The Best of Enemies: Memoirs of Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi

I first read this several years ago, shortly after the September 11th attacks. No one will truly understand the hard-core terrorists until they read this book. Bassam is the perfect person to write this, having been present at many of the early meetings of the PLO and other forerunners of Hamas. Terrorist tactics have always been present since the earliest times. Several cultures have waged terroistic campaigns of various lengths, both religious and secular. But most of them I would not equate with "true terrorism", because in early times war was how EVERYTHING spread (including knowledge, trade, enlightenment, many times even a better life for civilians). Some of them, though, I would. You will NEVER understand that Hamas and Al-Qaida do NOT want peace in any way, shape, or reform -- only revenge -- as long as you listen to "apoligists" who insist their actions are because of U.S. and Israel policies. That's bull! Read about the earliest meetings of the forerunner of the PLO! At some of the earliest meetings, when the United States and other countries WEREN'T EVEN INVOLVED IN THE MIDDLE EAST, the PLO literally DREAMED of terroist attacks killing thousands of INNOCENT CIVILIANS for the sole purpose of GETTING THE WORLD'S ATTENTION, BECAUSE THE FELT NO ONE KNEW OR CARED WHAT WAS HAPPENINING IN THE MIDDLE EAST while they were so busy fighting World War II! By their own admission, they wanted to kill innocent civilians! By their own admission, it was because the rest of the world wasn't involved in the Middle East or paying any attention to it! Once Israel became a state, they literally DREAMED of ONE DAY, FLYING A BUNCH OF JET PLANES FILLED WITH FUEL AND PASSENGERS INTO THE TALLEST BUILDINGS (of Tel-Aviv). What I found so interesting was Bassam's transformation from a young man who just wanted to get his country back, to a cold intelligence agent waging violent battles against Israeli intelligence and even participating in an airline hijacking, to someone who finally realized -- after almost being killed by a bomb -- the horror both sides were inflicting on innocent people, and the futility and pointlessness of what he was doing. Equally fascinating was Uzi's slow realization that the Israeli army did not always care who they hurt going after the terrorists. For example, they attacked a "convoy" that turned out to be hundreds of innocent vacationers in traffic on their way to the beach for the holiday. Unfortunately, Bassam surmised (maybe correctly) that Yasser Arafat was not a true terrorist and secretly wanted peace. Even when he wrote this book, he thought Arafat was the key to changing the Middle East situation. Unfortunately, he misjudged Arafat's willingness to take a clear stand when confronted with threats to his life. I only vaguely remember Arafat's historic meeting with Jimmy Carter on the steps of the White House myself. According to Bassam, Arafat agreed to everything that was required by the United States for peace deal arbit

This is one book that any person professing to be open simply HAS to read, if they ever want to appreciate living in a multi racial society. It is rich as it is blunt, extreme as it is honest. Only if you have lived as one or the other, and wondered if you or anyone else ever were "the rightous ones", this is the way forward. It doesn't matter if you think your society is already well adapted or otherwise to differences. By exploring the extremes we consider the subtles, and this book works well to show how things we take for granted passing down to our children can only serve to reinforce long term prejudices, which will only serve to divide. READ IT!

I found the book extremely interesting and enriching. At the beginning the two writers were extremely divergent, and then became slowly close in thinking and outlook. I found very interesting the parts where Uzi writes about intelligence and Shin Bet tactics, and those where Bassam talks about the revolutionary years and Wadih Haddad. Bassam and Uzi are clearly very proactive, seeing and sensing things much before other people are able to. This book, written by an Israeli and a Palestinian, is a step forward towards concensus in the Middle Eastern quagmire. Such a book would have been unthinkable of only a few years ago. It takes a strong courage to write, because the mentality of the people involved is not yet mature enough to accept peace with all the concessions it entails. The life of these two authors and men of action must be anything but a smoothly flowing river.