It is with great honor that I join the conversation set forth here on TPMCafe by Avraham Burg. The Holocaust is Over: Let us rise from the Ashes is a courageous book that calls out for the healing of a people. For if one cannot be at peace with themselves how on earth can they be at peace with anyone else.

I learned about the struggles in the Middle East some twenty years ago while I was an intern in the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. As a budding national security scholar, I asked the good Senator why the US did not work closer with the Russians to contain nuclear weapons. His answer was not about nuclear weapons but Jewish emigration.

I went home confused for I had no idea what one had to do with the other. That day I began to study the Middle East. I learned more than I could have imagined about victims, racism, ignorance and violence. All of which is no stranger to anyone in Israel or in its neighboring states.

As a curious student, I eventually visited Israel and the occupied territories. I have to say that it was one of the hardest trips I've ever made. It was not only difficult to see how poorly so many people on each side of the conflict were being treated; it was tremendously difficult to witness Israelites internal treatment of each other. I figured out in a very short time that much of the internal unrest was due to the remnants of the Holocaust. It had a devastating and lasting grip on a people.

During my trip, I, like many others, visited Yad Vashem. A group of us gathered while my Jewish friends explained the burning flame. I still cry as I feel their anguish. Greif was evident as I toured the country, met the people and struggled to understand the overreaching politics of fear.

In my work today, I continue to study and teach about a world that so desperately holds on to war. Throughout my travels I see the trauma, the rage, those who cannot or will not let go of the wrongs they have done or the wrongs that have been done to them. It is immeasurably complicated to move on.

Despite this, I do agree with Burg that there is a train leaving the station. As he puts it, people everywhere are discussing "how best to depart from the miseries caused by the political regimes of the 20th century and toward an open, pluralistic society which contains the contemporary 'other.'" Within this, the 'other[s]' are also rising up to get on that train and be a part of the larger global society.

In his book, I believe with a heavy heart that Burg found the reason why Israel seems to be ignoring the train. It remains instead on a track caught in the middle; in between the Holocaust and, as he puts it, "shoahization."

In writing this book, Burg knew that he "would touch so much pain," "that he must be careful." The reaction to his work serves as confirmation. One may think due to such a response that he is unaccompanied in the wilderness. This, however, is not true.

There are many out there who see and who work tirelessly together so that violence and war no longer plague this region. In the words of Yitzhak Rabin, "Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone, and has to join the global journey toward peace, reconciliation and international cooperation." So if Israel is going to 'dwell' with others, first and foremost the Palestinians and other surrounding Arab nations, it must begin by learning to dwell with itself. Israel must start by listening to the advice of Burg -- The Holocaust is Over: We must Rise from the Ashes -- thereby allowing itself to heal and join those boarding that train to a more peaceful future.