The Case for Peace

In the bestselling The Case for Israel, Alan Dershowitz used all his skills as an advocate to defend the Jewish state against the lies and distortions hurled at it in recent years. Now, as the Israelis and the Palestinians take tentative steps toward peace following the death of Yasser Arafat, Dershowitz offers a timely and provocative analysis of the opportunities and challenges ahead.

All reasonable people, Dershowitz argues, know what a final peace settlement will look like: two states, based on Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and most of the West Bank; a symbolic recognition by Israel of the rights of Palestinian refugees, with some compensation but no "right of return"; the division of Jerusalem; and a renunciation of violence, with the Palestinians taking all reasonable measures to stamp out terrorism. The problem is how to get there without more bloodshed.

To that end, Dershowitz identifies twelve geopolitical barriers to peace-and explains how to move around them and push the process forward. From the division of Jerusalem and Israeli counterterrorism measures to the security fence and the Iranian nuclear threat, his analyses are clear-headed, well-argued, and sure to be controversial. To cite just a few of his points:
* The "one-state" solution propounded by hard-line Palestinians and their allies on the left is an absolute nonstarter-a smoke screen for those who are enemies of peace.
* Palestinians cannot expect to get more West Bank land than they would have under the Camp David and Taba negotiations of 2000 and 2001; additional territorial concessions would be an implicit reward for Palestinian terrorism in the intervening years.
* A multinational force, including U.S. troops, may be necessary to respond to Palestinian terrorist provocations after a settlement is reached.
* In addition to cracking down on terrorists, Palestinians must consider extending their laws against "hate speech" to reduce the level of hostility toward Israel.

But, according to Dershowitz, achieving a lasting peace will require more than tough-minded negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. In academia, Europe, the UN, and the Arab world, Israel-bashing and anti-Semitism have reached new heights, despite the recent Israeli-Palestinian movement toward peace. Surveying this outpouring of vilification, Dershowitz deconstructs the smear tactics used by Israel-haters and shows how this kind of anti-Israel McCarthyism is aimed at scuttling any real chance of peace.

For anyone concerned about the fate of Israel and the Middle East, this provocative, hard-headed look at the prospects for peace will be required reading.