America made many mistakes after the 9/11 terrorist attack. One hope’s Israel does not make the same mistakes after the 10/7/23 atrocity. Most Americans’ hearts go out to Israel despite fear and trembling for the world’s future.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
On Democracies and Death Cults (Israel and the Future of Civilization)
Author: Douglas Murray
NarratedBy: Douglas Murray
Douglas Murray (Author, Bristish political commentator, cultural critic, and journalist.)
“On Democracies…” is an important book because it offers perspective on what happened in Gaza on October 7, 2023, and the aftermath that leads to the bombing of Iran by Israel. In that October day, over 1,200 Israelis were killed including civilians, children, and elderly people. At least 251 hostages were taken. Photos of the aftermath show multiple signs of sexual assault. A woman survivor reports seeing Hamas fighters gang rape a woman before the last of her attackers shoots her in the head. The terror and destruction of the attack is as horrible as one can imagine. It reminds one of men and women jumping out of windows at the New York World Trade Center on 9/11.
As one listens to Murray’s book, one begins to understand why Israel is responding to the October 7th atrocity by attacking Gaza and bombing Iran.
Murray explains the idea of a proportional “tit for tat” response is absurd. Does a rational person expect Israel would respond to the Gaza atrocity by killing and/or raping 1,200 men, women, and children. What is not understood by many is that Israel recognizes October 7th as an attack on its existence as a nation. It is the same concern Ukrainians have in their war with Russia. The fundamental issue is sovereignty, not revenge.
Like Osama bin Laden on his 9/11/01 attack on America, Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar, organized the massacre of 10/7/23. Both men were stateless terrorists who believed the U. S. and Isreal had no right to exist. Neither terrorist had an interest in the hard work of creating their own nation but only in destroying another. In the early days of the establishment of Israel, there was a drive to create an independent Palestinian state. Both Palestinian leaders and Arab states rejected proposals for a Palestinian state. In contrast, Israel chose to accept an opportunity to become an independent state in 1948. With the leadership of David Ben-Gurion, Israel declared independence and began the hard work of creating a nation. With a beginning population of 806,000, Israel grew to a prosperous nation of 9.7 million with over 73% being Jewish and the remainder being Arab or other nationalities. One must ask oneself, why have the Palestinians not taken the same path as Israel?
Murray makes one understand Israel is fighting for their lives to remain an independent nation.
It is the same fight Ukraine is waging. The bombing of Iran is based on Israel’s belief that Iran has supported Hamas throughout their terrorist war against Israel. Without honest recognition of Israel’s right to be an independent nation, there can be no peace. The continuing massacre in Gaza is a terrible consequence of the destructive intent of Hamas leadership that wishes to destroy Israel.
The sad realization coming from Murray’s book is that Palestinians and their supporters are not willing to do the hard work of creating an independent nation. The time may be past for that to ever occur because Israel is unlikely to agree to another neighboring nation being hostile to Israel’s existence.
America made many mistakes after the 9/11 terrorist attack. One hope’s Israel does not make the same mistakes after the 10/7/23 atrocity. Most Americans’ hearts go out to Israel despite fear and trembling for the world’s future.
In light of Donald Trump’s disruption of government employment, one wonders what foreign and domestic conspiracies are being missed?
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Looming Tower (Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11)
By: Lawrence Wright
Edited By: Alan Sklar
Lawrence Wright (Author, writer and journalist.)
Lawrence Wright won the Pulitzer Prize for his meticulous research and writing on the origin of Al-Qaeda and its lead up to the 9/11 attack on America. “The Looming Tower” is not a popular audiobook for some Americans. It tells listener/readers of America’s intelligence failure in the early 21st century. A militant Muslim religious organization is created in the Middle East with intent and successful execution of an attack on the United States in 2o01.
Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966, Egyptian Author, Educator, Islamic Theorist, Poet, former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood.)
A name not well known by most Americans is Sayyid Qutb (pronounced koo-tube), a Muslim religious believer and scholar. Wright suggests Qutb laid the groundwork for Islamist extremism in a religious organization called the Brotherhood. Though Qutb was raised in Egypt and gained his education at a Cairo teacher’s school called Dar al-‘Ulum, he spent two years at the University of Northern Colorado between 1948 and 1950. Wright argues Qutb’s experience in America shaped his views of Western society and, in particular, America. He believed and wrote that the moral and cultural nature of non-Islamic society was decadent. Wright suggests Qutb warranted violence against the West because his experience in Colorado showed Western culture corrupted Islamic values.
The World Trade Center collapse killed 2,753 civilians, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright suggests the primary motivation for 9/11 stemmed from ideological and cultural grievances rooted in extremist interpretations of Islam. Osama bin-Laden is shown to have adopted beliefs that were the same as those of Qutb, i.e. the belief that all who were not adherent to the Muslim religion were infidels and subject to damnation in this life and in their life after death. Wright emphasizes the influence of figures like Sayyid Qutb, who’s disdain for Western values and culture laid the philosophical groundwork for jihadist movements. Qutb, and subsequent al-Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed that Western influences were corrupting Islamic society and threatening Muslim values and beliefs.
Osama bin-Laden is estimated to have inherited $25 million to $30 million dollars from his father Mohammed bin Laden when he died. Osama chose to use his wealth to destroy American cultural and religious symbols he believed were contrary to Muslim beliefs.
The book outlines how bin Laden and his network were driven by anti-Western ideology to oppose U.S. foreign policies in the Middle East. Al Qaeda wished to assert power by attacking symbolic targets. The 9/11 attacks were meant to provoke a dramatic response from the U.S. and further polarize the world along ideological lines, feeding into their long-term vision of a global jihad. Wright meticulously explores how these motivations were cultivated over decades. “The Looming Tower” is a compelling and deeply researched account of the events leading up to 9/11 in 2001.
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941-1989, father of global jihad, a Palestinian-Jordanian’ Islamist jihadist and theologian, is killed in a car bomb, along with his 2 sons, in Peshawar, Pakistan.)
Osama bin-Laden’s father was a billionaire construction magnet in Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden, and the many heirs of his father, enabled his many children to live lives in luxury if they chose. Osama chose to use his wealth to destroy American cultural and religious symbols he believed were contrary to Muslim beliefs. Abdullah Azzam was often referred to as the “father of global jihad,” Azzam was a mentor to bin Laden and played a significant role in shaping his ideology. He encouraged bin Laden to channel his resources into the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. The irony of bin Laden’s choice is that he was an incompetent military leader but an effective promoter and steward of jihad, the effort to live a righteous life, avoid sin and uphold the principles of Islam. A further irony is that bin Laden’s murder of innocents seems a sin of the highest degree.
Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, during a U.S. military operation called Operation Neptune Spear.
The mission was carried out by SEAL Team Six, a special operations unit of the U.S. Navy, at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This was eleven years after the world trade center, Pentagon, and flight 93 crash. The Trade Center collapse killed 2,753 civilians, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. The Pentagon attack killed 184 military and civilian personnel. Flight 93 resulted in 40 passenger and crew deaths. In a complex web of influence and support, “The Looming Tower” emphasizes the attacks were the result of al-Qaeda’s planning and execution by followers of Osama bin Laden.
Wright notes Ayman al-Zawahiri became Bin Laden’s second-in-command and a key strategist for al-Qaeda. Zawahiri takes control of al-Qaeda after bin Laden’s death.
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s background in Egyptian Islamic Jihad and his partnership with bin Laden were pivotal in the group’s evolution. Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed. An American operation that killed al-Zawahiri in 2022 was carried out by the CIA that targeted him on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Wright notes that bin Laden received financial support from members of the Saudi elite during the early stages of his jihadist activities, though this relationship soured over time.
Jamal al-Fadl was an al-Qaeda operative who helped establish the organization’s financial infrastructure. He later defected and provided critical intelligence to the U.S. about al-Qaeda’s operations. Many individuals and entities played pivotal roles in enabling bin Laden’s vision and the expansion of al-Qaeda. Wright’s book delves deeply into their motivations and actions. It’s a fascinating, albeit chilling, exploration of history.
John P. O’Neillwas an FBI counter-terrorism expert who tirelessly pursued bin Laden.
John P. O’Neillwas an FBI counter-terrorism expert who tirelessly pursued bin Laden. Tragically, O’Neill died in the 9/11 attack while serving as head of security at the World Trade Center. The FBI had gathered significant domestic intelligence on al-Qaeda operatives within the United States, including their movements and activities. However, the CIA, focused on foreign intelligence. They withheld crucial information about al-Qaeda’s overseas operations and connections because foreign intelligence was their exclusive responsibility. This lack of coordination with the FBI (limited to domestic terrorism), and rivalry between the agencies, meant that neither had a complete picture of the threat. The CIA had knowledge of al-Qaeda members Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi who were two team members for the attacks on 9/11. Because of a lack of cooperation between agencies, the FBI did not know they should be tracking these individuals. They became key players in hijacking American Airlines Flight 77 which plowed into the Pentagon.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright emphasizes the significance of John O’Neill, an FBI counterterrorism expert, as one of the most important figures who recognized the threat posed by Osama bin Laden. O’Neill was deeply committed to tracking al-Qaeda and warned about its intentions, but his efforts were often hindered by interagency conflicts and bureaucratic obstacles. Wright portrays O’Neill as a passionate and prescient individual who understood the gravity of al Qaeda’s threat long before many others did.
In The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright highlights the CIA’s Alec Station, who tracked Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. This unit was led by Michael Scheuer, a CIA analyst who played a pivotal role in gathering intelligence on bin Laden during the 1990s. Alec Station was instrumental in understanding al-Qaeda’s operations, though the book criticizes the interagency conflicts that hindered surveillance effectiveness. Wright paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced by intelligence agencies in the lead-up to 9/11.
Michael Scheuer, a CIA analyst who played a pivotal role in gathering intelligence on bin Laden during the 1990s.
On the CIA side, Michael Scheuer, who led Alec Station (the CIA’s unit that was monitoring bin Laden), played a role in identifying the danger. However, Wright notes the lack of collaboration between the FBI and CIA, ultimately undermined their ability to prevent the attacks. The book paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced in navigating institutional rivalries while trying to protect the nation. Wright’s narrative is both compelling and sobering.
“The Looming Tower” highlights how some individuals connected to al-Qaeda faced legal consequences. For example, figures like Ali Mohamed, a former U.S. Army sergeant turned al-Qaeda operative, was prosecuted for his role in supporting terrorism. Mohamed provided critical intelligence and training to al-Qaeda and was eventually arrested and convicted in the U.S.
In light of Donald Trump’s disruption of government employment, one wonders what foreign and domestic conspiracies are being missed?
Muslim Palestinians, like the Indians of America and the Jews of Israel, believe they have the same rights to the lands of their ancestors. In history, that seems to have never been true for any indigenous or displaced culture.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
By: Omar El Akkad
Narrated By: Omar El Akkad
Omar El Akkad (Author, lives in Oregon, winner of the 2021 Giller Prize. Became a Egyptian Canadian citizen and now lives in Oregon.)
Omar El Akkad expresses the frustration of being an American citizen of an ethnicity and race that has little power as a minority in today’s world. He writes of life being out of one’s control. Akkad’s story is partly about his family’s life as they leave Egypt for Canada, and then America. However, his primary purpose is to write of the atrocity of the Palestinian/Israeli war. On the one hand it is a terrifying example of the domestic trials of his father and family in moving from Egypt to America. On the other, it is a heartbreaking review of slaughtered innocents in Gaza.
Ironically, the phrase “from God’s mouth to our ears” comes from a Jewish and Arabic religious expression.
Contrary to Omar El Akkad’s book title, the history of white society suggests the belief that “One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” will likely never come. The title of Akkad’s book is about how leadership in America and Israel has failed. As Lord Acton said in the 19th century “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. President Trump, former President Biden, and Benjamin Netanyahu are proving Acton’s observation.
Social and cultural differences have always roiled world history.
Jews believe they have the right to live in peace in Israel because of their culture and the history of their settlement in the land of their forefathers. Muslim Palestinians, like the Indians of America and the Jews of Israel, believe they have the same rights to the lands of their ancestors. In history, that seems to have never been true for any indigenous or displaced culture.
THOMAS JEFFERSON AND SLAVERY
The slaughter of Indians, enslavement of minorities by white America, and the slaughter of innocent Muslims by Netanyahu and his followers are all reprehensible examples of the misuse of government power. This is not to say Hamas is not guilty of crimes against humanity, but their evil acts do not warrant evil reactions. The power of Israel is being used for evil, not the return of peace.
Netanyahu’s refusal to settle with Hamas over unjustly murdered, imprisoned, and abused hostages does not justify the killing of Palestinian innocents in Gaza. The power of Netanyahu’s military actions and Trump’s support for taking Gaza land from the Palestinians is evil and unjust. That evil and injustice must be replaced with a negotiated settlement that releases Hamas’ hostages and returns Gaza to the Palestinian people. Humanity cannot wait until “…Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This”. Power lies in the hands of Israel’s leaders to negotiate a settlement.
The common denominator of the war in Gaza is the power being held by white people who refuse to believe all human beings are equal. It is partly a religious issue, but it is a human issue aggravated by religious difference and the self-interests of people of different races and cultures. The white world hegemon needs to come to its senses because at some point in the future, “being white” will not be where the power rests. Power will shift to other races and cultures just as Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Mongols, Chinese Dynasties, and Islamic Caliphates once changed the course of history.
Omar El Akkad pleads for peace and human equality in One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. From El Akkad’s words, the white hegemon should hear and obey.
The war in Ukraine will be settled through negotiation. The same can be true in Gaza with the creation of a Palestinian state. It certainly will not eliminate conflict, but it offers a path for peace.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
All Quiet on the Western Front
By: Erich Maria Remarque
Narrated By: Frank Muller
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970, Author, German born novelist and survivor of WWI.)
Revisiting Erich Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” is a reminder of today’s wars in Ukraine and Gaza. As a former soldier in the German army of WWI, Remarque explains how brutal war is for soldiers and their families. He shows there are no winners in war. The victims of war are the same whether they are aggressors or defenders. Putin’s ambition to restore the empire of Russia appears as foolish as Hamas’s determination to destroy Israel. The result is injury and death for all. Neither Germany nor defending Allied Powers escaped the loss of soldiers and civilians in the two 20th century wars against Germany.
The estimated injury of 109,000 and killing of 46,000 Palestinian citizens is not justified by the atrocity of October 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage by Hamas in Isreal.
Israeli leadership disagrees because of factions in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon that intend to eliminate Israel from the middle eastern world. Rather than killing and injuring indigenous peoples of the Gaza strip, a diplomatic solution should be pursued to establish a Palestinian State. Every nation-state in the world has militant factions within their borders. Palestine, as a nation-state, would have the responsibility for controlling their militant factions just like every nation-state in the world.
Twentieth century Isreal is formed out of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria after the 1948 Arab Israeli War.
Egypt lost the Gaza Strip, Jordan the West Bank, and Syria the Golan Heights with the formation of Israel. Palestinians, like Israelis, lived in those areas for centuries. With creation of a Palestinian State, International Law and UN Resolutions can aid and diplomatically pressure governments to address nation-state claims.
History of the 20th and now 21st century show war has defeated aggressor governments but at an unconscionable cost to humanity. War’s cost is illustrated by Remarque as injury and death of aggressors, defenders, parents, and children. No one wins and everyone loses. Neither peace nor war have ended human inhumanity. Remarque clearly illustrates the folly of war, but human nature infects peace with a war mentality and ferocity. Diplomacy and negotiation for the creation of a Palestinian state is the only pragmatic solution for peace in the Middle East.
Aggressor nations, as shown by 20th century history, are eventually defeated.
Israel’s military reaction is as dishonorable as the Hamas attack on October 7th. Both are unjustifiable. Creation of a Palestinian state offers a pragmatic solution to the control of Hamas. The need for nation-state control is equally true in Syria’s and Lebanon’s Hezbollah factions. International pressure can only be exerted with nation-state recognition. Only with the creation of ethnically viable nation-states is their hope for peace among peoples of different cultures.
The war in Ukraine will be settled through negotiation. The same can be true in Gaza with the creation of a Palestinian state. It certainly will not eliminate conflict, but it offers a path for peace.
One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Tablets Shattered (The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life)
By: Joshua Leifer
Narrated By: Eli Schiff
Joshua Leifer (Author, journalist and scholar who explores the past and present of American Jewry, Leifer pursues a PhD at Yale on the history of modern moral and social thought.)
Joshua Leifer reflects on the Americanization of Jewish ethnicity in modern times. Leifer offers his personal view of modern events in Israel, including the terror of October 7th, 2023, and its aftermath.
In the last month, my wife and I journeyed to Poland, the Baltics, and Finland.
On the trip, we visited Auschwitz, the terror of Soviet occupation of the Baltics, and the tenuous relationship of Finland and Russia. More will be shared in a future review.
The holocaust is made present to anyone who chooses to visit Auschwitz.
This is a monument to the Holocaust, located in Germany.
Leifer’s book is not about Auschwitz’s atrocity but about a diminishment of Jewish identity. One who reads or listens to Leifer’s view of Jewish ethnicity will look at Judaism in a different way. Regardless of one’s personal beliefs, Leifer argues Judaism is losing its way from what he believes is a fundamental tenet of the Jewish religion. That tenet is that Judaism will always be a minority within cultures of the world and, as a minority, Leiger argues it is critically important for followers to return to its Judaic roots. Leifer implies Americanization of Judaism is a social influence that threatens the Tablets of the Covenant, i.e., the Ten Commandments.
Leifer explains that Israel will continue to grow as an independent nation with an exodus of Jewish believers from America and the world. Leifer suggests that exodus is evident in the diminishing number of American Jews who have chosen to leave America to become Israeli citizens. His hope is that in Jews return to a nation of their own with a renewed belief and adherence to the Ten Commandments.
I am the Lord your God: You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image: No idols or images.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet: Do not desire your neighbor’s house, wife, or possessions.
Of particular note is the Haredim who adhere to traditional Jewish law and customs.
There is an underlying accusation in Leifer’s book that America reinforced want for money, power, and prestige that changed the nature of Judaism.
However, human nature is a failing in all cultures. The truth is that all forms of government and culture seduce human beings to violate the Ten Commandments: not only Jewish followers. Human nature is an equal opportunity exploiter of society and people.
Leifer does have a point in that any ethnicity that truly follows the ten commandments is better than one that ignores them.
The fault in Leifer’s belief is that the ten commandments will or can be universally accepted by any culture or ethnicity. Human nature can be improved upon, but one doubts it can be erased by either religious or secular teaching of the Commandments.
Leifer hopes for a two-state solution in Israel. That seems a laudable and achievable goal, but human nature remains the same. With statehood, both Israeli and Palestinian societies may become better but there will always be the threat of Commandment violation because of human nature. One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
Over 230 human beings remain political hostages in this unpredictable world.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
In the Shadows (True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad)
By: Mickey Bergman, Ellis Henican
Narrated By: Assaf Cohen, Mickey Bergman
Mickey Bergman (American Israeli.)Ellis Henican (American co-author, political analyst for Fox News Channel.)
Mickey Bergman tells a fascinating personal story about his life as a political hostage negotiator. He and a mysterious Lebanese friend he names “George” met at Georgetown University and became interested in political hostage negotiations. A precipitating event that led to their early friendship is the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by a Palestinian Hamas faction in Lebanon. As a former Jewish military soldier, Bergman became friends with “George”, a Lebanese Muslim student at George Washington University. With similar beliefs about the unfairness and human tragedy of hostage taking for political purpose, they become partners in the release of the Israeli soldier from Hamas.
As a reminder of the of the October 7, 2023, kidnaping of over 100 Jewish hostages by Hamas, Israel has occupied Gaza and murdered an estimated 4o,000 Palestinians.
In the kidnaping of one Israeli soldier, Bergman explains that murder or kidnapping of 1 Israeli is viewed by some in the government and Israeli citizens as not 1–but six million and 1 atrocities.
A singular kidnaping, let alone the October 7th Hamas attack, gave warrant to some in Israel’s government to wage occupation and war on Gaza.
(This reasoning gives a sense of the current state of the Gaza war but also explains why hostage negotiation is such a complicated and lengthy process that can as easily end in failure as success.)
From Bergman’s friendship with “George”, he gathers interest in the pursuit of peace, regardless of social, religious, economic, or political difference. As a twenty something graduate, Bergman receives a call from the Clinton Global Initiative to join their organization after graduation. CGI was formed by former President Clinton and his family in 2005. Its stated purpose was to devise and implement solutions to world challenges like climate change, health equity, world economic growth, and peace among nations. It gave Bergman his first thoughts about what would become his mission in life, i.e., the liberation of hostages unjustly held by factions of countries or governments for political rather than criminal infraction. “In the Shadows” explains how suited Bergman is for the life he chooses. Raised in Israel, highly educated, experienced as a soldier, from a stable and loving family, Bergman understands the grief and joy of families dealing with and hoping for their mothers, fathers, sons or daughters release from a foreign prison.
Formed in 2005 to address world problems.
Bergman’s early experience as a go-between for the release of the Israeli soldier, with the help of his Lebanese friend from college, show how important non-governmental citizens can be in freeing political prisoners. Bergman and his friend’s families have important indirect contacts at high levels in the Israeli and Lebanese governments. The two young graduates create back-channel contacts to Jewish and Lebanese governments that eventually get Hamas to release the Israeli soldier. They found it a slow, tedious process of give and take allowing political points to be made by factions and governments while providing an opportunity to free a hostage who was only doing his government ordered job.
Bergman is everyman who wishes to be the best he can be within their natural gifts of birth, education, and experience.
Bergman is drawn into the circle of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico who formed the Richard Center in 2011. Bergman learns how to become a more effective hostage negotiator. Richardson’s methodology in negotiation is a post-graduate course in effective international negotiation.
The Richard Center was formed in 2011 to focus on promoting international peace and dialogue; particularly to negotiate hostage and prisoner releases. The Richard Center continues its work today.
Bill Richardson (1947-2023, died at age 75, a former Governor of New Mexico, 9th US Secretary of Energy, US Ambassador to the UN, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for New Mexico.)
Richardson’s rules of negotiation:
Never close the door to your contacts.
Deflect attention from yourself with the people you take with you when you negotiate.
As leader of a mission, observe reactions of your opposing audience to associates’ arguments, i.e. the same arguments you discussed with your associates before the meeting.
Present a final pitch for hostage release based on what you have learned from the audiences’ reactions to your support staff’s arguments.
Richardson is shown by Bergman to be a master of negotiation and a great teacher of the art. You will not always win the argument, but you will have used the most persuasive details based on seeing and hearing the oppositions’ reactions to associates’ arguments.
Brittany Griner (released in Russia 2022)Danny Fenster (released in Myanmar 2021)Otto Warmbier (released 2o17 in N. Korea, died 2017)Trevor Reed (Released in Russia 2022)Paul Whelan (Released in Russia 2024)Kenneth Bae (Released in N. Korea 2014)
“In the Shadows” tells the hostage stories of Brittney Griner, Danny Fenster, Otto Warmbier, Trevor Reed, Paul Whelan, and Kenneth Bae.
Bergman does a great job of explaining how difficult, dangerous, and often unsuccessful hostage negotiations can be. The release of Griner is heartwarming. The death of Warmbier is heart breaking. The delay of Paul Whelan’s release is frustrating and indicative of the complexity of hostage negotiation.
The many stories Bergman tells are interspersed with hardship in his own life that show how human and vulnerable we are despite our intelligence, experience, and education. Over 230 human beings remain political hostages in this unpredictable world. Though Governor Richardson recently died, Bergman carries on with the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.
“Apeirogon” is a little too repetitive for this reviewer, but it is cleverly written and shows why political and military occupation is a fool’s leadership style.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“Apeirogon” (A Novel)
By: Colum McCann
Narrated by: Colum McCann
Colum McCann (Author, Irish writer living in New York.)
At first the idea of an Irish author writing a book about Israel seems incongruous. After the first few paragraphs, one realizes Colum McCann grasps a truth about religious conflict that is far better than most because of Ireland’s “Troubles” between the 1960s and 1990s.
“Apeirogon” is timely novel in regard to Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attack in Gaza. A little history helps one understand the complexity and terrible consequence of the slaughter of innocents.
An estimated 30,228 people have been killed in Gaza, 12,000 of which are thought to be Hamas combatants.
Gaza dates back to Egyptian times, populated by Canaanites who share an ancestral connection to Israelites. Gaza later became part of the Assyrian Empire in 730 BC. Assyrians intermixed with Canaanites, Israelites, Philistines and undoubtedly Palestinians. History shows historical connection between ancient Assyrians and Palestinians just as there were with Israelites. However, Israelites were forcibly relocated to Assyria from the Kingdom of Israel. Because the Israelites were descendants of the Canaanites, they predated Palestinian settlement in Gaza. Ethnic precedent and the want of land area is a part of what complicates the idea of a separate Palestinian state. Where is a homeland for a Palestinian state going to come from?
McCann chose a perfect title for his novel. An apeirogon is a geometric shape that has an infinite number of sides; just like the many sides of Israeli/Palestinian arguments for a homeland. Column McCann cleverly explores these arguments in his novel. He creates a series of Israeli/Palestinian incidents that show how each ethnic culture believes and acts in their perceived self-interests. Every chapter is titled as a series of numbers that begin with the number 1, jumps from 500 to the number 1001; then jumps back to 500 and descends to number 1 to end his story. Revelation comes in 1001. Occupation is an evil that cannot stand.
America’s civil war carries some parallels to what is happening in Israel and Gaza.
What is revelatory about McCann’s novel is its similarities to America’s civil war that ended the lives of too many Americans. Today’s conflict in Gaza is instigated by Hamas just as the Civil War was instigated by southern slave holders. America eventually forgave southern slave holders, but Black Americans continue to suffer from institutional racism. Can a one state solution as demanded by Israel’s conservatives serve Palestinians any better than white America has served Black Americans? America’s civil war ended in 1865-1866, some 158 years later, Black Americans are still discriminated against. Can Palestinians wait more than 158 years to have equal rights in an Israeli nation?
McCann’s novel repeats, too many times, the unfairness of Israel’s occupation of Gaza. Hamas has its rebellious leaders like America had John Brown who killed one Marine, wounded another, and killed six civilians. Neither Brown nor the Hamas leaders can justify their murders though both argue with righteous conviction. The United States could have split between abolitionist and non-abolitionist states, or they could move toward reconciliation. Obviously, the U.S. government prevailed with reconciliation. It seems imperative for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take the same road as Abraham Lincoln. Hamas is a splinter group like that led by America’s John Brown. Their objective is as horribly misguided as Brown’s. Hamas’s hostage taking and murder of Jewish settlers is as reprehensible as Brown’s murders of a Marine and six civilians.
ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE
As difficult as it may be, a two-state solution seems unlikely. What American history suggests is as difficult as America has found reconciliation to be for white America’s murder and unjust treatment of Black Americans. That reconciliation remains a work in progress. However, only union offers a way toward peace. America is not there yet but it is making progress.
Two political factions, bound by both religion and ethnicity, must learn to live with each other for peace to be achieved.
There is no other land for Palestinians. Israel may have the older of the two cultures, and both Israelites and Palestinians have a much longer history of religious and ethnic difference than America. America is founded on religious freedom and equality, though not perfect in either principle. In contrast, religion is a primary determinant in Palestinian and Israeli cultures while equality seems a less prominent concern. Peace will not come without hardship, but a beginning is dependent on Israel’s abandonment of occupation. It will be one country’s leaders’ imperative to provide equal opportunity for all its citizens. The struggle will be long as is shown by America’s history but what realistic alternative is there for the Israeli and Palestinian people? What neighboring country is likely to give up their land to create a two state solution?
“Apeirogon” is a little too repetitive for this reviewer, but it is cleverly written and shows why political and military occupation is a fool’s leadership style. Israel, like white America, needs to do better in reconciling ethnic differences.
Gabriel Bump (Author, MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, grew up in Chicago, Asst. Professor U of M.)
In “The New Naturals” Gabriel Bump shows why societal unity with racial separation is unlikely to be achieved. Without the power and influence of money, leadership is not enough. Bump’s story reminds one of Hamas in Palestine and their deluded belief that they can unify the Palestinian people by creating an underground movement to unify Palestine. Hamas fools themselves just as the leaders of “The New Naturals” show unity fails when the influence and power of money is lost. Of course, the two issues are different because Middle Eastern religion is an element of the fundamental difference between Palestine and Israel. However, money’s influence and power are a major contributor to the Middle East’s conflict.
Bump writes of a Black American movement to create an independent society financed by a donor with great wealth. The donor finances the vision of two Black academics who choose a mountain in Massachusetts to create a literal underground community for Black American citizens. The dream of “The New Naturals” disappears when the financial backer quits her support of the movement. As the donor’s financing disappears, a “smash and grab” mentality infects the movement’s leadership. Loss of financing criminalizes the movement. What could not be achieved with the influence and power of money, led to “smash and grab” criminalization of the movement.
The vision of “The New Naturals” founders is a hope to educate and establish a group of like-minded Black Americans, independent of America’s white dominated culture.
Like the waste of money in building the Hamas’ tunnels in Palestine, these Black separatists choose to use their financial support for tunnels and rooms bored into a mountain. The Black movement is peopled with relatively well-educated Black families wishing for a better life. It devolves with its loss of funding into a group of thugs who insist on separation.
In America, the political choice has been made, i.e., regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity, all who have citizenship in America are Americans.
America has been one nation since 1776. American unity among its citizens is sorely challenged during America’s civil war but it remains the law of the land. Bump’s story explains why, despite continued American inequality, all who have citizenship are Americans. Equality in America is a work in progress. What informs our future is that American identity is a socially and legally enforceable fact.
As noted in 1954 by the U. S. Supreme Court in “Brown v. Board of Education”, the idea of “separate but equal” perpetuates injustice and inequality.
Palestine is considered the birthplace of Ancient Egypt, Israel and the Persian Empire. Though Palestine’s independence was not recognized until 1988, Israel only became a nation-state in 1948. Both societies have a long history as nationalist movements with their own beliefs. Israel and Palestine have earned a right to their own identity. The holocaust was a turning point for the right of a Jewish nation to be created. The current slaughter of innocents in Palestine may be the turning point for Palestine’s right to nationhood.
Civil wars are a lesson to the world. One hopes both Israel and Palestine come to an agreement to either create two nations or one; with unity as separated or as one unified nation-state.
REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 