This moving and brilliant book should be read by all who doubt that peace is possible between Arabs and Israelis. The author's own life has been a journey from the comfort of his own community to an embrace of strangers, a sacred voyage that has brought him face to face with everyday peacemakers on both sides of the divide. Gopin maps the way out of hatred through the words of extraordinary people who fight for peace.
Laurence R. Simon, Professor of International Development, Brandeis University
Marc Gopin offers a groundbreaking exploration of Arab/Israeli peace partnerships: unlikely friendships created among people who have long been divided by bitter resentments, deep suspicions, and violent sorrows. In Bridges Across an Impossible Divide, Gopin shows how the careful examination of their inner spiritual lives has enabled Jewish and Arab individuals to form peace partnerships, and that these partnerships may someday lead to peaceful coexistence.
The peacemakers in this book have no formal experience in conflict resolution or diplomacy. Instead, through trial and error, they have devised their own methods of reaching out across enemy lines. The obstacles they face are unimaginable, the pressure from both sides to desist is constant, and the guilt-ridden thoughts of betrayal are pervasive and intense. Peace partners have found themselves deserted by their closest friends, family members, and neighbors.
Bridges Across an Impossible Divide tells their stories - stories not of saints, but of singular people who overcame seemingly unbeatable odds in their dedication to work toward peace with their estranged neighbors. Gopin provides insightful analysis of the lessons to be learned from these peacebuilders, outlining the characteristics that make them successful. He argues that lasting conflict and misery between enemies is the result of an emotional, cognitive, and ethical failure to self-examine, and that the true transformation of a troubled society is brought about by the spiritual introspection of extraordinary, determined individuals.
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Acknowledgements ; 1. Introduction: The Spiritual Life of Arab and Jewish Peace Partners ; PART I: SELF EXAMINATION AND IDENTITY ; 2. Ibtisam Mahmeed: An Introductory Palestinian Case Study ; 3. Eliyahu McLean: An Introductory Israeli Jewish Case Study ; PART II: Peace Partners In Their Own Words ; 4. Abdul Aziz Bukhari ; 5. Gabriel Meyer ; 6. Ihab Balha ; 7. Hind Kabawat ; 8. Marc Gopin ; PART III: THE INNER LIFE OF PEACEMAKING ; 9. A Summary of our Peacemakers' Transformative Qualities ; Concluding Thoughts on The Inner Life of Peace Makers and the Future of Global Change ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
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"This moving and brilliant book should be read by all who doubt that peace is possible between Arabs and Israelis. The author's own life has been a journey from the comfort of his own community to an embrace of strangers, a sacred voyage that has brought him face to face with everyday peacemakers on both sides of the divide. Gopin maps the way out of hatred through the words of extraordinary people who fight for peace."--Laurence R. Simon, Professor of
International Development, Brandeis University
"Marc Gopin's findings are fresh, unique, and greatly needed. He breaks new ground in the field of spiritually advanced social change, offering rare insight into the lives of these amazing peacemakers in the context of the most entrenched, complex, multifaceted, and difficult conflict facing the world today. What Gopin contributes in this book will be most important to the work for peace in the Middle East. This is a book that needs to be read."--Curtiss Paul
DeYoung, Professor of Reconciliation Studies, Bethel University
"Bridges across an Impossible Divide puts before us what few have accomplished-an entry into the inner personal life and inter-subjective worlds of violent conflict. Through detailed and carefully recorded conversation we have insight into the fluidity of perception, the power of emotion, and the complex process of how people make sense of their lives and relationships, especially with their enemies. Take time to read these conversations slowly. They
hold the sacred ground of authentic human struggle seeking ways of remaining true to the depth of loss and pain experienced while crafting relationship with those perceived to have cause it. The bridge rises
from resilient spirits refusing to let the damage of violence destroy their own humanity or find it in others."--John Paul Lederach, Professor of International Peace Studies, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame
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Selling point: Tells the stories of Arab and Israeli peace partners in their own words
Selling point: Demonstrates for the first time the importance of self-examination in peacebuilding
Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue Professor of World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the Director of the Center on World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. His books include Holy War, Holy Peace; Healing the Heart of Conflict; and Between Eden & Armageddon.
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Selling point: Tells the stories of Arab and Israeli peace partners in their own words
Selling point: Demonstrates for the first time the importance of self-examination in peacebuilding
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780199916986
Publisert
2012
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press Inc
Vekt
376 gr
Høyde
138 mm
Bredde
228 mm
Dybde
22 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
256
Forfatter