''Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War'' ( he, מלכוד 67, translit=Milkud 67) is a 2017 book by Israeli philosopher of Jewish thought Micah Goodman on Israeli internal conflict over the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
occupation. The English-language translation by journalist Eylon Levy was published by
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universi ...
in September 2018.
Synopsis
The book, written in Hebrew, contends that the conflicted
political center
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
on the occupation has views from both the political left and right. Goodman concludes that while an armistice is possible, a comprehensive peace deal is not. The book became the subject of intense public debate, and became a best-seller from its March 2017 release through the next several months. Its release coincided with the 50th anniversary of Israeli victory in the 1967
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
and the resulting occupation of Palestinian territories.
Reception
The book received mostly positive reviews. Isabel Kershner wrote in a review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'': "Examining the political, ethical, religious and security aspects of the conundrum, Mr. Goodman’s book gives equal weight to arguments on all sides. But while he allows that there is a dispute over the legal status of the West Bank land and whether it is truly occupied, he takes a clear stand when it comes to robbing the Palestinians of their freedom." Stu Halpern wrote for the ''
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.Kirkus Reviews'' wrote that the book is "an eloquent expression of the distant hope that deeply committed human beings can stop, inhale deeply, listen, change, and compromise."Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel, reviewed the book for the '' Haaretz'' and harshly criticized it, writing:
and: