From Beirut To Jerusalem Chapter Summaries

From Beirut to Jerusalem Book Review From Beirut to Jerusalem is the intriguing and thought-provoking account of Thomas L. Friedman’s experience in the corrupted Middle East. This novel is exceptionally noteworthy because it highlights the reasons why the Lebanese civil war developed and how the Intifada came to be. Friedman does an exceptional job not just presenting the world with the facts, but he was also able to report the psychological turmoil that the citizens of Lebanon, Israel, and surrounding countries felt. For one to understand just how Israel and Palestine have developed into their current situation, reading this book is a step in the right direction. Chapter two titled, “Would You Like to Eat Now or Wait for the Cease-fire?”

He reflects on how the war affected him, a mere reporter and ultimately an outsider. This chapter feels like a memoir where he was able to showcase how horrific his experience was, but at the same time, he has facts and details to support his findings. Friedman uses dates extensively to give the readers an idea of when every event occurred. He uses them intelligently in the sense that they provide a timeline of when Israel invaded Lebanon and when the Lebanese civil war begun. He also was able to provide direct quotes from Lebanese citizens especially when he described how the Lebanese were able to cope with the insanity around them. On page 35, Friedman quoted a college student named Daila Ezzedine, on how she played mind games to protect herself from chaos. In the novel, Thomas Friedman seems to have a bleak outlook on the future of Lebanon. He conveys the feeling that Lebanon has issues concerning the mentality of its citizens. Because Lebanon has so many groups of people of varying religions, hatred is the only common thread connecting these groups, and until the hatred is resolved, Lebanon will always be at war either in reality or

Here, he focused on the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis. This chapter seems different from the other two because it is less personal. There are instances where Friedman discusses certain events that happened to him, but overall this less of a memoir and more of a news article that seemed more objective than the rest of the book. Chapter thirteen has continuous use of footnotes to ensure the reader that his sources are credible. Friedman does an exceptional job to document both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict but seems to empathize a little more with the Palestinians, even though he himself is Jewish. His religion did not seem to affect the way he saw things that unfolded before him. He realized that the Palestinians had been cornered into small sections of what used to be their home and still do not feel at home because of the treatment they received from the Israelis. Friedman shares multiple instances of how Palestinians were mistreated and frowned upon for being alleged terrorists. He provides multiple examples of how Palestinians wanted to wear clothing with the Palestinian flag, but it was deemed illegal by the Israeli government. Friedman continues to explain that while religion had a large part to play in the conflict, it was more about a sense of identity which was contrary to what most people typically think. Even though both sides embrace different religions, an identity or sense of