| Part I: Analysis 1. The Interaction between Religion and Culture in Peace and Conflict 2. Family Myths and Cultural Conflict 3. Political and Mythic Interdependencies 4. Patterns of Abrahamic Incrimination 5. Conflict, Injury, and Transformation Part II: Practical Applications 6. Patterns of Abrahamic Reconciliation: Act, Ritual, and Symbol as Transformation 7. The Use of the Word and Its Limits: Dialogue as Peacemaking 8. Ritual Civility, Moral Practices of Interpersonal Exchange, and Symbolic Communication 9. De-escalation Plans and General Steps toward a New Relationship 10. Specific Steps toward a New Relationship Notes Bibliography Index
"An ambitious, visionary, and often inspiring book. It reveals possible avenues for peace building and reconciliation, grounded in three great Middle Eastern religious traditions. Gopin's work merits serious attention from all who lament past failures of the many official mediators who have struggled unsuccessfully to help achieve a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace."
-Samuel W. Lewis, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 1977-1985; President, United States Institute of Peace, 1987-1993
The Intifada of 2000-2001 has demonstrated the end of an era of diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The style of peacemaking of the Olso Accords has been called into question by the facts on the ground. Elite forms of peacemaking that do not embrace the basic needs of average people on all sides are bound to fail. The complete neglect of deeper cultural and religious systems in the peace process is now apparent, as is the role that this neglect has played in the failure of the process. Building on his earlier book, Between Eden and Armageddon, Gopin provides a detailed blueprint of how the religious traditions in question can become a principal asset in the search for peace and justice. He demonstrates how religious people can be the critical missing link in peacemaking, and how the incorporation of their values and symbols can unleash a new dynamic that directly addresses basic issues of ethics, justice, and peace. Gopin's analysis of the theoretical, theological, and political planes shows us what has been achieved thus far, as well as what must be done next in order to ensure effective final settlement negotiations and secure, sovereign, democratic countries for both peoples.
About the Author
Dr. Marc Gopin is a Visiting Associate Professor of International Diplomacy at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and a Visiting Scholar at the Program on Negotiation, Harvard University. He also works as a conflict consultant and has engaged in a series of high-level interventions between the sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |
