The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine – A Tale of Two Narratives by Padraig O'Malley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished THE TWO STATE DELUSION by Padrig O' Malley. This book was remarkable in the way it showed both sides of the coin-for the Israelis and the Palestinians, and for the right of return. The frightening perspective, for me, is his sense that the time for a two state solution has passed. Palestine's political disunity and economic fragility coupled with Israel's continuing ideological shifts to the right make the concept of peace negotiations untenable. Reading this book was an education; in fact, every American should read this book in order to get a broader understanding of the politics and machinations inside both Israel and Palestine. You get a glimpse not only into the lives of the politicians, but ordinary citizens, too, many of whom want peace (on both sides), but also do not see its feasibility. This quote in the book really stood out for me: "There is little hope for advance on any front until both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians begin to think in terms of the long view and differentiate between what they can accomplish in the here and now and what they can leave for future generations to decide. Demography is a long way down the road; so is squeezing out the hatred; so, too, is educating both publics about the costs of living apart and the benefits of living together. But of utmost importance is respect."

I am starting to think, in some ways, there are similarities between the left and right here. We have become enemies. Once that happens, how do you proceed to work together? There must be some way, somehow-or is it really just the death of idealasim?

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