Quite the journey--from Beirut to Jerusalem, in turbulent times

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've had it in mind to read this book for a long time...thanks, pandemic, for giving me more reading time! Actually, ever since I made a short visit to Beirut with a colleague in 2013, I've been wanting to read up on the background of the Civil War that raged there for so many years--and on the political & religious background of the country. I knew there were many divisions--between traditional Christians & various Muslim groups (both Sunnis & Shiites)--but didn't know the details. And I knew the Syrian army had their fingers in the pie for a long time; same with the Israelis, and even the US at one time. As Friedman so eloquently puts it: "Funny country, Lebanon. The minute one army packed up and rushed out, another one swaggered in and took its place. There always seemed to be someone knocking on the door to get in—and someone inside dying to get out." Reminds me a bit of another country I'm more familiar with--and have lived in for a number of years: Afghanistan.

Here's another parallel with Afghanistan mentioned by Friedman, when looking at how the world came to regard the Palestinian people, due to to actions of the PLO: "...the PLO, in order to grab the attention of the world when it emerged in the late 1960s, engaged in some spectacular acts of terrorism and airplane hijacking. This gave the Israelis an opportunity to brand the entire Palestinian national movement and cause as a criminal “terrorist” phenomenon. Eventually, the two words “Palestinian” and “terrorist” became fused together in the minds of people the world over. Although 99 percent of the Palestinian people have never been involved in terrorist activity, this label—“terrorist”—became a heavy cross they all had to bear wherever they traveled." Eerily similar to how people think of the Afghan peoples, due to the actions of the Taliban (& their al Qaeda friends).

Friedman is a very good writer and I thought did a great job giving solid background to the mess of a situation for so many years, in both Beirut--where he was stationed as a reporter by the New York Times for some of the worst years of the Civil War--and in Israel--where he lived & reported for several years. I also wanted to learn more about the background & issues in the Jewish/Palestinian issue that has simmered for years and flares up again & again. I thought Friedman did a great job interviewing a fairly wide spectrum of people in both "Beirut & Jerusalem," helping the reader to get a fairly objective grasp on the various issues and "sides." It was very interesting to read about the 4 types of Israelis--from fanatically religious to culturally secular--and the changes that have occurred in Israel over the years since the 1948 establishing of the state of Israel up till the early 1990s.

I'm glad I read the book--I feel better informed about some of the underlying issues that continue to cause tensions in this part of the world. I thought Friedman's analysis at the end of how to best move things forward was insightful--and I think some of it has basically been implemented in the years since, with some self-rule autonomy given to the Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank.

I borrowed this from the library and read it on my Kindle (after listening to the "audiobook"--which was a highly, highly condensed Reader's Digest version that left me wanting).


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