Seeking Mandela: Peacemaking Between Israelis and Palestinians (POLITICS, HISTORY, AND SOCIAL CHANGE) - Tapa blanda

"An enduring feature of the Israeli-Palestinian impasse has been the pygmy moral stature of the leadership on both sides. Stepping firmly into a notorious minefield of ethnic/religious passions, Adam and Moodley argue convincingly that hoping for some savior figure to bring the warring parties together is futile. For the uncompromising quality of their political analysis, and for the tough realism of the advice they offer, they are to be applauded."-J.M. Coetzee "A sweeping, authoritative and balanced analysis of a highly sensitive issue, bound to raise a heated debate."-Dr. Meron Benvenisti, Historian and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem "Those interested in what kinds of world pressures cause or impede change will find a great deal of food for thought. Meticulously constructed, Seeking Mandela is well-worth a lay person read."-Island Tides

The ongoing violence, despair and paralysis among Israelis and Palestinians resemble the gloomy period in South Africa during the late 1980s. Heribert Adam and Kogila Moodley show that these analogies with South Africa can be applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for two purposes: to showcase South Africa as an inspiring model for a negotiated settlement and to label Israel a \u0022colonial settler state\u0022 that should be confronted with strategies (sanctions, boycotts) similar to those applied against the apartheid regime. Because of the different historical and socio-political contexts, both assumptions are problematic. Whereas peacemaking resulted in an inclusive democracy in South Africa, the favored solution for Israel and the West Bank is territorial separation into two states. Adam and Moodley speculate on what would have happened in the Middle East had there been what they call \u0022a Palestinian Mandela\u0022 providing unifying moral and strategic leadership in the ethnic conflict. A timely, relevant look at the issues of a polarized struggle, Seeking Mandela is an original comparison of South Africa and Israel, as well as an important critique on the nature of comparative politics.