A review by brianmagid
The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine by Nathan Thrall

4.0

started reading during long days alone at the cold spring harbor library when I was home for a month. thrall's clear eyed no-bullshit approach to diplomacy was a welcome reprieve in companionship from hotheaded emotional arguments with my family on this topic. this book is randomly out of print but I found a copy at West Hollywood library upon returning to my lonely west coast life and just finished it this morning. the most essential essays here are about the failure of U.S. diplomacy strategies, and the abortive ways in which attempts to "condemn" Israeli settlement growth act as a substitute for genuine diplomatic pressure; an approach that serves to distance the annexationist wing of the occupation from the government that supports, finances and arms it; a shield for the occupation that such policies are ostensibly meant to bring to an end. the book is bleak but not hopeless. cuts through lots of noise about "trust building" and "no partner for peace" and all the other bad narratives that bedevil this conflict and determines clearly and simply that the parties involved in any diplomatic negotiation only make deals when force is present; when the risk of maintaining the status quo becomes more dangerous than the vision of a better world.