Inserting the align environment inside a minipage of width \linewidth blocks it into a specific width block:

\documentclass{amsbook}
\begin{document}
\noindent
\begin{minipage}[t]{.5\textwidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item This is an item in the list
\begin{align}
x=y+z
\end{align}
\item This is another item in the list
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[t]{.5\textwidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item This is an item in the list
\vskip\abovedisplayskip
\noindent\begin{minipage}{\linewidth}
\begin{align}
x=y+z
\end{align}
\end{minipage}\par
\vskip\belowdisplayskip
\vskip\belowdisplayskip
\item This is another item in the list
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}
\end{document}
Note that there might be some confusion in terms of the numbering display. Use the reqno document class option to avoid this. Alternatively, you might also consider using \tag to force the equation number to be something different.
reqno, if you have such situations. Both "solutions" are ambiguous. – egreg Jul 6 '12 at 6:43