The people whose opinions are detested by both sides might be correct. “Both the left and right are correct,” Micah Goodman writes in his new book Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War.

“The arguments for both sides have proven valid. Hence the crisis.”Goodman, best known until now for a brilliant book about the rabbi Maimonides, a surprise best seller in Israel, refuses to traffic in the old clichés.

Catch-67, despite its title, is not really about the Six-Day War but about what Israel can do to break the stalemate with the Palestinians, the fallout from decades of failed peace talks.Goodman wants to repair Israeli political argument, which he knows is badly broken.

The debate about peace has devolved into mudslinging and catchphrases. The right sees Palestinians as a security threat that must be kept under control. The left still looks to them as partners for peace. “One camp is afraid of returning to Egypt, and the other camp is afraid of turning into Egypt,” he says. Both have a point, but neither will admit that the other side has one, too.