Mazin Qumsiyeh's Sharing the Land of Canaan is a beautiful book. Suffusing the history of this Middle Eastern region and its peoples, is Qumsiyeh's own history as a member of the Palestinian diaspora. Thus, the book has a personal perspective underlying the historical, scientific, cultural and environmental facts brought out by Qumsiyeh, himself a scientist and human rights activist. He proposes for the region, one single multi-cultural state, in which the rights of all peoples of the region, Muslim, Christian and Jew, are respected and preserved, and those who have been displaced and disenfranchised be granted the right, under the United Nations Charter, and principles of humanitarian justice, to return to their homeland. Mr. Qumsiyeh considers all the objections and possible problems that might be caused by this course of action. But his conclusion, a convincing one, is that there is no other just and viable course for the Middle East, and, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international principles of justice, the only viable way to peace in the region.
Mr. Qumsiyeh skillfully demonstrates that co-existence is not an impossibility, but, rather the only solution to the problems facing the area today known as Israel-Palestine. This book is required reading for all those who seek to learn more about bringing a just peace to the Land of Canaan.