Nathan Thrall is a leading analyst of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books and is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, for which he has covered Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza since 2010. His writing and analysis are often featured in print and broadcast media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Economist, Time, CNN, Democracy Now!, PRI, and the BBC. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and daughters.
"Nathan Thrall does a brilliant job describing the political and
geostrategic reasons for the intractability... His argument is
smart and hard to dispute."
--The New York Times Book Review
"This June, Israel is marking the fiftieth anniversary of the
Six-Day War. Not surprisingly, a number of new books have appeared
in this grim anniversary year.... By far the most cogent... is
Nathan Thrall's The Only Language They Understand, which surveys
the last five decades and comes to a remarkable conclusion: the
only way to produce some kind of movement toward resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to apply significant coercive force
to the parties involved, and in particular to Israel."
--The New York Review of Books "Thrall has consistently been one of
the sharpest observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the
United States' role in trying to end it, and his most recent
contribution, The Only Language They Understand, is true to
form.... His argument is a compelling one, and Thrall expertly
marshals historical evidence to demonstrate his thesis that both
sides respond to sticks rather than carrots."
--Foreign Affairs "Thrall is one of the best-informed and most
trenchant observers of the conflict."
--Financial Times "Life is short, and writings about Israel and the
Palestinians can be very, very long. So it's a good thing there's
Nathan Thrall."
--Time "Readers of the New York Review of Books and other
intellectual publications know Nathan Thrall to be one of the
best-informed, most insightful, and least polemical analysts of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict... The Only Language They Understand
brings unparalleled clarity to the dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian
relations, and is an essential guide to the history, personalities,
and ideas behind the conflict."
--Jewish Book Council "Even the most ardent defenders of Israeli
policies should acknowledge Thrall's mastery to facts on the
ground, historical context and diplomatic tactics and strategies on
all sides.... Just about everyone interested in peace between
Israelis and Palestinians will learn something and find something
to ponder."
--Jerusalem Post "Nathan Thrall, an analyst with the International
Crisis Group and consummate observer of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, adds substantially to our understand of the status quo in
his perfectly timed new volume."
--Tablet "Thrall makes a persuasive case that instead of leaving
the Israelis and Palestinians alone or limply warning of the peril
facing Israeli democracy if a two-state solution isn't achieved,
the only weapon in the US arsenal that has ever produced meaningful
gains on the issue is force--diplomatic, economic, or
otherwise."
--Vice "An important new book... eloquently expresses what has long
been clear: that there is no hope of a breakthrough unless the
international community forces it on the parties."
--The Independent (UK) "Nathan Thrall's commentary on the most
intractable dispute of our time is something shocking: it is fair.
Into a debate consumed by ferocious passions he enters
dispassionately, except that he has a passion for peace. For this
reason he is uncommonly trustworthy. His familiarity with the
infamous complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian tangle is
remarkable, as is his mental composure. This learned and candid
book is a genuine contribution to our understanding of an
increasingly frightening conflict."
--Leon Wieseltier "Both the book and the title of The Only Language
They Understand perfectly encapsulate the attitudes of the two
sides to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The title also
illustrates Thrall's main thesis: that over the entire hundred
years of this conflict, only force or the threat of force, whether
military, political, economic, diplomatic or in another form, has
obligated the two sides to compromise. This book is essential
reading for anyone who wants to understand why this conflict is so
intractable and remains unresolved."
--Rashid Khalidi, author of Brokers of Deceit and Edward Said
Professor of Arab Studies, Columbia University "A terrific piece of
analysis by a keen and empathic observer of the region."
--Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower and Thirteen Days in
September "These are the toughest criticisms anywhere of decades of
Israeli policy. The failings of the Palestinians are here as
well--but the arrows are aimed at Jerusalem. Serious supporters of
Israel should have their answers ready--or be prepared to lose
debates to opponents quoting Nathan Thrall."
--Elliott Abrams, Deputy National Security Advisor, George W. Bush
administration "For those who look at the Middle East and throw up
their hands at a hopeless morass, Nathan Thrall's brilliant book is
a compelling corrective. This most well-informed and well-connected
of experts gives rigorous attention to the reality lurking behind
the myths: that in this seemingly frozen conflict, carefully
applied power and assiduous compulsion have often been the midwives
of progress. Eloquent, fact-rich, full of vivid characters, and
relentlessly contemporary in its narrative, The Only Language They
Understand is a withering indictment of conventional wisdom--and a
necessary, essential book."
--Mark Danner, author of Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War "Nathan
Thrall argues with great power and lucidity that the only language
the two sides to the conflict understand is force. This strong
view, strongly held by Thrall, has serious political implications.
He may be right, he may be wrong, but he must be read by anyone who
hasn't given up the idea and the hope of ending this bloody
conflict."
--Avishai Margalit, author of On Compromise and Rotten Compromises
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