Salinas explains how the obstacles to achieve peace in the region are not just political, but also psychological. Research - as well as resident interviews conducted with people from both sides of the fight - shows that just as much as the disagreements over borders, refugees, and settlements, both parties are kept from the negotiating table by psychological factors including mistrust, hatred, stereotypes, and prejudice.
The world has known many periods when two factions held such strong hatred of each other that bloody conflicts were regular, ongoing, unsurprising events. But there is perhaps no modern period of conflict as sustained as that of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Salinas shows us how the hatred and mistrust were created and persist for the populace, with interviewees ranging from an Israeli right wing settler and a Palestinian militant to commoners on both sides simply the victims of that violence. This book includes compelling reviews of the psychological research regarding Israeli-Palestinian relationships, and into stereotype and prejudice formation, violence and dehumanization, posttraumatic stress and, also, reconciliation, mediation, and peacemaking. An appendix The Geneva Accord model of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace agreement.
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Reviews for "Planting Hatred, Sowing Pain The Psychology of the Israeli-Palestinian Con"
Reviewed by Kara D'Annielo
6/28/2007
In Planting Hatred, Sowing Pain: The Psychology of the Israeli Palestinian Conflcit, Salinas examines this Middle Eastern struggle focusing on its effect on the lives of the individuals on both sides, and the undeniable need to come to an agreement. Moises Salinas had two main purposes for writing this book: The first is “to present and explore some of the social and psychological factors that are central to the conflict and its resolution: (1) stereotypes and prejudice, (2) extremism, (3) trauma, and (4) reconciliation.”(p. XIV), and the second is “to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel, we just need to know where to look for it.”(p. XXVI).
Salinas’s writing style is clear and to the point, the book is objective and Salinas equally places responsibility for this conflict on both sides. Salinas’ book is well organized and the transition from topic to topic is smooth. Salinas includes numerous studies to support his main points. The evidence was strong and convincing and there wasn’t one piece that I found weak. In addition, Planting Hatred, Sowing Pain, is a realistic book that incorporates eight real life interviews of people either from the Israeli or Palestinian background, that have had real traumatic experiences. The book leaves the reader wondering if either side is right, but most importantly, with a feeling that something needs to be done and it needs to be done fast. Some people in both nations feel that the death and extermination of the other nation is the only way to solve this conflict, while others are looking for compromise and peace. I feel that one of the men interviewed in this book named Ibrahim made a great observation. He stated, “There are many different opinions between the two nations and at the end it is very difficult that one of them will give up, even a small thing, and every side wants everything” (p.84).
Planting Hatred, Sowing Pain, is an excellent book about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. This book is not only intended for individuals involved in this topic or with an academic background, but for anyone who is looking for a better understanding of the conflict. I liked this book immensely and to be quite honest I wasn’t exactly familiar with the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict before I read it. I now feel that I can sit down and have a conversation with someone about the conflict and I feel that is an extraordinary feeling for someone to take with them after having read a book. After reading this book I believe that there is no way that this century-old conflict will come to an end unless there is compromise and understanding of one another’s cultures.
In summary, the book is extremely well written, once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down until I was finished, but most importantly, I wanted a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
This book summarizes life's ten toughest tests with ten passwords each to pass these tests. The current overload, speed of change and chaos are all summarized well enough to get to the Land of Simple on the other side quicker than usual.
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