Review by Choice Review
The title indicates the book's twofold aim: to write the history of the Israeli peace movement and to demonstrate that it is a work in progress with no assurance that the pursuit of peace will succeed. In his account of the movement, Bar-On (former army officer and member of the Israeli legislature, a leader of the World Zionist Organization, a Peace Now activist, and fellow at the US Institute of Peace) shows a remarkably diverse and determined cast of activists, war-weary soldiers to hardheaded politicians, careful scholars to impassioned artists. He provides a sweeping historical synthesis of the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially between 1967 and 1993, and portrays groups like Peace Now, Yesh Gvul, and Women in Black. In 14 well-documented chapters and in his forcefully argued conclusions, the author establishes himself as an expert of the Israeli peace movement. He traces the movement over a period of 45 years, from the birth of the Jewish state to the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the Israeli prime minister and PLO chairman in 1993. Although the first two decades were relatively free of peace activism, an increasing number of groups appeared urging their fellow Israelis to come to peaceful accommodation with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states. Bar-On presents an extraordinarily balanced, comprehensive, and lucid treatment, the best resource on the subject so far. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. R. M. Bigler University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
