Understanding the Dynamics of the Middle East Conflict

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But identity awareness is only the starting point in resolving inter-communal problems.

Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) November 30, 2006

For many the battle for Jerusalem is a fight over physical territory, but for middle east scholar David Hulme, it is a conflict driven by two parties working to secure their view of themselves and the world. The continuing violence clearly demonstrates the need for a different way of understanding the source of the Middle East Conflict.

Although diplomatic negotiations to end the impasse continue, the endless struggle to find a mutually acceptable, viable solution shows there is a vital factor missing from the puzzle. For Hulme, this factor is "the recognition of the importance of identity and ideology to all parties, whether its Hezbollah, Hamas, the PLO or Israel. Any attempt to destroy identity will produce and escalate further conflict. What is happening in south Lebanon, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank are repeated attempts by all parties to destroy the identity of 'the Other.'

In his book Hulme explores the crucial issues of identity and ideology as the root cause and possible solution to the ongoing crisis between Israel and the Palestinian people. In, 2002, scholars Shibley Telhami and Michael Barenett noted that an understanding of "identity politics" is critical to any understanding of the Middle East conflict. "And yet, it is rarely addressed when searching for a solution," says Hulme.

By examining the biographies of 14 key players on both sides of the more than 100-year Arab-Zionist conflict, Hulme is able to identify the parallels between people, rather than the differences. These leaders, from Zionism's Theodor Herzl and Hamas's Shaykh Yassin to Israel's David Ben-Gurion and the PLO's Yasser Arafat, were working towards parallel goals for their people with identities that were more alike than they realised.

"Understanding the role identity and ideology played in their lives, as leaders at the very center of this conflict, is crucial to discovering the way out of today's ongoing tension and violence," says Hulme.

Identity asks and answers the question 'Who am I?' "But identity awareness is only the starting point in resolving inter-communal problems." Says Hulme. "If there is to be any hope for reconciliation and resolution in this, and indeed any of the world's other identity-based conflicts, then the existential question 'Who am I?" must lead to a much more important question, 'Who should I be?' "

According to the renowned International Relations scholar, James Rosenau of the George Washington University, Hulme's Identity, Ideology, & the Future of Jerusalem will surely service as a reference on the Middle East conflict for years to come.

"Few cities in world history are the focus of continuing conflict and concern, and perhaps none have been as preoccupying as Jerusalem," says Rosenau. "It is the site of religious and political strife, ideological and identity tensions -- what Hulme refers to as 'one of the world's most perplexing political and humanitarian problems. While those problems will have to be solved in the political arena, a reading of this book clarifies the potential for a solution."

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