I recently picked up a copy of Mark Tessler's second edition of the epic narrative A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - and you know what? - just reading the preface alone is enough to have you believe that this conflict is almost beyond the scope of human endeavor to deal with, let alone resolve.
The mood of Tessler's second edition preface is in complete reversal of the first, and with good reason. When Conflict was first published in September 1993, it coincided with the signing of the 'Declaration of Principles' by Israel and the PLO on the basis of bilateral recognition of each other's rights, plus an active agenda to initiate concrete steps towards a mutually-agreed partition plan that would eventually lead to a sovereign Palestinian state. Prior to this, there had been secret meetings between the two parties in Oslo, the purpose of which was to kick-in the negotiation process. Both parties have been slowly but surely coming to terms that peace was still the best deal in this divisive land, and in order for peace to coagulate, it didn't take much rocket science to know that to yield was to gain, and that compromise was the only way forward. And so as the first edition of Conflict went to print, the mood was somewhat encouraging, despite decades and decades of conflict.
So, yes, the preface to the first edition had that bit of 'cautious optimism' in Tessler's voice, but sixteen years have gone by, and Tessler admits in his second preface that the "Israelis and Palestinians are today more distrustful of one another than ever and the prospect for peace is correspondingly remote". In fact, Tessler tells us that the new material of his second edition is a 'long epilogue' devoted to the 'rise and fall of the Oslo peace process'.
As an academician, historian and a concerned human being, Tessler has first to inform that his work was originally built on the premise of 'objectivity without detachment'. The operative aspect of his scholarship is therefore coloured by the concept of 'without detachment' which means that there is a need to put his studied impressions of what lies ahead for peace for the benefit of his readers, students and fraternity. As it turns out, Tessler pulls no punches in this department.
Tessler, in his second preface, meticulously prepares the reader of what scenarios lie ahead, claiming first, that the Oslo process 'did not have to fail'. He runs us through the usual barrage of peace proposals, returning always to the optimistic position that peace will eventually be found and that the only barriers to peace are people's attitudes, believes, symbols, and a whole bunch of mind-poisoning, distrust-sowing propaganda by the powers that be. And this is the very paradox of his second preface, for here, in dealing with the human psyche which drives all our fears, anger, appetite for destruction and what not, Tessler succumbs to the gravity of the situation on the ground.
In his closing paragraph, we get a dose of Tessler's pain, for while he tells us that despite the complete breakdown at making peace in all its attempts, 'the eventual resumption of negotiations, to be followed by a new peace process, is all but inevitable." That's the bright side. Then he opens the floodgates on us and declares, "But perhaps this is wishful thinking..."
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2009/11/09
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- Michael LindsayReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2013
Great introductory text!! Highly Recommended
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