Author, globetrotter, and now policy maker, Jared Cohen’s latest book caught my eye. Cohen’s first book, 100 Days of Silence, covers the failure of the US to do anything for 100 days during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. His recent book, Children of Jihad: A Young American’s Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East , is bound to break some stereotypes.
…Cohen charms his way through Middle Eastern countries typically thought of as unfriendly to the West. This type of travel is not without its problems: he suffers intimidation, unauthorized searches and other threats over the course of his two years spent among the twentysomethings of Lebanon, Syria and Iran… Cohen drops in on Palestinian refugee camps, chats up Hezbollah members at a McDonalds, talks nuclear power with Iranians over illegal moonshine and meets “Iraqis who like us” in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Ask him your questions as CNN’s Young People Who Rock,an online interview with him is this Friday. Cohen will join [CNN] live from New York on Friday, November 2 to talk about his fearless quest into the wild-middle east. You can submit your questions over at CNN.com.
Let me shep some nachas for Jared… he traveled the world, Africa, the MIddle East. He learned many languages, and ven had to abandon his Clasical Arabic for more coloquial lessons. He can speak a few tribal African languagues or dialects as well (and a tad Korean). He is now at he US State Dept. A grad of Stanford, Oxford, and a Rhodes scholar, he is also a frat member, soccer star, bballer, artist and philanthropist.
But .. in my reading of the book,.. I came away with the feeling that meeting with youth doesnt lead to any greater comprehension. For example, sure he ate at mcD’s and Pizza Hut with members of HizB’allah in Lebanon in 2005. And saw them at clubs and dancing and trying to score w/ da’ ladies. And they said, “we only want Shaba Farms..” But then a year later they were at war with Israel. So… what is perception? what is reality? and does listening to rap and eating at McD’s mean that Jihad will go away? probably not. Larry (MyJewishBooks.com)