Advance Praise for Israel's Unilateralism: Beyond Gaza
Bob Zelnick's study of Israeli unilateralism fills two important needs: for academics, it is a comprehensive initial examination of an issue that will dominate Israeli-Palestinian relations for years to come; and for policy makers, it is a primer on next steps in the peace process. Zelnick's thorough review of Israel's disengagement policy sets the stage for understanding why the consensus within Israel has shifted so dramatically in support of Israeli-Palestinian separation. The extensive interviews conducted by Zelnick add depth and color to this insightful study.
Daniel C. Kurtzer, former United States ambassador to Israel and Egypt and the S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Zelnick's book offers the best explanation so far as to how (and why) Israel shifted in recent years towards a policy of unilateralism in pursuing a settlement to its conflict with the Palestinians. It is worthwhile for all students of the Middle East, regardless of where they stand, to read this book, as it offers deep knowledge and great insight into one of the world's most intractable conflicts. If there is a single book that can tell us where Israel stands today and where it is likely to go from here, it is this one.
Salameh Nematt, Washington bureau chief for Al-Hayat newspaper
It takes great courage, knowledge, and experience to decipher the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Robert Zelnick displays these qualities in an impressive manner. In Israel's Unilateralism: Beyond Gaza, he describes a tremendous paradigm shift, from the hopeful bilateralism of the Oslo years to the uncertain unilateralism of the Gaza pullout and beyond, from integration to separation, from engagement to disengagement. This is a must-read for anyone wishing to know more about the challenges of this conflict.
General Mike Herzog, Israel Defense Forces
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Hoover Institution Press Publication No. 550
Copyright 2006 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
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First printing, 2006
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Manufactured in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zelnick, Bob, 1940
Israel's unilateralism : beyond Gaza / by Robert Zelnick.
p. cm. (Hoover Institution Press publication ; no. 550)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8179-4772-8 (alk. paper)
1. IsraelPolitics and government1993 2. Gaza StripPolitics and government. 3. Palestinian ArabsAttitudes. 4. JewsIsraelAttitudes. 5. Arab-Israeli conflict1993Occupied territories. 6. Sharon, Ariel. I. Title. II. Series: Hoover Institution Press publication ; 550.
DS128.2.Z45 2006
956.9405'4dc22 20060007445
ISBN 978-0-8179-4773-6 (electronic)
To Ruthie Beker, her sons, Ehud and Yonatan, and daughters, Dahlia and Lemore
Of all the gifts one can bestow that of true friendship is the most precious.
Acknowledgments
This was an exceptionally interesting and rewarding undertaking and my thanks to those who helped make it so are heartfelt. I extend special gratitude to John Raisian, director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, for his confidence in this project and for the generous support he provided.
Richard Sousa, Hoover's deputy director, actually came up with the idea over breakfast in Boston. My thanks to Richard; I hope he feels the results approached his expectations.
Dean John Schulz of the Boston University College of Communication supported my travel to and from Israel and was understanding when I needed to work virtually full time on the book in order to present a quality project on deadline. Thanks, John.
My youngest daughter, Marni Ruth Zelnick, a talented second-year graduate film student at NYU, accompanied me on the trip and was vital to its success. She provided excellent background research, recorded and transcribed all interviews where that was possible, got us where we had to go through her uncanny skill interpreting maps, and kept me in great humor throughout the trip. I love her.
I can never express the depth of my gratitude to our old friends, the family of Ruth Beker of Kfar Shmayahu. Ruthie and her son Ehud made sure we were well housed, fed, and equipped. Son Yonatan brought his keen editorial mind to all our conversations and helped arrange some pivotal interviews. We could not have managed anywhere near as well without them, not to mention the wonderful companionship provided by all, including Lemore.
My thanks again go to the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv and its superb director, Zvi Shtauber, for making office space and telephone service available. Thanks too to Research Director Mark Heller for his help with facilities and also an unforgettable Shabat dinner with his delightful family. The Center promotes Israeli-Palestinian dialogue all over Europe, and I'm always surprised at how few U.S. institutions take advantage of its expertise.
Palestinian interviews were critical to the success of the project and no one could have worked harder or more successfully organizing them that Sanad Sahelia, a fine journalist working out of Ramallah. Sanad provided us with one of our biggest laughs of the trip when he interrupted an interview with a Hamas official to urge my daughter to check her Coke bottle cap to see if she had won $10,000.
My thanks to Taghreed El-Khodary, the New York Times stringer in Gaza, who arranged travel with a reliable taxi driver, organized several key interviews, and treated me to a delicious lunch during one of my visits to Gaza. When I asked what I could do for her in return, she said she was planning to attend Harvard's Nieman Fellowship Program that fall and would love to have Shabat dinner at our home. Never have I more enjoyed honoring a request.
Back in the States, I wish to thank my colleague Tamar Morad who provided useful research in the areas of Israeli settlements and Palestinian terrorist groups.
Professor Shai Feldman of Brandeis University, presently director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and a former director of the Jaffee Center, honored me with invitations to Brandeis events which he knew would be helpful to my work. The generosity and courtesy he displayed went a long way towards making this a better book; for this I am deeply grateful. And although the Crown Center itself is a new center for scholarship, it is well on its way to making a major contribution to the field.
Thanks to David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, author of a fine book,
