A major modern conundrum is how the Arab/Israel conflict remains unresolved and, seemingly, unresolvable. In his latest book, Embracing Israel/Palestine,Rabbi Lerner suggests that a change in consciousness is crucial. He examines how the mutual demonization and discounting of each sides’ legitimate needs drive the debate, and he points to new ways of thinking that can lead to a solution. Lerner emphasizes that this new approach to the issue requires giving primacy to love, kindness, and generosity. It calls for challenging the master narratives in both Israel and Palestine as well as the false idea that “homeland security” can be achieved through military, political, economic, or media domination. Lerner makes the case that a lasting peace must prioritize helping people on all sides (including Europe and the U.S.) and that real security is best achieved through an ethos of caring and generosity toward “the other.”

If you have friends in the NYC area, DC area, San Francisco Bay Area or Santa Cruz, please tell them they can hear Rabbi Lerner speak about Embracing Israel/Palestine and buy and have him sign your personal copy at the following events:

NYC 1 pm, Sunday, December 4: All Soul’s Unitarian Church at 1157 Lexington Ave. in New York City. Contact Nanette Schorr at nhschorr@earthlink.net.

D.C. 6:00-7:30 pm, Tuesday, December 6: Busboys and Poets at 2021 14th Street in Washington, D.C. Contact James Lee at nspwashingtondc@gmail.com.

Oakland 11:30am, Sunday, December 11: First Unitarian Church at 685 14th Street in Oakland, CA. Contact Ron Weisberg at ronwei@yahoo.com.

Santa Cruz 7pm, Thursday, December 15: Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA. Contact Scott Kennedy at kenncruz@pacbell.net.

Ordering Embracing Israel/Palestine: www.tikkun.org/embracing or 510 644 1200. Or get your local bookstore to order it from Random House distributors 1-800-733-3000 or emailcustomerservice@randomhouse.com

It’s also at Amazon.com and on Kindle. More info at http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/eip

Congressman Ellison on Rabbi Lerner’s new book:

Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of America’s most significant progressive intellectuals and political leaders, and Embracing Israel/Palestine is not only a great conceptual breakthrough in dealing with the Middle East but also demonstrates a methodology for how best to think about global and domestic U.S. politics. For many decades Muslims, around the world have been cheered by Rabbi Lerner’s challenge to the media’s demeaning of our religion and dismissal of the rights of Palestinians, just as they have been challenged by his insistence that they recognize the importance of truly and deeply accepting Israel’s right to exist in peace and security. I hope my colleagues on Capitol Hill, the cynical media, and leaders in Israel, Palestine, and throughout the world are pushed by ordinary readers to grapple with the brilliant path to peace and reconciliation put forward in this book. Rabbi Lerner’s commitment to nonviolence and a path of love and generosity should not be dismissed as utopian. My experience in the Congress leads me to believe, on the contrary, that it is precisely his way of thinking that is the only path that will give Israel, Palestine, and the United States the peace, security, and well-being all three deserve!

- Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first elected Muslim to the U.S. Congress and chair of the seventy-member Progressive Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives

Read Jimmy Carter and Avrum Burg (below) to see why we at Tikkun are urging you to:

1. Buy and Read Embracing Israel/Palestine

2. Give it as a gift to your friends for Christmas, Chanukah or other special ocassions (it’s very easy read, accessible, and stimulating–perfect for the smart teenagers, college students, and anyone else who likes fresh ideas).

3. Make sure your local independent bookstore puts copies in the “holiday book” section–otherwise people will only buy it online at Amazon.com (also available in Kindle) or from tikkun.org (and yes, that helps us, but we want to help the independent bookstores too).

4. Urge your local newspaper to review it. Also, please write to Terry Gross of Fresh Air to ask her to interview Rabbi Lerner (WHYY, 150 North 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1589 or by email: http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx?sid=3 but a snail mail letter is more effective), and ditto to Rachel Madow Rachel@msnbc.com, and any other t.v. or radio show you esteem.

Here is what Avrum Burg and Jimmy Carter have to say about Rabbi Lerner’s newest book (published Nov. 22, 2011):

Embracing Israel/Palestine is a terrific book by a pioneer of global transformation. Out of love for both Israelis and Palestinians as equal creations of God, Rabbi Lerner offers us the deepest way out of the bloody conflict. Not just a political agreement, not a simple “real estate” and power sharing transaction, Embracing Israel/Palestine draws from a deep psychological and political understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East. Lerner’s book is coming out of a loving heart and a powerful analytic mind. He offers us a strategy of trust that could heal and repair the mentalities of fear that limit the current perspectives that dominate our politics.

– Avrum Burg, former chair of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, speaker of the Knesset, and interim president of Israel

Rabbi Michael Lerner provides us with a brilliant and hopeful vision of how to transform the Middle East from a cauldron of violence to a vanguard of peace. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons to change how we deal with the Middle East. For several decades Lerner has been a remarkably courageous rabbi, defying the orthodoxies of some in his own community to insist that Biblical teachings require recognizing the equal value to God of both Israelis and Palestinians. Challenging the extremists on all sides, Lerner insists on the practical and ethical necessity to embrace both Israel and Palestine with compassion and love. Lerner presents us with a path to peace that will require our replacing the strategy of domination and war with what Lerner appropriately describes as the far more effective path to homeland security: the strategy of generosity and genuine caring for the well-being of everyone involved. This is practical and effective advice for the world. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons in change how we deal with the Middle East.

– Jimmy Carter, 39^th president of the United States of America