In view of the highly likely failure of the present peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, all who are concerned about moving towards a just and enduring peace in the Holy Land would do well to read this book. Having taken a look a the Israeli settlements, their infra-structures and the politics that support them, Tilley argues quite convincingly that the Two-State Solution, if it ever was viable, is no longer so. Then reminding her readers that before that atavistic movement called Nazism erupted in Germany and the subsequent refusal of America and the nations of Europe to admit fleeing Jewish refugees, the opposition to Zionism in general and the creation of a Jewish state in particular was massive among European and American Jewry. The author also reminds us that such well known Zionists as Albert Einstein, Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt as well as other Jewish leaders in the international Association Union (Ichud) movement vociferously argued that the creation of a bi-national secular and democratic state in British mandated Palestine would provide the most viable basis for Jewish homeland there.

Tilley, of course, understands that given the history of the past seven decades the creation of a bi-national Jewish-Palestinian state in our time would be a very difficult task to say the least. But she is also convinced (as are not a few Israelis) that neither the continuation of the status quo supported by a good deal of the Israeli right nor the still in places discussed "transfer" of all Arab peoples out of Israeli controlled areas are viable solutions if one's goal is creating a secure and enduring homeland for Jewish people in the Holy Land. ( )