How to Cure a Fanatic
by Amos Oz

'How to Cure a Fanatic' by Amos Oz - Why? Because Amos Oz is concerned with people who become fanatics, such as the characters in his book 'Tales of Love and Darkness', and people who become fanatics because of problems caused by fanatics. Oz is dealing with Middle-Eastern fanatics, Israeli and Palestinian. Oz's cure, presented in the "aw, shucks" tone of a country doctor (a profession Oz once called his own), is to bring the clash between the Israeli and Palestinian forces down from the clouds and re-frame it as a debate about real-estate - a real problem with a real solution. In 'How to Cure a Fanatic', Oz advocates a two-state solution to Israel's Palestinian dilemma. Oz sees solutions as happening with humor and common sense, a common sense that seeks those solutions out of the lived human experiences of everyday problems. Dr. Oz recommends a divorce of peoples. Divorce is a compromise, but one that relinquishes righteousness.

In Oz's opinion, the West needs to determine who is the good guy, but to accept the need for peace, because otherwise error and blame become one-sided, and dwelling on blame accomplishes nothing. What is needed is the ability to see the problem in discrete parts which can be understood and healed. Dr. Oz's cure for fanaticism requires that blame be replaced by support, which will require Western aid to the Palestinian and Israeli states. The west cannot favor one side or the other - it must favor peace. The west, to cure fanaticism, must give up the desire to force change upon other people

'How to Cure a Fanatic', Oz's 95-page book, is a radical departure from current politics in that Oz moves from an extreme position to the center of the issue, with a plea for a two-state solution to the root of the problem - the land itself. The west and the Israelis need to realize that the conflict is both international and internal, and must be resolved on both levels."