Sinking into the Honey Trap: The Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict describes how Israeli society has positioned itself in the comfort zone, ignoring the reality in which it exists. It is about the story leaders tell us and is accepted by most people. This story shapes the consciousness of Israeli Jewish society by presenting half truths about the past, hiding the present and describing a deceptive vision for the future. Sinking into the Honey Trap explains the mechanisms that allow Israelis to ignore reality and to live in a situation that prolongs the conflict with the Palestinians and postpones the solution to an unseen future with ongoing violence. The book describes the political forces that have driven Israel to advance the occupation, settling Jews on the West Bank, outside of Israel's internationally recognized borders. Israeli society is paying a heavy price for the continuation of the conflict - not only in loss of life, emotional health problems and economic costs, but also in the deterioration of democracy and morality that accelerates the development of an authoritarian regime characterized by extreme nationalism and intense religiosity. This process has also occurred in other locations engulfed in intractable conflict, including Turkey, Russia, India, and Rwanda. In these cases, societies have been sinking into the honey trap.
Daniel Bar-Tal is Professor Emeritus at the School of Education, Tel Aviv University. His research interest is in political and social psychology studying socio-psychological foundations of intractable conflicts and peace building. His most influential theoretical contribution is the development of a systematic and holistic theory of the dynamics of interethnic bloody and lasting conflicts: how they erupt, escalate and possibly de-escalate, are resolved peacefully and even reconciled. In addition, he is an authority on the Israeli-Arab/Palestinian conflict, suggesting a comprehensive interdisciplinary analysis of its foundation, continuation and maintenance. He has published over twenty-five books and over two hundred and fifty articles and chapters in major social and political psychological journals, books and encyclopedias. He served as a President of the International Society of Political Psychology and received numerous awards for his academic achievements.
