Shattered Hopes: Obama's Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace

by Josh Ruebner

President Barack Obama’s first trip abroad in his second term took him to Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, where he despondently admitted to those waiting for words of encouragement, “It is a hard slog to work through all of these issues.” Contrast this gloomy assessment with Obama’s optimism on the second day of his first term, when he appointed former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell as his special envoy for Middle East peace, boldly asserting that his administration would “actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” How is it that Obama’s active and aggressive search for progress has become mired in the status quo?

Writer and political analyst Josh Ruebner charts Obama’s journey from optimism to frustration in the first hard-hitting investigation into why the president failed to make any progress on this critical issue, and how his unwillingness to challenge the Israel lobby has shattered hopes for peace.

Written in a clear and accessible style by the advocacy director of a national peace organization and former Middle East analyst for the Congressional Research Service,  Shattered Hopes  offers an informed history of the Obama administration’s policies and maps out a true path forward for the United States to help achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Genres: Middle East, Politics, Israel

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Maryc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant analysis of Obama's continuation of America's FAILED policy-which has helped to finance, support, and perpetuate the brutal military occupation of Palestine by Israel.

[Edward Champion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a trenchant and very well-researched dive into Obama's inept efforts to cut a deal between Israel and Palestine, only for him to get his ass handed to him by Netanyahu. If you have any moral conscience, you will read this and become as angry as I was towards Obama and Hillary Clinton -- both of whom were fawning towards Israel and dismissive of Palestine. A decided lack of third party neutrality, in other words. Ruebener nimbly unpacks how Obama's early campaign talk for Palestine was lip service. And can we mention the fleet of F-35 jets that Obama promised Netanyahu if he caved to a pro-Israel compromise? Or how about Obama's repugnantly obsequious address to AIPAC? Or the ignoble hiring and swift resignation (firing?) of George Mitchell -- a man who was experienced and equipped to broker a peace, but who was, like many who believed in this, thrown to the wolves and not allowed to do his job? Reubner writes with concision and his sourcing is accurate and detailed (I've corroborated a good deal of it). If you're wondering why Biden has become such a sycophantic puppet to Bibi, well, the seeds were sown more than a decade ago.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information and I mostly agree with his points. But it was somewhat of a boring read. Anyone who is interested in the premise if the book but doesn't know much background is going to have a rough time with it IMO. I started it in the fall and put it down after 70 pages. Waited til winter to pick it up again.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking book that gives the reader a Palestinian view of the US posture regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This book can puzzle you, make you angry, break your heart as the author reveals the overwhelming odds against resolution.

[Samar Dahmash Jarrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read and had the author on our live radio show talk about it.