Four articles
on understanding and addressing
the Israeli - Palestinian impasse,
by William J. Thomson, Ph.D.

Part 1 - Jewish Power: Thomson writes: "This lengthy analysis of Jewish power is the best I have ever read on the topic, and I commend it to your attention. It has been my experience as a clinical psychologist for over three decades that problems cannot be solved unless people are willing to clearly understand and address the roots and supporting mechanisms of a conflict. It seems obvious to me that little can be done about Israel/Palestine until similar clarity and actions are achieved." ... more

Part 2 - Psychological dynamics of intractable ethnonational conflicts: The Israeli-Palestinian case. Rouhana, N. N. & Bar-Tel, D. (1998) (Edited by William J. Thomson): Thomson writes: "I have listed excerpts from this excellent article in the American Psychologist. Any process of editing is necessarily selective, and I have tried to be faithful to the intent and contents of the original article. However, I strongly recommend studying the original, which I would be happy to forward upon request." ... more

Part 3A - The Case for Palestinian Nonviolent Direct Action. William J. Thomson, Ph.D. (2002): Thomson writes: "This rather lengthy paper is based on discussions held in the spring of 2001 with Palestinians at Bir Zeit University and with Israeli members of Bat Shalom in Jerusalem. It is designed to serve as a primer for the application of nonviolence theory and technique to the situation in Occupied Palestine." ... more

Part 3B - The Case for Palestinian Nonviolent Direct Action, second part: Thomson writes: "This is the concluding section of the third (of three) articles on understanding and addressing the Israeli - Palestinian impasse." ... more

Part 4 - The Problem with Neutrality Between Palestinians and Israel: Thomson writes: "I have decided to continue this episodic series of articles on the Israel/Palestine situation. This article exposes the folly of neutrally treating the conflict as a 'war between equals'." ... more

Prof. Bill Thomson can be reached at wthomson@umich.edu