Synopses & Reviews
This 2nd EDITION includes a recent intense dialogue/march led by the author in Jericho, the West Bank and a piquant San Francisco ghetto experience that were not included in the 1st Edition.LOVE AND TERROR IN THE MIDDLE EAST, dramatically captures the author 's efforts to promote understanding, communication and cooperation in the region between Jews, Muslims, Christians and non-believers. It details Romano 's arduous journeys between Israel and the West Bank, discussing issues and organizing activities among religious and national groups. Traveling between these areas has been risky: he has been harassed and arrested by the Palestinian police, harassed by Israeli soldiers and attacked by West Bank settlers. Last month, a peace activist friend of Romano 's was murdered in the West Bank. Several months before that, another of his interfaith peace activist friends was murdered in Jerusalem. In addition, Frank 's efforts in the region have cost him a marriage, another long romantic relationship and close contact with his children. I wrote this book to share with a wide audience my belief in the possibility of peace through grassroots activities in Israel and Palestine, Romano explains. A lot of the Middle East conflict is due to misunderstanding and lack of communication between religious groups, so I want to encourage people to begin organizing in their own communities to help break down those barriers. Most books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are written by intellectuals or pundits hundreds of miles from the epicenter of conflict, and they tend to focus on such things as the history, politics and conflicting views of the situation held by various groups. LOVE AND TERROR IN THE MIDDLE EAST, however, is a memoir of a man working in the field, face to face with people from all kinds of factions, including extremists on both sides. Israeli, American and Palestinian politicians make many grandiose statements and this has continued in 2011 but I truly believe that bringing a durable peace has to come through grassroots efforts and involve all the area groups including the hard-liners.