It's Easier to Reach Heaven Than the End of the Street: A Jerusalem Memoir

by Emma Williams

Emma Williams arrived in Jerusalem with her three children in August 2000 to join her husband and to work as a doctor. A month later the second Palestinian Intifada erupted. For the next three years she lived on the border of East and West Jerusalem, working with Palestinians in Ramallah by day and spending evenings with Israelis in Tel Aviv. This deeply affecting memoir is a unique contribution to our understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a sympathetic yet unsparingly honest account of the humanity and hypocrisy at the heart of it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East, Memoir, History, Politics, Israel, Biography

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an important book and what a profoundly sad story. Williams writes of her time in Jerusalem while her husband was posted to Israel by the UN. She spent her time there raising her three children (and giving birth to a fourth), continuing with her career by participating in public health work, and observing and recording what was happening around her.

She and her family lived in a Palestinian neighborhood which allowed her to learn first hand many of the hardships that her friends and neighbors encountered increasingly during her time there---the multiple checkpoints that controlled access throughout the West Bank, the need for permits to come and go from home, the bulldozing of homes and taking of land if dwellers were away overnight, shooting of unarmed civilians. Of course the anger among Palestinians ultimately led to the horrors of suicide bombs which the author also lived to fear as they struck close to her life and the lives of her Israeli friends.

The years Williams lived in Israel, 2000 to 2003, saw the second Intifada and horrors on both sides, unstopped by leaders who appear unmotivated to interfere because of land grabbing on Israel's part and graft in the P.A. That is the great sadness revealed in this book....a terrible lack of moral leadership. It appears that citizens on both sides would like a solution but cannot imagine a way out of this morass.

Williams has updated the edition I read with a hopeful coda that the United States will finally come out on the side of international law rather than blind allegiance to Israeli intentions for the sake of both Israel and Palestine. I hope, somewhat wistfully, that there would be peace here. It is a wonderful place, the center of three great religions, and deserves to have peace for its people.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to gain more insight into what has been happening in the Israel/Palestine conflict over the past decade.

[Imas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cukup lama waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk membaca buku ini. Diselingi dengan buku-buku lain. Bukan karena tidak menarik, selain memang tebal, membaca kisah tentang konflik terus menerus ternyata tidak mudah juga.

Emma Williams menuliskan pengalaman hidupnya selama 3 tahun mengikuti suami yang bekerja di PBB bermukim di Yerusalem. Sebagai daerah konflik antara Paletina dan Israrl, banyak peristiwa dan tragedi kemanusiaan yang terjadi didepan matanya. Ketakutan, kesedihan dan kehilangan terjadi di kedua belah pihak.

Tetapi siapa menduga, musibah ini seakan tidak terucap dengan jelas. Kesimpulan yang aku buat untuk buku ini adalah , hanya Tuhan yang tahu persis maksud konflik ini .

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have to say that this book was one of the most difficult books I have ever read. Not because the writing style was awkward or cumbersome, but because the story shared by Emma Williams was beyond disturbing. Emme Williams is a British phsycian who moved to Jerusalem just 1 month before the start of the second Intifada. Williams and her husband stayed for 3 years, together with their 3 children, and then a 4th born while they were there. Williams shares her experiences as a doctor working in the West Bank as well as her experiences as a parent trying to create some semblance of a normal daily routine for her children in the midst of suicide bombings. She moved back and forth between Israelis and Palestinians and shares the experiences on each side and the toll that was taken, both in lives and in the ability to lead a normal life. She describes in detail the policies of Sharon's government to implement the use of checkpoints, curfew, the Barrier and closure as a means to make day-to-day life for the Palestinians as difficult and miserable as possible. She discusses the "rules" that she and other Israelis make up and follow as a means of trying to maintain some semblance of control in their life by avoiding certain places and areas as a means of minimizing the risk of being the victim of a suicide bomber.

All of this was extremely eye opening to me. I think the biggest take away I took from this book is that until we are all able to openly discuss and talk about the policies of the Israeli government -- without automatically being shutdown (or censoring ourselves) because we don't want to sound anti-semitic or that if you speak in defense of the Palestinians then it can only mean that you question Israel's right to exist -- that the situation will never meaningfully improve. It is especially disconcerting to me to finish this book just as the situation in Gaza is heating up again. I will definitely be following events as they unfold in Gaza with a far more critical eye than I would have prior to having read this book. This is definitely a worthwhile read for anyone interested in trying to learn and understand more about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

[Shannon Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative, but very dry. Hard to get through. About 100 pages too long.

[Aya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a 'neutral' description of the 'situation' in Jerusalem, the West Bank and 'Israel' as was witnessed by a British woman who moved to Jerusalem just weeks before the second Intifada with her husband and kids. Emma when arrived was completely 'neutral', she has Palestinian friends and Israeli friends. I think she could not just see what was happening there and just ignore it, or get used to it. The wall, invasions, assassinations, killing children, check points, closures are all details of daily lives for Palestinians. She also talked about Israelis life, the horror they are living in because of the 'suicide bombings'. In this book, she delivered most points of views, the right wing in Israel, the leftists and those opposing to Israel's policies, Palestinians from different opinions. This book is very useful for those who do not know the situation, who are affected by the Israeli propaganda, and who still defend Israel's 'security measures'.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't have time to get through it all so it was more of a skim, so I'm still not completely clear on the situation over there. Super complicated and so many nuances and feelings involved. But it opened my eyes to the horror the Palestinians experience, and the Israelis, because of the extremists and leaders who won't allow peace. And how we get more of a one-sided view here- the Palestinians day-to-day lives are destroyed, but it's only the suicide bombers or big attacks that get on the news.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal memories of several years spent recently in Israel and Palestine. Very sympathetic treatment of how the day to day lives of those in the region have been colored by the conflict. It was a window for me into a lot of the behavior "under the radar" of the usual peace negotiation discussions.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this memoir illuminating. It gives great insight into the human dimension of the Israeli/Palestinian situation, information on what actually goes on day to day, and year after year, that is virtually absent from the US media. I highly recommend this book.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It presents a completely different view of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Very different from what the American media usually covers.

[Ghada Arafat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. One of the few that do not only talk about how people feel but also why. It gives the true human reality of living in a conflict.

[陳 Minzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an easy book to read as the tension between palestine and israel is very foreign to me. I tried my best to pick up a few key points as stated below:

1. Living with terror
"there was no getting used to suicide bombings. We would hear the 'boom' over jerusalem and know when it was not sonic, but murderous.

2. Neither side wants peace
"israelis would rather have the land and the palestinians want justice."

3. Nobody knows
If i asked palestinians why hamas and islamic jihad kept bombing - thereby making peace and a final settlements more difficult, and also giving israel more time to seize and settle the land - the answer was twofolds: that nothing but violence and force had ever made israelis listen, and that the international community had made promises and resolutions and laws but had never kept them.

If i asked why Israel kept building settlements knowing that doing so made peace increasingly difficult to achieve, i was often met with a shrug or an awkward silence.

4. Palestianians just hate jews?
"it's because we are jews, he said, they hate us and they want to destroy us.

5. Was it during curfew?
"what are you talking about, was it during curfew? I am talking about a doctor trying to get home fromwork and a woman in labour trying to get to hospital, In an ambulance. I nearly get shot, she gets killed.

"suicide bombers have come out of nablus nad attacked israelis..."

"You find this amazing? can you really be amazed if some palestinians want to hit back at the occupation, the collective punishment, the daily killing? everyday they kill us, every day, and no one says a thing in your world. Are you one of those who whinks palentinian blood is cheaper than Jewish?"

6. Double standard
when palestinian attacked an American convoy and killed three US citizens in Gaza, the US government demanded immediate justice, threatening to withhold funds from the PA until they got it. For Rachel, killed by an IDF bulldozer, the US government demanded nothing.

IDF = Israel defense force
PA = Palestinian authority
PLO = Palestinian Liberation Organization

Ariel Sharon = Sharon remains a highly polarizing figure in Middle East history. Israelis almost universally revere Sharon as a war hero and statesman who played a vital role in defining the country's borders, while Palestinians revile Sharon as an impenitent war criminal who vigorously suppressed their aspirations for nationhood. (wikipedia)

Yasser Arafat = From 1983 to 1993, Arafat based himself in Tunisia, and began to shift his approach from open conflict with the Israelis to negotiation. In 1988, he acknowledged Israel's right to exist and sought a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In 1994 he returned to Palestine, settling in Gaza City and promoting self-governance for the Palestinian territories. He engaged in a series of negotiations with the Israeli government to end the conflict between it and the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords and the 2000 Camp David Summit. In 1994, Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations in Oslo.

Palestinians generally view him as a martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people. Israelis regarded him as a terrorist. Palestinian rivals, including Islamists and several PLO leftists, frequently denounced him as corrupt or too submissive in his concessions to the Israeli government. (wiki)


All in all, this book talks about the history and background of Israel and Palestinian, conflicting land stretches across West bank, Jerusalem, Occupied territories. Couldnt find words to conclude the book, if anything, I would like to quote the words from Murakami.

“If there is a hard, high wall and an egg that breaks against it, no matter how right the wall or how wrong the egg, I will stand on the side of the egg. Why? Because each of us is an egg, a unique soul enclosed in a fragile egg. Each of us is confronting a high wall. The high wall is the system which forces us to do the things we would not ordinarily see fit to do as individuals . . . We are all human beings, individuals, fragile eggs. We have no hope against the wall: it's too high, too dark, too cold. To fight the wall, we must join our souls together for warmth, strength. We must not let the system control us -- create who we are. It is we who created the system.

[Linda Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict from this book. I liked the day to day descriptions of life in Israel and Palestine. So much of what is happening there is never reported to the rest of the world. I had not realized how much like apartheid this situation is. And the author reported both sides equally, never advocating either side. It is truly a tragedy of our times.

[Julie Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly superb!

[Sagheer Afzal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

[Archie Fetherstonhaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Very good description of Isreal/Palestine conflict as it is from an outsiders perspective, with friends and sympathies in both camps

[Jennifer Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your typical memoir. But that's a good thing- and actually probably pretty typical when your memoir is set in Jerusalem and you are as thoughtful as she is and have access to UN, doctors on both sides, and officials. There is a lot of politics and references to historical events and recent events, but I can see this as a memoir because she's honestly trying to sort this out while she's over there. It is one of the most honest attempts I've seen. It is a little hard to tell what her own views are, which is kind of strange in a memoir, but appreciated in anything attempting to explain the conflict.

When I first started reading the book, I interpreted the news items and her relating interviews and conversations with a pretty wide variety of people as her own, but she does occasionally insert her own views. My impression due to some of her commentary was that she related to Israelis most- that could be due to a suicide bomber blowing up outside her children's school and near it and in places she frequented. Unlike some who have a strong sympathy for Israel, though, she doesn't ignore or deny Palestinian humanity, rights, the fact that Israel is an occupier, the fact that Israel does wrong. I would be curious how she struck people she lived with in Jerusalem; there were a number of times when her friends would say something against Palestinians and she noted that she remained silent. She definitely seems pretty balanced in the book. She really seems to have sympathy for both people and understand the nuance of both sides' politics.

What also made the book so good was that it covers a wide variety of issues: Israeli denial of absolute facts- like IDF kills children, UN workers, etc; how she and others self censor depending on who they talk to; media bias; the Wall; American attitudes; among others.

What could make her so reasonable, besides being British :). Maybe being a doctor (she worked in many hospitals, Palestinian and Israeli, in her public health research while there) helped her not be able to ignore the facts. Seeing the maimed and hearing doctors' struggles on both sides must have had an impact on helping her see the similarity in the two sides, the brutality and senselessness of the violence, whatever the source.

Maybe being a UN worker's wife also helped her feel sympathy toward Palestinians and not only Israelis. She tells of how an Israeli chased her up the street yelling obscenities in her face upon seeing her UN plates because many Israelis feel the UN is "on the Palestinians' side." I guess that could have driven home what kind of hate could be directed at Palestinians by Israelis, if she didn't get it by listening to Palestinian friends' experiences.

[Susan O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Williams' memoir of her time living in Israel is an important book to read if you want to understand the nuances of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Williams and her family moved to Israel just prior to the beginning of the second Intifada in August, 2000. Her husband works for the UN; she is a doctor who tries to work and provide some normalcy for her 3 children and a 4th born in Bethlehem. They live in Jerusalem in a village with one Jewish family and an extended Palestinian family.

Throughout the book Williams weaves personal stories and events with the bigger picture of the struggle between Jews and Palestinians. She is in a unique position to develop friends and colleagues on both sides of the issue and tries to convey the fears, desires, and attempts to maintain daily life on both sides. She is also open about her own attempts to understand and how difficult it is at times to face the reality. She quotes frequently from conversations with journalists, soldiers, politicians, and ordinary people. Keeping close and frequent communications with friends and family in the US and Britain, she is also able to compare what appears in the press in those countries with what is happening in the country. We definitely don't see the entire picture here.

The Williams lived in Israel until 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq, when her husband was transferred to another country. She continued to visit frequently through 2006 when the book was first published in Britain. The edition I read was an updated edition published in the United States in 2010.

It isn't necessarily an easy book to read. It's beautifully written, but the reality is harsh. As with any emotion packed issue, there are people on both sides of the issue who have extreme views, but also people on both sides who above all else want peace. I get the feeling that this is a situation that is almost impossible to understand unless you've lived with it. For that reason, this is an important book to read, especially if you think that you understand the issues you owe it to yourself to read this. It might give you a different perspective or at least a more in depth understanding of the situation.

[Cherop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book in late May or early June 2012 but only read it a few pages at a time. It is densely packaged with information and human tragedy and I found I couldn't read more than a few pages at a time. I read about half of it in this manner.

Then I decided I might get more out of it if I read it quickly so I read the second half over a day. It is a small book with small print and is just over 400 pages with tons of footnotes.

It is hard to read because in doing so, one is confronted with the reality of what is really going on in Israel. There are hardships on both sides but most people will only tell you about the hardships on one side or the other and it is difficult to get a balanced view through the media.

I think Ms. Williams has done us all a service by writing this book and she does it in a fair way. Please read it if you can and try to keep an open mind.

[Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pergaulan Emma Williams dengan sahabat-sahabatnya di Israel dan juga interaksinya dengan sesama petugas medis dan pasien-pasien berkebangsaan Palestina di rumah sakit tempatnya bekerja membuat buku ini memandang konflik Tepi Barat dari sudut pandang baru. Keberpihakan tetap ada, namun tidak pada satu sisi. Buku ini memotret dampak perang berkepanjangan yang dapat terjadi pada siapa saja, entah mereka Islam, Kristen, maupun Yahudi.

Salah seorang mayor dari tentara cadangan Israel menjelaskan penolakan selektif untuk bertugas; Dia dan beberapa tentara lainnya ingin mempertahankan negaranya tapi tidak akan berpartisipasi dalam pendudukan militer yang membuat Israel tidak aman dan kehilangan sifat kemanusiannya. ~349

Yang mau buku ini silahkan PM, nanti saya kirimkan.*

*Satu eksemplar. first come first serve. Jabodetabek only. :)

[PDXReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus of the book is the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It was fascinating, and I enjoyed it, but I would have preferred the author had given it more "heart." It was more informational than what I expected to find in a book billed as a memoir - I was hoping for something that felt more personal.

I'd guess that many people will find the author biased, but it's hard to say what's bias and what is simply ugly fact. Definitely not a light read.

[Becky Ahrendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

told of the issue from a pediatrician who moved to Jerusalem to be with her husband who worked for the UN. She had Palestinian and Jewish friends. 2000-2004 written like a diary. kind of like a text book. well referenced.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started out reading every page but then it got to be too much: too much war to read about. However, I definitely gained a better understanding of this conflict.

[Kathy]

Aunt Marilyn suggested this book.

[Debra]

Isreal

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to take a break from reading this because--while fascinating and factual--the sheer inhumanity described within gets to be too much to bear.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

hard to imagine what has and is still happening, no matter which side you. want to be on. living in constant fear is not my idea of happiness.

[Marge Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story, i.e. a journalistic type report of a family stay in war laden Israel. Complex, annotated, revealing and compelling. Written from a woman's view point.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts I loved best were her personal stories. I know she needed to share history and facts too, but I sometimes glazed over at those.

[Jessica Levitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best accounts of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict I have read. Extremely well-researched. Eye-opening if you have grown up with a one-sided perspective, as I have.

[Patsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

education for missions 2012