Few of us will ever experience the devastating horror of living within a war zone. Yet all of us know what it means to form a life-long, sustaining connection with another human being. Together, they weave a spellbinding story ultimately affirming the possibility of peace and reconciliation. In Love and Terror in the Middle East, 3rd Edition (World Audience Publishers), readers walk the war-torn streets of Israel and the West Bank with peace activist Frank Romano, and struggle with the inevitable casualties within his personal life as it becomes caught up in his work.
Romano's efforts to promote understanding, communication and cooperation in the region among Jews, Muslims, Christians and non-believers have spanned years of bitter conflict. Passing through a virtually endless maze of checkpoints and walls, he has faced hatred on every side.
"I've been harassed and arrested by the Palestinian police, harassed and arrested by Israeli police and Israeli soldiers and attacked by Israeli settlers," he says. "A peace activist friend was recently murdered in the West Bank."
The aftermath of that murder in the Jenin Refugee Camp spurred him to return and uncover the truth buried deep within The Shadows of that mysterious death. A new chapter in this 3rd Edition of Love and Terror in the Middle East, titled "Return to Killing Fields," documents his struggle to accept yet another senseless death.
Romano's search for interfaith peace interweaves with his sometimes tragic personal life, hints of love and desperation after a series of lovers and broken relationships. His life sometimes resembles a personal battlefield more than a peacemaking mission as he continues to look for love among Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land.
"I wrote this book to share with a wide audience my belief in the possibility of peace through grassroots activities in Israel and Palestine," Romano explains. "A lot of the Middle East conflict is due to misunderstanding and lack of communication among religious groups, so I want to encourage people to begin organizing in their own communities to help break down those barriers."
Frank Romano earned a PhD at University of Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne, and a JD at Golden Gate University, Faculty of Law, San Francisco. At present, he teaches law, literature, history and philosophy of law at the University of Paris Ouest and practices law in France and in the United States. The author actively organizes and participates in interfaith events involving Jews, Muslims and Christians in Israel and Palestine. Dr. Romano has also authored a book entitled Storm Over Morocco, published by World Audience, Inc., Globalization of Antitrust Policies (Mondialisation des politiques de concurrence), published by L'Harmattan in French, Love and Terror in the Middle East and a book of poems entitled Crossing Over. He has written many articles published in Europe and in the United States where he is often invited to speak at conferences.
For more information, visit frankromano-lt.com.
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