Exile

by Richard North Patterson

"Bestseller Patterson's new thriller with its focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been overtaken by events (there's no mention of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 or the recent fighting across the Lebanese border), but the underlying political issues may be enough for most readers to put the real world aside and suspend disbelief. Harvard-trained attorney David Wolfe, a San Franciscan on the verge of a congressional campaign, has his plans derailed when his law school classmate (and one-time lover), Palestinian Hana Arif, asks him to defend her from charges that she led a conspiracy that assassinated dovish Israeli leader Amos Ben-Aron. Inspired by idealism and lingering passion, Wolfe jeopardizes his political future by taking the case. His suspicion that the suicide bombers who attacked Ben-Aron were aided by a security breach leads him to Israel and Lebanon. While Patterson (Conviction) attempts to portray the issues fairly, the introduction of a soap-operaish subplot undercuts his intended high purpose, and the resolution of the mystery is too predictable to surprise." - From Publishers Weekly

Finished this book last weekend, and though I agree with the review that the subplot was a little too trite, I did like the way he tried to address both POV in a fair way. There has been so much blood shed in this land holy to 3 religions. When/how does it all end? In my opinion, everyone is right, and has valid points. But unless people and their governments get off their positions and actively work for peace, I do not see how this "conflict" will end. How many dead would it require to elevate this from a "conflict"?

I heard this morning that MIT is running a contest to solicit ideas on how to bring about peace in Jerusalem by the year 2015 (? not sure if that is the right year). I for one really like the idea of so many minds trying to create peace. Hopefully it happens in our lifetime.