The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace
by Adi Schwartz, Einat Wilf
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Description
Two prominent Israeli liberals argue that for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to end with peace, Palestinians must come to terms with the fact that there will be no "right of return." In 1948, seven hundred thousand Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the first Arab-Israeli War. More than seventy years later, most of their houses are long gone, but millions of their descendants are still registered as refugees, with many living in refugee camps. This group?unlike show more countless others that were displaced in the aftermath of World War II and other conflicts?has remained unsettled, demanding to settle in the state of Israel. Their belief in a "right of return" is one of the largest obstacles to successful diplomacy and lasting peace in the region. In The War of Return, Adi Schwartz and Einat Wilf?both liberal Israelis supportive of a two-state solution?reveal the origins of the idea of a right of return, and explain how UNRWA - the very agency charged with finding a solution for the refugees - gave in to Palestinian, Arab and international political pressure to create a permanent "refugee" problem. They argue that this Palestinian demand for a "right of return" has no legal or moral basis and make an impassioned plea for the US, the UN, and the EU to recognize this fact, for the good of Israelis and Palestinians alike. A runaway bestseller in Israel, the first English translation of The War of Return is certain to spark lively debate throughout America and abroad. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
With the Gaza war hopefully winding down and the question of what comes next back in the headlines, understanding the message of this book is urgently and vitally critical. Highly recommended, and a Must Read for anyone interested in the topic.
Since October 7 I've read many books on the conflict from a variety of perspectives, and this one is both particularly informative and highly relevant. It explains why the Oslo process was doomed to fail, and why the Palestinians continue to launch wave after wave of self-defeating violence rather than accept the proposed two-state solution. And also why Israel cannot and should not accept the premise of the "right of return" of the Palestinians.
Without getting bogged down in the details, the show more authors provide enough historical context to get a good understanding of how the Palestinians became "refugees", and why the label has stuck for so long and applied to millions of people. And how the rest of the world has cynically used them as pawns to pursue political agendas not in their best interest. The focus a good deal of the book on the UN, examining a few significant resolutions in detail, then go on to explain why UNRWA is so problematic. They conclude with some concrete ideas on how to replace it with something better, which won't make the conflict magically end, but will at least remove a major impediment that's just been making things worse. show less
Since October 7 I've read many books on the conflict from a variety of perspectives, and this one is both particularly informative and highly relevant. It explains why the Oslo process was doomed to fail, and why the Palestinians continue to launch wave after wave of self-defeating violence rather than accept the proposed two-state solution. And also why Israel cannot and should not accept the premise of the "right of return" of the Palestinians.
Without getting bogged down in the details, the show more authors provide enough historical context to get a good understanding of how the Palestinians became "refugees", and why the label has stuck for so long and applied to millions of people. And how the rest of the world has cynically used them as pawns to pursue political agendas not in their best interest. The focus a good deal of the book on the UN, examining a few significant resolutions in detail, then go on to explain why UNRWA is so problematic. They conclude with some concrete ideas on how to replace it with something better, which won't make the conflict magically end, but will at least remove a major impediment that's just been making things worse. show less
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the Palestinian refugee problem and its origins.
Heartbreaking but such a good book
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the Palestinian refugee problem and its origins.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Politics and Government
- DDC/MDS
- 956.9405 — History & geography History of Asia Middle East Asia: Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan The Levant Israel and Palestine
- LCC
- HV640.5 .P36 .S3913 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Refugee problems
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 63
- Popularity
- 490,939
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (5.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
