Yossi Klein Halevi, veteran Israeli journalist and author of the critically acclaimed book, “Like Dreamers:  The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation,” (Harper Collins, $35), will be in St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10, for talks on the findings of his carefully researched book. 

A senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a contributing editor of the New Republic, Klein Halevi is an internationally respected commentator on Israeli and Middle Eastern affairs. He writes regularly for leading American publications, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs.  His previous books include “At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden,” “A Jew’s Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land,” and “Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist.”  He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Sarah, a landscape designer.  They have three children.

His local appearances are sponsored by Congregation B’nai Amoona, Central Reform Congregation, Congregation Shaare Emeth and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, as part of an effort to encourage synagogues, temples and organizations to collaborate on programs of community interest. 

 The Jewish Light caught up with Klein Halevi in the midst of his travels to the United States prior to his St. Louis appearances.

The title of your book, “Like Dreamers:  The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation” implies that it was a mistake or wrong to have reunited Jerusalem, which was hailed as a “liberation” in June 1967.  Is that a fair interpretation, and if not, what do you mean by the title?

Not at all.  The reunification of Jerusalem was one of the greatest moments in Jewish history.  It completely changed my life.  I was a 14-year-old boy from Brooklyn when I got on a plane in the summer of ‘67 and went to Israel.  That was the moment I fell in love with Israel.

So what was the inspiration for the title?

The title is taken from Psalms, “When the Lord returned the exiles to Zion we were like dreamers.”  The book works on two levels.  The first is about the left-right divide.  The second, and directly related to the title, is about the fate of Israel’s big dreams, the dreams we brought home with us when we returned to Zion.  The dream of an egalitarian society represented by the messianic settlement movement.  The dream of a new Middle East of Shimon Peres.  The book cherishes the big dreams of the Jewish people, but is unflinching in telling the story of their failures.

When you were in St. Louis a few years back, you indicated that the old political divisions between the Likud Right and Labor Left had healed and that there was a greater consensus among Israelis on the peace talks with the Palestinians and other issues.  Is that still the case, and if not, what has changed?

We are still more pragmatic than divided.  A centrist majority emerged about 10 years ago, in response to the Second Intifada and the collapse of the peace process.  The central position is that if there is a deal to be had, we need to make the necessary concessions, but in practice there is no Palestinian leadership today capable of making a deal.  These two realizations—the need for a two-state solution to save Israel from the disaster of occupying another people, and the impossibility of creating a Palestinian state any time soon because of Palestinian rejection of Israel’s legitimacy in any borders and the chaotic situation in the Arab world—have lessened the intensity of our national debate.  We sill of course have our dogmatic ideologues of left and right, but most of us have internalized the insights of both camps.

Relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama seem to be at an all-time low.  Do you blame Bibi or Barack — or both — for the impasse?

Bibi made some serious mistakes—allowing the perception that he endorsed (Republican Presidential nominee Mitt) Romney was stupid.  But some of what he was blamed for—the announcement of new housing in East Jerusalem on the day that Joe Biden landed in Israel—was unfair.  That was a lousy coincidence—a routine announcement from the Jerusalem municipality — not the government — for a project that won’t even be built for another few years.  I understand why the U.S. was angry, and a condemnation would have been in place.  Instead, Obama went to war.  The feeling in Israel was that he took that as a pretext to get at Netanyahu.

Specifically what was Obama’s role in the strained relationship with Bibi?

Obama’s biggest mistake in the relationship with Netanyahu was not to give him credit for the nine-month settlement freeze.  Instead, Obama continued to pressure Israel — and not the Palestinians — for additional concessions.  Obama should have embraced Bibi in a bear hug.  Instead Obama alienated the Israeli Cabinet, which voted against an extension of the freeze that Bibi was seeking.

What do you think can—or should—be done to restore a solid U.S.-Israel partnership?

In light of the deal with Iran, I’m not sure how to answer.  I feel that the administration has made a fatal wrong turn and has betrayed its own commitment to stopping a nuclear Iran.  At this point I see a healthy U.S.-Israeli relationship bypassing the White House and focusing on Congress.  I don’t see any way to avoid a showdown between Jerusalem and the White House over Iran.  The administration sees this deal as a potential act of salvation; we see it as a betrayal.

In view of the Geneva deal with Iran, has the possibility of an Israeli military strike increased or decreased?

It is almost too late for an Israeli strike—but not quite too late.  I think the deal with Iran has brought us closer to an Israeli strike.  The perception in Israel today is that only Israel will be able to stop a nuclear Iran.  The U.S. has given up.  When Obama said all options are on the table, he didn’t mean it—that’s the conclusion many of us in Israel have reached.  The prospect of launching a strike without U.S. backing is terrifying.  Israel will likely face thousands of missiles on its home front the day after such a strike against Iran.  How we will cope without the U.S. is practically unimaginable.  My sense is that Congress will force the administration to stand by Israel, if all else fails.

Do you think that Secretary of State John Kerry has any chance of achieving a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians?

No.  Next question.