There are some who feel we are at a critical point in our relationship with Israel, a relationship strained by increasingly divergent political views and priorities. At the same time, as Americans we are moving toward the extremes and surrounding ourselves with like-minded individuals. And the reality is, the conversation has stopped. This year the Israel Center of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati wants to bring people with diverse opinions together in the same room to promote learning and robust dialogue about Israel—not to reach consensus but to increase understanding of the other.
As part of that initiative, award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, Yossi Klein Halevi, will speak at a community event at the Mayerson JCC.
Attempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli commentator and award-winning author Yossi Klein Halevi directly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book, empathizing with Palestinian suffering and longing for reconciliation as he explores how the conflict looks through Israeli eyes.
In Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, Halevi untangles the ideological and emotional knot that has defined the conflict for nearly a century. In lyrical, evocative language, he unravels the complex strands of faith, pride, anger and anguish he feels as a Jew living in Israel, using history and personal experience as his guide. Halevi’s letters speak not only to his Palestinian neighbor, but to all concerned global citizens, helping us understand the painful choices confronting Israelis and Palestinians that will ultimately help determine the fate of the region.
Halevi is an author, thinker, and commentator on Jewish and Israeli affairs. Born in New York, he moved to Israel in 1982 and lives in Jerusalem.
Registration will open this summer.
Join us for a Community Read!
Encourage your book club to read this New York Times bestseller then attend the author talk in October. Sign up here for a free copy of the book and a discussion guide.