Can Israelis and Palestinians end their long conflict? Peace deals have been sabotaged by
extremists on both sides and reasons for optimism are increasingly hard to find. In this
compelling and timely book the eminent moral philosopher Jonathan Glover argues one vital step
towards progress is to better understand the disturbing psychology of the cycle of violence.
Glover explores the psychological flaws that entrap both sides: the urge to respond to wounds
or humiliation with backlash political or religious beliefs held with a rigidity that excludes
compromise and people's identity being shaped by the conflict in ways that make it harder to
imagine or even desire alternatives. Drawing on the history of comparable conflicts that eased
over time Glover proposes some ways to gradually weaken the grip of this psychology. Israelis
and Palestinians is essential reading for anyone concerned by the ongoing violence in the
Middle East.
