I am an amateur historian, but this is no reason to write off my work. The word amateur comes from the Latin to love; an amateur has to love what they do because they aren’t getting paid. Countless hours go into a project like this, so there had better be some intrinsic reward.
Working most of my adult life as a carpenter, house rehabber and cabinetmaker has given me the tools I needed to approach the problem. Carpenters are constantly evaluating systems; floors, windows, hinges, tools, whatever. Some are designed for price, some for longevity, some for looks or ease of use, all of them make compromises between various aims. When I started looking at the systems the international community had constructed to work on the Arab-Zionist conflict, it became clear that they were designed for failure, that is, to produce more conflict. This was surprising; carpenters don’t get much chance to use these sorts of systems because we try not to buy them and hope the business closes soon. Still, research kept confirming this, so I came to believe it.
Long ago I spent a few years teaching middle and high school. Teaching is less about imparting information than trying to listen to what, and how, students think. This was good preparation for approaching historical texts; the questions are much the same: how did they think, what did they believe, what intellectual tools were available to them? I can thank my students for this training.
My other qualification is reading a lot of history; as I mentioned, I love the topic. Those books have tried to teach me, and I have tried to learn, about doing and writing history. Once I decided I had something to say, I tried to apply the lessons learned. Each paper suggested and required the next, and by now there is a large backlog. I’ll admit to being more than a little addicted to the research and thinking about the topic.
Having a world-class library with helpful librarians an eight-minute bike ride away has been amazing. Everyone should have this. I’ve had some great readers, and their feedback improved everything they touched. Mainly though, having an indulgent and loving family is the key, I certainly couldn’t have done this work without them.
Rethinking the Middle-East Conflict 