David Grossman's novels have been described as the "left's conscious " for example one of his books is entitled On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society But his latest book is the most amazing, most tragic novel. Until the end of the Land tells the story of a tank commander and his experiences surviving physically and morally in action on the West Bank. The novel is based on the experiences of his youngest son, Uri. Tragically, Uri was killed when his tank blew up in the last offensive during the 2006 Lebanon war. After a peace treaty was arranged with the UN, PM Olmert called for a final offensive and that is when many Israeli soldiers (IDF) were killed. As you may recall, the 2006 elections provided the new Likud party with a majority coalition, only to have its existence challenged by the way the 2006 war was executed. I believe (but I am not sure) that most Israeli's view the recent war as a mistake, esp how it was carried out (reserve IDF soldiers were not supplied or equipped properly) esp the offensive at the end of the war. My own opinion? Israel with the help of US and UN should negotiate a peace treaty with Syria and the Palestinians, withdraw to 1967 borders, create a Palestinian state, unite Gaza with West Bank with a transportation tunnel, and use $ as the final payoff factor. Think of the money we have spent on Iraq - if we instead spent that paying off Palestinian refugee families for land and property they lost in 1948 or afterward, that would be a great incentive to bargain. Here is what a cab driver in Dubai said about the Taliban (or about any terrorist): "Trap a man in a room with no way out and he will fight, give him a way out and he will take it."
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