The Conflict over the Conflict chronicles one of the most divisive and toxic issues on today’s college and university campuses: Israel/Palestine. Some pro-Palestinian students call supporters of Israel's right to exist racist, and disrupt their events. Some pro-Israel students label pro-Palestinian students terrorists, and the Jews among them traitors. Lawsuits are filed. Legislation is proposed. Faculty members are blacklisted and receive death threats. Academic freedom is compromised and the entire academic enterprise is threatened. How did we get here and what can be done? In this passionate book, Kenneth S. Stern examines attempts from each side to censor the other at a time when some say students, rather than being challenged to wrestle with difficult issues and ideas, are being quarantined from them. He uniquely frames the examination: our ability to think rationally is inhibited when our identity is fiercely connected to an issue of perceived social justice or injustice, and our proclivity to see in-groups and out-groups – us versus them – is obvious. According to Stern, the campus is the best place to mine this conflict and our intense views about it to help future generations do what they are supposed to do: think. The Conflict over the Conflict shows how this is possible. "The Conflict over the Conflict . . . may be the most comprehensive assessment of the (at least) 20-year battle on North American campuses between pro-Israel and anti-Israel forces. . . [A] rare and uncompromising testament to free expression that should give genuine free speech advocates an uplift, particularly in an era when ideologically driven regulation of expression and ideas, especially on campuses, has left many advocates of core liberal, academic values feeling beleaguered." (Pat Johnson, Jewish Independent) A blueprint for how to navigate the 'conflict over the conflict' on campus." (Kayla Steinberg, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle) "The book's purpose . . . in keeping with Stern's academic work as the founder and director of a center for the study of hate [is] to try to understand and explain why the argument over Israel and Palestine, and other similar debates, are so contentious." (Ernst Benjamin, former American Association of University Professors General Secretary, in AAUP Blog) "The ways in which Kenneth S. Stern uses his background experience to amplify his analysis takes this book to an entirely different level. I can only hope that professors and administrators will read it, cover-to-cover. They should then make it required reading for every student on campus." (Joseph J. Levin, Jr., Co-Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center) "People on both sides of the Israel/Palestine campus debate will disagree with parts of this book, but everyone interested in the concepts of academic freedom and free speech should read it. A probing, provocative, and informative guide to clear thinking about divisive issues in our time." (Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History; Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University) "Universities have the power and the moral obligation to facilitate and model uncomfortable but important conversations. In The Conflict Over the Conflict, Stern brings us closer to that goal by treating a sensitive topic with the nuance it deserves and by encouraging us to think carefully about the right and wrong ways to disagree with one another." (Ilana Redstone, Heterodox Academy) "A smart, personal and engaging book [and] a principled discussion of free speech." (Canadian Jewish Record) "[T]houghtful and provocative . . . Stern is a gifted communicator." (Blacklock's Reporter) "For someone (like myself) who both dislikes and distrusts partisanship, this book is a gift. It truly presents a balanced perspective, which I think is very important for our students and others 'sitting on the fence.' The first chapter, on the nature of hate, is invaluable, and the whole book is really a kind of philosophical view into how to teach the Israel/Palestine conflict if you are not an ideologue or partisan committed to doing 'justice' to only one side of the debate. All in all, this is one of the best books I've ever read on how to teach this subject matter." (Corinne E. Blackmer, Professor of English and Judaic Studies, Southern CT State University) "Stern has all the bonafides and qualifications to make his case." (Jewish Insider) Attorney and award-winning author Kenneth S. Stern is the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate. Nadine Strossen is a professor at New York Law School, past President of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a leading expert on constitutional law and civil liberties. Her acclaimed 2018 book, HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship was selected by Washington University as its 2019 “Common Read.”