Covenant over Middle Eastern Waters: Key to World Survival - Hardcover

Joyce Starr

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805030190 ISBN 13: 9780805030198

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 1995

Synopsis

Israel Waters: The very waters of life, according to Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, are said to flow from the Holy Land of the ancient Middle East region. Dr. Joyce Starr exposes the battles over Israeli and Middle East water policy that diluted the peace process.

She illuminates the spiritual view of water set forth in sacred writings and how this legacy has shaped the current political terrain. The author outlines essential steps nations must take to prevent water shortages, pollution and famine in the all too near future. Today's politicians chart a perilous course: Their policies could bury the area under desert sand and concrete, shatter hopes for lasting peace, and pose a threat far beyond the immediate reality. 

FURTHER REVIEWS

"A senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D. C., Starr invested enormous scholarly and personal effort to convince the governments of Middle Eastern states that if they do not act in unison to forestall a regional water crisis, they may be dragged into more unnecessary wars." - Jay Bushinsky, Chicago Sun-Times

"Starr's complete, humanistic presentation is beautifully written.  The Middle Eastern population suffers from a shortage of water. The importance of controlling these resources is well conveyed by the author. She attacks the planners who intend to bury agricultural lands with cement." - Benny Begin, Member of the Knesset, Israel

"Dr. Joyce Starr has written a masterful work which touches at one and the same time both the shores of spirituality and the hardball Middle Eastern real politic." - Dan Gordon, screenwriter, Wyatt Earp, Murder in the First, Passenger 57

"Starr's book is not your usual work of nonfiction. It is not a textbook on the issue, though it contains data. It is not a tract, although there is an intense feel to the work. Instead, it is a remarkably personal book by one of the leading water experts in the US. She begins her book with a discussion of water in the Bible. At first glance, the quotes from Genesis and Psalms seem totally irrelevant to the subject.But Starr is completely on the mark, aware that within months Israelis and Palestinians will be arguing over who had the water first. The question is whether anybody is listening." - Steve Rodan, Jerusalem Post

About this title

About the Author

Joyce Shira Starr, Ph.D., is Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

From Booklist

Every list of obstacles to Mideast peace mentions water; this study spells out the details. Starr, author of Kissing through Glass: The Invisible Shield between Americans and Israelis (1990) and former Near East director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has organized several international conferences on Third World water issues, including a post^-Gulf War Middle East "water conference that wasn't" (it failed, in part, due to U.S. obstruction, which this volume describes). Starr explores the sacredness of water in Middle Eastern history and in all the region's religions before analyzing each nation's limited resources, burgeoning demand, and daunting environmental challenges. Despite its sometimes clumsy organization, the book will convincingly demonstrate that Mideast water security (and the food supply that depends upon it) is vital to long-term regional peace and will require from the nations of the region farsighted leadership and a commitment to cooperation and from the industrial nations and international development agencies intelligent counsel and strong financial support. Mary Carroll

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0805030190
• ISBN 13: 9780805030198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222