‘There are no dispassionate accounts of the conflict that racks the Holy Land, nor should there be. As this intelligent and important book makes clear, it is hard to be dispassionate when you believe that you are fighting for your life; and both the authors remind us that no less than this is what is felt to be at stake. But conflict is always intensified by ignorance. What this book does is to test how far we can go in mapping out a common history and exactly where and how this common history comes to be read differently. It offers no magical solution to this most persistent and harrowing conflict of our times, but it refuses to settle down with slogans, and models the possibility of a painful, honest – even angry – dialogue that does not simply freeze into mutual uncomprehending hatred.’ -- Dr Rowan Williams, Honorary Fellow and Honorary Professor of Contemporary Christian Thought, University of Cambridge

‘Offers a rare insight into the Palestine–Israeli dilemma while outlining political, religious, historical and emotional issues in the struggle for peace.’ - Library Journal

'A must for anybody interested in understanding the conflict in the Middle East.' -- George Joffé, Research Fellow, Centre for International Studies, University of Cambridge

Dan Cohn-Sherbok is Professor Emeritus of Judaism at the University of Wales.

Dawoud El-Alami was a Reader in Islamic Studies at the University of Aberdeen until his retirement in 2021.