Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor?s one Israeli?s powerful attempt to reach beyond the wall that separates Israelis and Palestinians and into the hearts of "the enemy." In a series of letters, Yossi Klein Halevi explains what motivated him to leave his native New York in his twenties and move to Israel to participate in the drama of the renewal of a Jewish homeland, which he is committed to see succeed as a morally responsible, democratic state in the Middle East.This is the first attempt by an Israeli author to directly address his Palestinian neighbors and describe how the conflict appears through Israeli eyes. Halevi untangles the ideological and emotional knot that has defined the conflict for nearly a century. In lyrical, evocative language, he unravels the complex strands of faith, pride, anger and anguish he feels as a Jew living in Israel, using history and personal experience as his guide.Halevi?s letters speak not only to his Palestinian neighbor, but to all concerned global citizens, helping us understand the painful choices confronting Israelis and Palestinians that will ultimately help determine the fate of the region. The paperback edition also includes a brand-new Epilogue, containing heartfelt letters of response from a variety of Palestinian readers.Review?The tantalizing proposition of Halevi?s book, never belabored but always peeking from between the lines, is that faith might unite these two warring tribes whereas reason only fanned the flames of discord.? (Tablet Magazine)?By providing an honest, soulful and balanced recap of two emotional narratives,Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor has given us a spiritual roadmap, if not to peace, then at least to hope.? (Jewish Journal)?A clarion call, not to arms but to empathy?a profound and original book, the work of a gifted thinker?[an] urgent and heartfelt message.? (Daphne Merkin, Wall Street Journal)?One of the best one-volume introductions to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.? (Jeffrey Goldberg,The Atlantic)?Refreshingly honest...In explaining Israel to the Palestinians, [Halevi] appeals to a certain ideal, a higher ambition, a sense of wonder and beauty.? (TheForward)?I was enlightened by the extraordinary insights that filled page after page, often on topics I thought I knew quite well. I was also moved by the haunting beauty of the superbly crafted language, by the many passages that speak to my deepest yearnings, and especially by coming to know better the extraordinary soul of the author.? (Mosaic)?Eloquent and important.? (Jewish Boston)?Yossi Klein Halevi wants to extend an olive branch to his Palestinian neighbors, and does so, in his incredibly compelling and heartfelt bookLetters to My Palestinian Neighbor.? (Jerusalem Post)?A powerful, challenging, and deeply moving plea for human understanding across one of the most tragic divides in modern politics.? (Rabbi Lord Jon