Table Of ContentRICHARD BEN CRAMER
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
AUTHOR OF WHATir TAKES AND JOE DIMAGGIO: THE HERO'S LIFE
HOW
ISRAEL
LOST
THE FOUR QUESTIONS
"Solid and irrefutable . . . Cramer's theme is
the tragic predicament of the Israelis and
Palestinians funny and bitterly sad, shrewd
. . .
1^ and down-to-earth. . . . This book is a powerful
polemic that deserves to be read."
-Amos Elon, TheNew York Review ofBooks
?:
Praise forHow Israel Lost
"Driven by sympathy and curiosity, [Cramer] suspends moraljudgmentsjust
enoughtobringalivetheironies . . . ofhumanlifeunderbrutalconditions. . . .
Heisabletodosomethingfewjournalistssucceedat: capturingaZeitgeist. He
makes vivid the invisible dust of despair and the gradual corruption of so
— —
much institutions,emotions,moralsensibility,solidarity thetoxicgasofun-
derlyingpessimismthathasseepedintoeverythingduringalmostfortyyearsof
occupation."
—
GadiTaub,ChicagoTribune
"How IsraelLost offers some poignantportraits ofthose caught up in the
. . .
Middle Easttragedyanddeliverssharpargumentsonhowthingsgottowhere
theyareandhowtheyc—anmoveforward. . . .Cramerknowshisstuff."
Emst-UlrichFranzen,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel
"IfeverabookonIsraelandthePalestinianswasagoodread,itsthisintroduc-
tiontothehalf-century-longconflict. Cramerisgreatattellingananecdote . . .
Whenitcomestoprognosis, Cramershootsstraightfromthehipingivingad-
vicetobothsides." —
PublishersWeekly
"Alively, anecdotal, thought-provoldngandoftenentertainingbookaboutthe
faults and arguments on both sides . . . But its the personal stories [Cramer]
tellsthatwintheday,by—puttingahumanfaceonanendlessconflict."
TheArizonaRepublic
"HereinliesthelucidcharmoiHowIsraelLost:Theauthorhasn'tlostsightof
theforestforthetrees. . . . Mr Cramersargumentiscogent: Israelishavefor-
gottentheirbirthright."
—
DanielAsaRose,IslewYorkObserver
"Cramer'squick, anecdotal,verypersonalstyleputsanentertainingspinonan
otherwiseextremelypainfulreality. His forteisincapturingeventsbyshowing
howtheyaffectthelive—sofrealpeople."
ElenaLappin,TheNewYorkTimesBookReview
—
"Cramer oneofthemostmemorablenonfictionstylistsahve. . .hasinvented
anewwaytocoveroneofthemostdevastatingwarsinhumanhistory. ... Itis
anaccountthatisboundtoresultinamixtureoflaughter,tears,angerand,ulti-
mately,desperation."
—
SteveWeinberg,Orlando Sentinel
"Cramer—hasarealgiftforbringingto life thepeople caughtupin theendless
struggle even, orindeed especially those whose politics are not his own.
. . .
Thisisawonderfulbook—,courageousandhonest..."
Scott McConnell, TheAmerican Conservative
"[HowIsraelLost] recapturesthehip,verbalrlMhmofCramer's 1992poHtical
epicWhatItTakes." —
CaseySeiler,TheTimes Union (Albany, NY)
Also by Richard Ben Cramer
What It Takes: The Way to the White House
Joe DiMaggio: The Hems Life
WhatDo You Think ofTed Williams Now?
HOW
ISRAEL
LOST
THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Richard Ben Cramer
SIMON & SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS
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Copyright©2004,2005byRichardBenCramer
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10
TheLibraryofCongresshascatalogedthehardcovereditionasfollows:
Cramer, RichardBen.
HowIsraellost/RichardBenCramer,
p. cm.
—
1. Arab-Israehconflict Moralandethicalaspects. 2. Arab-Israeh
— — — —
conflict 1993 Peace. 3. PalestinianArabs WestBank Social
— —
conditions. 4. PalestinianArabs GazaStrip Socialconditions.
— — —
5. Israel Socialconditions. 6. Israel Ethnic relations.
7. Nationalcharacteristics, Israeli. I. Title.
DS119.76.C73 2004
956.05—dc22 2004045354
ISBN-13:978-0-7432-5028-3
ISBN-10:0-7432-5028-1
ISBN-13:978-0-7432-5029-0(Pbk)
ISBN-10:0-7432-5029-X(Pbk)
Contents
Preface to the paperbackedition vii
I. Whydowe care about Israel? 1
II. Whydon'tthe Palestinians have astate? 65
III. What is aJewish state? 139
IV. Whyis there nopeace? 227
Glossary 279
Author Note andAcknowledgments 297
s
Preface to the paperback edition
/jLllah is most kind, and he sentYassirArafat offto Paris to die.
He was succeeded as chairman ofthe PLO andpresident ofthe
Palestinian Authority by Mahmoud Abbas, the former prrime
minister and a longstanding opponent of suicide bombing.
Withindays,Abu Mazen, asAbbasisknown, declaredacessation
ofattacks against Israelis. He ordered his securityforces to stop
attackers, andhesackedthecommanderswhofailedtodoso. He
met with the leaders of the ultra-Islamic groups and secured
theirpromise to respecthis cease-fire. Withinweeks. Abbas met
withArik Sharon andtogethertheyproclaimedatruce.
The Palestinians' vote for Abbas was an affirmation ofhope.
The Palestinian people were convinced (as they have always
known) that life with the Israelis can be something other, some-
thingbetter,thanIdll-and-be-killed.Theclearsupportfromaclear
majoritygaveAbbasthe upperhandtoputhistruceintoeffect.
There was a mirror image ofhope on the Israeh side, from
politiciansandcommon folkwhosupportedArikSharon'splanto
VII
Preface to the paperback edition
pull the Israelis out of Gaza. The support of a clear majority
helped Sharon to survive arejectionoftheplanbyhisownparty.
As I write, in the Spring of2005, the parties are still a long
—
way from an accord from the vision that George W. Bush
sketched out: two nations living side by side in peace. Sharons
plan to withdraw from Gaza is a clear attempt to put that vision
into mothballs. The Israelis continue to build theirwall, seizing
more and more Palestinian land. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are
—
still dedicated to the destruction ofIsrael their respect forthe
truce is, at best, temporary. The cease-fire has been marred re-
—
peatedly two suicide bombs shattered calm in Israel, and Is-
raeli soldiers have killed several Palestinian kids. But, so far, the
—
truce endures andsodoes hope.
Inthisplace,hopecannotbeignored. Itisprecious,anddou-
— —
bly fragile like awildflower in Alaska a miracle for the hard-
ship it endured to emerge, it is now prey to any harshness that
could snuffout its life. Still, it is beautiful, and must be prized
whileitishere.
X know I won't make any new friends with the assertion that
Sharonis scuttlingthepeaceprocess. Its morepopularto regard
him, as George Bush does, as agreat Man ofPeace (who means
to make real the great vision ofa nation forthe Palestinian peo-
ple). Butfacts arejustas stubbornasArikSharon ... so, hereare
afewtoconsider:
Thewithdrawal from Gazaofafewhundredsettlerfamihes,
and thousands of soldiers who had to protect them, has always
made sense to the armybrass. Itwas Sharons genius tocombine
VIII
