Side by Side - by Sami Adwan & Dan Bar-On & Eyal Naveh & Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (Paperback)

About the Book

In 2000, a group of Israeli and Palestinian teachers gathered to address what to many people seemed an unbridgeable gulf between the two societies. Struck by how different the standard Israeli and Palestinian textbook histories of the same events were from one another, they began to explore how to "disarm" the teaching of the history of the Middle East in Israeli and Palestinian classrooms.
The result is a riveting "dual narrative" of Israeli and Palestinian history. "Side by Side" comprises the history of two peoples, in separate narratives set literally side-by-side, so that readers can track each against the other, noting both where they differ as well as where they correspond. The unique and fascinating presentation has been translated into English and is now available to American audiences for the first time.
An eye-opening--and inspiring--new approach to thinking about one of the world's most deeply entrenched conflicts, "Side by Side" is a breakthrough book that will spark a new public discussion about the bridge to peace in the Middle East.

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking "dual narrative" history of Israel and Palestine which offers a new paradigm for the teaching of history in conflict and post-conflict situations

"The battle lines of the Israel-Palestinian conflict extend to the classroom, where the two sides' versions of their shared history diverge sharply. Now, two university professors aim to change the way the conflict is taught by exposing Palestinian students to Israeli history lessons and Israeli students to the Palestinian version of history." --USA Today

More than twenty years ago, in the midst of widespread violence in Israel and Palestine, a group of Israeli and Palestinian teachers gathered to address what, to many people, seemed an unbridgeable gulf between the two societies. Struck by how different the standard Israeli and Palestinian textbook histories of the same events were from one another--whether of the Balfour Declaration or the 1967 War--they began to explore how a new understanding of history itself might open up different kinds of dialogue in an increasingly hostile climate. Their express goal was to "disarm" the teaching of Middle East history in Israeli and Palestinian classrooms.

The result is a riveting and unprecedented "dual narrative" of Israeli and Palestinian history. Side by Side comprises the history of two peoples, in separate narratives set literally side by side, so that readers can track each against the other, noting both where they differ as well as where they correspond. This unique and fascinating format, translated into English from Arabic and Hebrew, reveals surprising juxtapositions and allows readers to consider and process the very different viewpoints and logic of each side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

An eye-opening--and inspiring--new approach to thinking about one of the world's most deeply entrenched conflicts, Side by Side is a now classic book that offers to its readers a way to discuss and perhaps help find a bridge to peace in the Middle East.

Review Quotes

"Innovative... A small but important step, if not toward peace, then perhaps toward understanding... Developed by a group of Israeli and Palestinian teachers, this text will prove useful not just to the young, but to anyone who quails at the thought of even attempting to unravel the knotty history of the Middle East."
--Kirkus Reviews

"The battle lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extend to the classroom, where the two sides' versions of their shared history diverge sharply. Now, two university professors aim to change the way the conflict is taught by exposing Palestinian students to Israeli history lessons and Israeli students to the Palestinian version of history.
--USA Today


"Innovative... A small but important step, if not toward peace, then perhaps toward understanding... Developed by a group of Israeli and Palestinian teachers, this text will prove useful not just to the young, but to anyone who quails at the thought of even attempting to unravel the knotty history of the Middle East."
-Kirkus Reviews

"The battle lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extend to the classroom, where the two sides' versions of their shared history diverge sharply. Now, two university professors aim to change the way the conflict is taught by exposing Palestinian students to Israeli history lessons and Israeli students to the Palestinian version of history.
-USA Today

About the Author

Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) is a nongovernmental organization established by Palestinian and Israeli researchers with the help of the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. A co-founder with the late Dan Bar-On of PRIME and its current co-director, Sami Adwan has published widely on the role of education in peacebuilding. PRIME co-director Eyal Naveh is a professor of U.S. history at Tel Aviv University and teaches history and history education at the Kibbutzim College of Education.