Waging Peace: Israel and the Arabs at the End of the Century

Rating:
Summary: A history of the peace process
Review: In his book Waging Peace, Itamar Rabinovich provides an overview of Israel's relationship with the Arab world. He offers his readers a detailed look at the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and suggests ways in which the competing parties can reach a normalization of their relations. He begins his book by outlining the major areas of conflict and examining the history of these conflicts since Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948. These major areas include the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, the conflict between Israel and Arab nationalism, Israel's disputes with its neighboring Arab states, and the broader international conflict. He also traces the history of the peace process from its unproductive beginnings to its most significant phases in the early 1990s. A significant part of Rabinovich's book discusses the "Madrid process" which began in 1991 with the Madrid conference. He discusses the successes and failures of this process detailing Israel's agreement with the PLO and its failure to make any significant progress with Syria. Next Rabinovich looks at the near collapse of the peace process with the election in 1996 of Netanyahu who vowed to set a much more deliberate pace in the peace process than either Peres or Rabin and avoid sweeping changes and broad agreements without definite and viable security concessions from the PLO and the neighboring Arab states. Rabinovich then details the revival of the peace process under Netanyahu with the Wye River Agreement and provides an overview of Israel's current relationship with the PLO, its neighbors, and other Middle Eastern states like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Rabinovich's final assessment is made as the Israeli elections of 1999 approach. He makes it clear that the outcome of these elections will significantly influence the direction and intensity of the peace process. He concludes with his ideas about the conditions necessary for a successful normalization of relations between the Arabs and Jews. Believing that the Oslo agreements have "created a new reality (212)," Rabinovich indicates that any future agreement will have to be a comprehensive settlement broken down into various phases with leaders on all sides willing to promote peace in the face of crises and criticism. Neither side can expect a quick fix but rather a lengthy struggle. Rabinovich sees this struggle as necessary and inevitable. Although focusing primarily on the Israeli side, Rabinovich provides a thorough overview of the conflict between the Arabs and Israelis and the history of the peace process through 1999. His examination helps clarify the multitude of interrelated issues and disputes that make up the Arab-Israeli conflict. Throughout the book, Rabinovich offers his assessment of the various phases of the peace process. His most extensive analysis is of the phases following the Madrid Conference of 1991. His background as Israeli ambassador to the U.S. (1993-96) and head of the Israel delegation to the peace talks with Syria (1992-95) during these years puts him in a good position to discuss in detail these particular phases. Even with his close involvement in the process, he offers an objective assessment being equally critical of all sides when examining the failures of the peace negotiations. He stresses that these failures were not the result of any one group or individual. His examination of the various issues that combined to produce these failures offers valuable insight into the difficulties of negotiating peace and the problems that arise when attempting to accommodate all sides of this conflict. Another interesting aspect of Rabinovich's book is his examination of the different approaches taken by the Israeli Prime ministers Rabin, Peres, and Netanyahu during the 1990s. He indicates that each leader's approach impacted the way in which the peace process progressed. Given this belief in the importance of individual leaders in the peace process, it's unfortunate that his book was published directly before the 1999 elections in which the hard-liner Netanyahu was ousted in favor of the more peace-oriented Barak. Barak's election opened a new chapter in the peace process and created a new approach that Rabinovich's book doesn't address. With the 1999 elections, much of Rabinovich's conclusion was almost instantly outdated. His speculations about the peace process and its future after the elections became insignificant. He stresses the importance of the elections in shaping the peace process but must speculate on a variety of futures for the peace process because he doesn't know who will win the election. Even though his speculations became irrelevant with the results of the election, his suggestions for the future of the peace process are still pertinent. Rabinovich stresses the need for a revival in the peace process and urges patience and perseverance, characteristics often lacking in the Netanyahu administration. He favors making a comprehensive agreement with all of Israel's antagonists rather than a series of individual agreements as have been the general course to date. Ultimately, however, he fails to offer anything truly insightful or unprecedented. His support of a gradual process implemented in stages closely resembles the cautious but progressive proceedings of Rabin. His final suggestion to persevere with peace even in the face of crises and criticism is something many Middle Eastern leaders have been trying to do for years. Even without a profound conclusion Rabinovich's book offers its readers an in-depth look at the peace process and the many issues intertwined in the Arab-Israeli conflict. While it may not offer any notable new solutions to the conflict, his book is useful in gaining a better understanding of the events and leaders that have shaped the current situation and the many difficulties that the peace process has faced and will continue to face.

Rating:
Summary: A history of the peace process
Review: In his book Waging Peace, Itamar Rabinovich provides an overview of Israel's relationship with the Arab world. He offers his readers a detailed look at the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and suggests ways in which the competing parties can reach a normalization of their relations. He begins his book by outlining the major areas of conflict and examining the history of these conflicts since Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948. These major areas include the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, the conflict between Israel and Arab nationalism, Israel's disputes with its neighboring Arab states, and the broader international conflict. He also traces the history of the peace process from its unproductive beginnings to its most significant phases in the early 1990s. A significant part of Rabinovich's book discusses the "Madrid process" which began in 1991 with the Madrid conference. He discusses the successes and failures of this process detailing Israel's agreement with the PLO and its failure to make any significant progress with Syria. Next Rabinovich looks at the near collapse of the peace process with the election in 1996 of Netanyahu who vowed to set a much more deliberate pace in the peace process than either Peres or Rabin and avoid sweeping changes and broad agreements without definite and viable security concessions from the PLO and the neighboring Arab states. Rabinovich then details the revival of the peace process under Netanyahu with the Wye River Agreement and provides an overview of Israel's current relationship with the PLO, its neighbors, and other Middle Eastern states like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Rabinovich's final assessment is made as the Israeli elections of 1999 approach. He makes it clear that the outcome of these elections will significantly influence the direction and intensity of the peace process. He concludes with his ideas about the conditions necessary for a successful normalization of relations between the Arabs and Jews. Believing that the Oslo agreements have "created a new reality (212)," Rabinovich indicates that any future agreement will have to be a comprehensive settlement broken down into various phases with leaders on all sides willing to promote peace in the face of crises and criticism. Neither side can expect a quick fix but rather a lengthy struggle. Rabinovich sees this struggle as necessary and inevitable. Although focusing primarily on the Israeli side, Rabinovich provides a thorough overview of the conflict between the Arabs and Israelis and the history of the peace process through 1999. His examination helps clarify the multitude of interrelated issues and disputes that make up the Arab-Israeli conflict. Throughout the book, Rabinovich offers his assessment of the various phases of the peace process. His most extensive analysis is of the phases following the Madrid Conference of 1991. His background as Israeli ambassador to the U.S. (1993-96) and head of the Israel delegation to the peace talks with Syria (1992-95) during these years puts him in a good position to discuss in detail these particular phases. Even with his close involvement in the process, he offers an objective assessment being equally critical of all sides when examining the failures of the peace negotiations. He stresses that these failures were not the result of any one group or individual. His examination of the various issues that combined to produce these failures offers valuable insight into the difficulties of negotiating peace and the problems that arise when attempting to accommodate all sides of this conflict. Another interesting aspect of Rabinovich's book is his examination of the different approaches taken by the Israeli Prime ministers Rabin, Peres, and Netanyahu during the 1990s. He indicates that each leader's approach impacted the way in which the peace process progressed. Given this belief in the importance of individual leaders in the peace process, it's unfortunate that his book was published directly before the 1999 elections in which the hard-liner Netanyahu was ousted in favor of the more peace-oriented Barak. Barak's election opened a new chapter in the peace process and created a new approach that Rabinovich's book doesn't address. With the 1999 elections, much of Rabinovich's conclusion was almost instantly outdated. His speculations about the peace process and its future after the elections became insignificant. He stresses the importance of the elections in shaping the peace process but must speculate on a variety of futures for the peace process because he doesn't know who will win the election. Even though his speculations became irrelevant with the results of the election, his suggestions for the future of the peace process are still pertinent. Rabinovich stresses the need for a revival in the peace process and urges patience and perseverance, characteristics often lacking in the Netanyahu administration. He favors making a comprehensive agreement with all of Israel's antagonists rather than a series of individual agreements as have been the general course to date. Ultimately, however, he fails to offer anything truly insightful or unprecedented. His support of a gradual process implemented in stages closely resembles the cautious but progressive proceedings of Rabin. His final suggestion to persevere with peace even in the face of crises and criticism is something many Middle Eastern leaders have been trying to do for years. Even without a profound conclusion Rabinovich's book offers its readers an in-depth look at the peace process and the many issues intertwined in the Arab-Israeli conflict. While it may not offer any notable new solutions to the conflict, his book is useful in gaining a better understanding of the events and leaders that have shaped the current situation and the many difficulties that the peace process has faced and will continue to face.