This work is a combination of an account of a most captivating Lebanese personality with a penetrating analysis of the historical and religious contours of Lebanon. Mordechai Nisan spent much time with Etienne Sakr between 2000 and 2001. Set within the context of the national political narrative of Lebanon, this volume offers a portrait of Sakr and the times in which he lived before his exile to Israel in May 2000. Personal testimonies from Lebanese residents and conversations with others outside of Lebanon who knew Abu-Arz, in addition to interviews with Israelis aquainted with him, provide the authenticity to the portrait of this remarkable man.

This work is a combination of an account of a most captivating Lebanese personality with a penetrating analysis of the historical and religious contours of Lebanon. Mordechai Nisan spent much time with Etienne Sakr between 2000 and 2001. Set within the context of the national political narrative of Lebanon, this volume offers a portrait of Sakr and the times in which he lived before his exile to Israel in May 2000. Personal testimonies from Lebanese residents and conversations with others outside of Lebanon who knew Abu-Arz, in addition to interviews with Israelis aquainted with him, provide the authenticity to the portrait of this remarkable man.

Lebanon is an exceptionally misunderstood country; its religious politics are typically misrepresented and denigrated in Western political commentary. Politics and War in Lebanon offers a lucid examination of Lebanese society and politics. Mordechai Nisan examines Lebanon in its own termson its own cultural turf. He then points to the causes of political disintegration in 1975 and explores the capacity of Lebanon to recover and retain its unique national poise. Avoiding disorienting Western stereotypes, Nisan presents Lebanon in its own native frame of reference, as a multi-ethnic country that operates according to its immutable and enigmatic political forms. Lebanon is different from other Arab countries, as demonstrated through its very complex electoral system, its tradition of cross-elite cooperation, and its special sense of Lebanese national identity that differentiates it from its overbearing Syrian neighbor. Nisan explores intra-Maronite Christian feuds, identifies Syria's occupation strategy, analyzes the violence of the Palestinians, and studies Israel's failed policy strategy and the role of Hezbollah in the Lebanese power equation. Lebanon is caught between its special historical identity as a country ofpoise, creativity, and liberty and the interminable warfare in the streets and villages of the country. Although its future appears dim, its resilience enabled it to prevail in the past, and may yet continue to do so.

The struggle for independence by minorities in the Middle East (those people who are non-Arab or non-Muslim) is affecting the political climate around the world. War and terrorism are threatening the safety of many minority communities and repression of minorities still remains standard state policy in some countries. This updated and revised edition of the 1991 original ("impressive"--Choice; "informative...useful"--Library Journal) provides a wealth of historical and political detail for all the indigenous peoples of the Middle East. Pressed to persist in a threatening environment, these minorities (Kurds, Berbers, Baluchi, Druzes, Alawites, Armenians, Assyrians, Maronites, Sudanese Christians, Jews, Egyptian Copts, and others) share similar experiences and have been known to cooperate for shared goals. Important events and new trends regarding the welfare of these groups are covered, and numerous oral histories add to the new edition.

This book offers a coherent paradigm to contend with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It first clarifies the national Jewish character of Israel, the danger of domestic Arab challenges, and the imperative of Israeli rule throughout the area west of the Jordan River. It secondly considers the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria, and the complexity of arranging Jewish-Arab accommodation and political stability. The book then argues for the consolidation of a Palestinian entity east of the river in Jordan. This innovative approach to conflict-resolution offers the only reasonable political solution for a problem that is more than one hundred years old. The two-state solution, currently monopolizing political discourse, is a non-starter; our proposal is the only worthy and serious option to consider.