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A Jew in Gaza: Memoir: Humanitarian Heartbreak, Hubris and Horrors
This is the unique story of how Alonzo Wind, retired Foreign Service Officer and international development executive, came to accept the position of Mission Director for International Medical Corps in the occupied Palestinian territories, living in Gaza and East Jerusalem during 2022 and 2023. It offers a view into Gaza few have had, as an American Jew, as a Baha'i, as a humanitarian living under the threats of the interminable conflicts between Israel and Gaza. Mr. Wind lived through multiple escalations and Israeli counterstrikes, and negotiated a fine line of diplomacy and international humanitarian law between Israeli civil and military authorities and the de facto authority in Gaza represented by Hamas.
- GenresNonfiction
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 29, 2024
21 people are currently reading
2705 people want to read
About the author
Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind
10 books238 followersAllan J. "Alonzo" Wind is currently a Senior Advisor and Scholar for the Foundation for Law and International Affairs (FLIA) and routinely conducts policy analyses. He is part of the group Supporters (Friends) of Standing Together in the Washington DC metro area.
He served from February 2022 – December 2023 as the International Medical Corps Mission Director in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), supervising a staff of seven expats of different nationalities and over 75 local Palestinian staff, in Gaza and Bethlehem. He was elected in 2022 to the Executive Committee of the Association for International Development Agencies (AIDA) and served on the UN OCHA Humanitarian Country Team and UN HF Advisory Board.
Mr. Wind is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), having worked for 22 years on diplomatic assignments with USAID primarily overseas in Peru, Nicaragua, Angola, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Mr. Wind previously worked for fifteen years for different nonprofit private voluntary organizations in Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and the UK, among others, also serving as the Global Programme Coordinator of the International Save the Children Alliance Secretariat. Mr. Wind also serves on the Boards of Directors of different NGOs, including Hunger Relief International, supporting their efforts with the neediest in Guatemala and Haiti.
He graduated from the University of Chicago. He is originally a New Yorker, and as a high schooler he was a "subway rat" attending the famous Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. There he studied creative writing for two years with his teacher, the famous Irish American writer Frank McCourt. He has always been an avid science fiction fan and sometime writer, and notes that writing science fiction and creative writing under Frank was invaluable for future U.S. government work.
He served from February 2022 – December 2023 as the International Medical Corps Mission Director in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), supervising a staff of seven expats of different nationalities and over 75 local Palestinian staff, in Gaza and Bethlehem. He was elected in 2022 to the Executive Committee of the Association for International Development Agencies (AIDA) and served on the UN OCHA Humanitarian Country Team and UN HF Advisory Board.
Mr. Wind is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), having worked for 22 years on diplomatic assignments with USAID primarily overseas in Peru, Nicaragua, Angola, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Mr. Wind previously worked for fifteen years for different nonprofit private voluntary organizations in Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and the UK, among others, also serving as the Global Programme Coordinator of the International Save the Children Alliance Secretariat. Mr. Wind also serves on the Boards of Directors of different NGOs, including Hunger Relief International, supporting their efforts with the neediest in Guatemala and Haiti.
He graduated from the University of Chicago. He is originally a New Yorker, and as a high schooler he was a "subway rat" attending the famous Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. There he studied creative writing for two years with his teacher, the famous Irish American writer Frank McCourt. He has always been an avid science fiction fan and sometime writer, and notes that writing science fiction and creative writing under Frank was invaluable for future U.S. government work.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 18, 2024
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for choosing me.
This book is well written, but tough to read. It deals with such heavy topics that it guts you. Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind includes photographs, anecdotes and power points in his book that are quite useful. It is heartbreaking to know what's going on, and to see it happening is awful but we have to read about it, hear about it and talk about it in order to do something about it.
I learned a lot. The information I read will definitely stick with me for a long time.
This book is well written, but tough to read. It deals with such heavy topics that it guts you. Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind includes photographs, anecdotes and power points in his book that are quite useful. It is heartbreaking to know what's going on, and to see it happening is awful but we have to read about it, hear about it and talk about it in order to do something about it.
I learned a lot. The information I read will definitely stick with me for a long time.
July 21, 2024
This was a Goodreads free book. It is the timeliest book that I have won. It is very informative and provides a non-biased view of what is happening in Gaza especially related to do the inability to receive the food and medical care that has been donated but the majority is not allowed to enter. The author was the head Mission Director for an international nongovernmental organization in the occupied Palestinian territories for two years.
Much of the book deals with the suffering and feeling of hopelessness of many of the people who live in Gaza. The pictures of the bombed buildings remind me of similar pictures from Ukraine.
There are several quotes that I wish that I could add in Goodreads notes but I haven’t figured out how to do that. I will add a couple that the author stated are paraphrased from New York Times journalist, Nick Kristof. The following are a couple of them:
1. All lives have equal value, and the children must be presumed innocent. “So while there is no moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel, there is moral equivalence between Israel civilians.” If you champion only one side and ignore the other, you don’t actually care about human rights.
2. “There was no excuse for Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7 and murdering, torturing and raping Israeli civilians. And there is no excuse for Israel’s reckless use of 2,000-pound bombs and other munitions, such as the globally proscribed white phosphorus, that have destroyed entire blocks and neighborhoods and killed vast numbers of innocent people, including more than 200 aid workers.
There are many similar points that are equally powerful. Background information. I am in too many book clubs and last winter a social justice book club asked for suggestions for a book about Israel due to the current strife. I had read Exodus by Leon Uris decades ago and recommended it. The book club loved it. However, after reading some of the Goodreads reviews, I was compelled to do some more reading. I read that documents were later made public that Leon Uris wasn’t aware of and I believe that if he had been the book would have been greatly modified.
I have since read The Hundred Years War on Palestine and The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Our social justice book club is reading The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. I have also read A Woman is no Man by Etaf Run and Salt Houses by Hala Alyan. Both of these books have Palestine situation in their history. This book provides an excellent insight to the current situation in Gaza. I will continue to read and study this topic
Much of the book deals with the suffering and feeling of hopelessness of many of the people who live in Gaza. The pictures of the bombed buildings remind me of similar pictures from Ukraine.
There are several quotes that I wish that I could add in Goodreads notes but I haven’t figured out how to do that. I will add a couple that the author stated are paraphrased from New York Times journalist, Nick Kristof. The following are a couple of them:
1. All lives have equal value, and the children must be presumed innocent. “So while there is no moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel, there is moral equivalence between Israel civilians.” If you champion only one side and ignore the other, you don’t actually care about human rights.
2. “There was no excuse for Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7 and murdering, torturing and raping Israeli civilians. And there is no excuse for Israel’s reckless use of 2,000-pound bombs and other munitions, such as the globally proscribed white phosphorus, that have destroyed entire blocks and neighborhoods and killed vast numbers of innocent people, including more than 200 aid workers.
There are many similar points that are equally powerful. Background information. I am in too many book clubs and last winter a social justice book club asked for suggestions for a book about Israel due to the current strife. I had read Exodus by Leon Uris decades ago and recommended it. The book club loved it. However, after reading some of the Goodreads reviews, I was compelled to do some more reading. I read that documents were later made public that Leon Uris wasn’t aware of and I believe that if he had been the book would have been greatly modified.
I have since read The Hundred Years War on Palestine and The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Our social justice book club is reading The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. I have also read A Woman is no Man by Etaf Run and Salt Houses by Hala Alyan. Both of these books have Palestine situation in their history. This book provides an excellent insight to the current situation in Gaza. I will continue to read and study this topic
July 18, 2025
This book recounts the author's first hand experience as an American Jew living in Gaza in 2022 and 2023 while he was serving as Mission Director for the International Health Corp. While it's difficult to not be political when talking about an area that is one of the most complex areas of the world for many reasons, the author attempts to focus on the actual people living in Gaza that he worked with and their experiences.
The book starts out in 2022, when the author was facing challenges in the area, but still able to work with his team. It ends with October 7th (luckily, he was outside of Gaza for the weekend at the time) and the days after. The book was written around the time that seemed to be leading up to the start of the U.S. presidential election. It's very interesting to read it today and see some of the things the author was concerned about - all they way from how other countries responded, Iran's involvement, etc. - and how some of that has played out in reality.
The one downside to the book was that I read the e-book version, and the author included images of a number of PowerPoint slides he uses in lectures that had a lot of information on them. Those slides were very difficult to read in an e-book. It would have been better to just include the information as regular text in the book.
The author clearly has his own opinions on the area, the war and what the right resolution is, however, I think he did a good job of describing the realities of the area in a way that those of us that aren't as educated on it can easily understand.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The book starts out in 2022, when the author was facing challenges in the area, but still able to work with his team. It ends with October 7th (luckily, he was outside of Gaza for the weekend at the time) and the days after. The book was written around the time that seemed to be leading up to the start of the U.S. presidential election. It's very interesting to read it today and see some of the things the author was concerned about - all they way from how other countries responded, Iran's involvement, etc. - and how some of that has played out in reality.
The one downside to the book was that I read the e-book version, and the author included images of a number of PowerPoint slides he uses in lectures that had a lot of information on them. Those slides were very difficult to read in an e-book. It would have been better to just include the information as regular text in the book.
The author clearly has his own opinions on the area, the war and what the right resolution is, however, I think he did a good job of describing the realities of the area in a way that those of us that aren't as educated on it can easily understand.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 6, 2025
I want to thank Goodreads and Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind for a free copy of A Jew in Gaza for a honest review.
The events that took place on 10/7 were just horrible. I didn't know much about the issues between Israel and Palestine except for what I have been seeing on the news the last few months. This book has helped me understand some of the ongoing issues in this region. Wind explains the conditions concerning both the Palestinians and the Israelis. It is a very complicated state of affairs that seems eternally hopeless. The powerful few will continue to use their civilians as pawns in this horrible situation. Nobody wins.
I do recommend this book for anyone that doesn't know much about the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. While it did help me understand the situation a little more, I'm still conflicted. I think, because I have lived a mostly sheltered life in the United States, it is shocking for me to see how far things can escalate. Unfortunately, things are starting to change in the United States. I hope there is a way to erase "otherness" and people are able to accept and help each other.
Thank you Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind for sharing your story and your insights of what you have seen, heard, and learned.
The events that took place on 10/7 were just horrible. I didn't know much about the issues between Israel and Palestine except for what I have been seeing on the news the last few months. This book has helped me understand some of the ongoing issues in this region. Wind explains the conditions concerning both the Palestinians and the Israelis. It is a very complicated state of affairs that seems eternally hopeless. The powerful few will continue to use their civilians as pawns in this horrible situation. Nobody wins.
I do recommend this book for anyone that doesn't know much about the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. While it did help me understand the situation a little more, I'm still conflicted. I think, because I have lived a mostly sheltered life in the United States, it is shocking for me to see how far things can escalate. Unfortunately, things are starting to change in the United States. I hope there is a way to erase "otherness" and people are able to accept and help each other.
Thank you Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind for sharing your story and your insights of what you have seen, heard, and learned.
March 17, 2025
The author is an American with a Jewish background but now of the Baháʼí faith. He led a USAID-funded (remember USAID?) health and humanitarian assistance team for the International Medical Corps in Gaza. The work was to support primary health care, mental health services, disaster risk, child protection and to address gender-based violence. Significantly, he was in Gaza before, during and after 7th October 2023 and his insights are therefore first-hand and meaningful. Not a cheerful read, of course, but a powerful and personal description of traumatic and significant recent events. Plenty has been written about what happened in Gaza and about the Palestinian story in general but this book has the advantage (strong) of being written by one who was there and experienced it all. Recommended for the general reader who wants to find out more but also for those “experts” writing from the comfort of Washington D.C., London or planet Zog.
December 2, 2024
I feel like everyone should read this book. I've struggled to understand the Isreal/Palestine conflict because there is so much biased information. This book provided a lot of great information. I didn't feel like it was one-sided. It laid out the author's experiences, and I think we would be hard pressed to find something similar.
I would rate this book higher, but it included PowerPoint slides that were challenging to read on my phone. There were also portions - like meetings that were had toward the end of the book - that I didn't feel were necessary.
If you're not well-versed in the conflict and the associated acronym soup, you will probably get lost. I struggled to keep the organizations straight.
I would rate this book higher, but it included PowerPoint slides that were challenging to read on my phone. There were also portions - like meetings that were had toward the end of the book - that I didn't feel were necessary.
If you're not well-versed in the conflict and the associated acronym soup, you will probably get lost. I struggled to keep the organizations straight.
March 26, 2025
This is an account of life in Gaza before and after the the October massacre. Apparently, life was good in Gaza before Hamas attacked Israel. There is empathy for the massive loss of life in Israel but the author has more regard for the fate of the people in Gaza. The people, according to the author, did not hate Israel, but they cheered at the treatment of the hostages, including women, infants and small children. Perhaps, the people of Gaza will rid themselves of the terrorists and create a new Gaza, better
August 10, 2024
This is not a fun beach read or a travel guide. This is a serious look at the events leading up to and including the October, 2023, attack. Our news media is sorely lacking in complete coverage. This book covers the short comings on all sides and the the lack of help and understanding by governments (including the US). This book is for anyone trying to make sense of the conflict. I was gifted from the author through AuthorsXP.
April 2, 2025
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This memoir is filled with information about life in Gaza that I imagine many of us are unaware of in America, making the people real, not just a news headline. Covering the period before, during, and after the October 7, 2023 Hamas led attack the author is able to give valuable first person insight.
This memoir is filled with information about life in Gaza that I imagine many of us are unaware of in America, making the people real, not just a news headline. Covering the period before, during, and after the October 7, 2023 Hamas led attack the author is able to give valuable first person insight.
May 15, 2025
A Jew in Gaza
A necessary book about the Israel/Palestine situation from the lesser reported areas. I really wish there were less stories about the charities and governmental interference of those charities. I also wish there were more first hand stories of the experiences of different people.
#GoodreadsGiveaways
A necessary book about the Israel/Palestine situation from the lesser reported areas. I really wish there were less stories about the charities and governmental interference of those charities. I also wish there were more first hand stories of the experiences of different people.
#GoodreadsGiveaways
July 4, 2025
Not my usual
I read this book because I won it in a giveaway. I’ll read anything, especially if free. But it definitely wasn’t my type of book. If you follow news and politics closely and enjoy that type of stuff, I’m sure you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy reading non-fiction (I don’t usually), you’ll probably like it. I don’t do any of that so wasn’t really into this one.
I read this book because I won it in a giveaway. I’ll read anything, especially if free. But it definitely wasn’t my type of book. If you follow news and politics closely and enjoy that type of stuff, I’m sure you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy reading non-fiction (I don’t usually), you’ll probably like it. I don’t do any of that so wasn’t really into this one.
October 26, 2024
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. There is so much culturally that I was unaware of and I feel I learned a lot about Gaza, Israelis and Palestinians. If you enjoy learning about in depth culture and the complexity with parts of the Middle East culture, I’d suggest reading this book.
April 12, 2025
I agree with the other reviewers that book is not a beach read or even a light read. This book is graphic in detail about the experience of a man who was a foreigner in a strange country. Novel is about the situation in Gaza and the problems the people face.
July 16, 2025
Got this book from Goodreads giveaway. Not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews