Children of Israel, Children of Palestine: Our Own True Stories

by Laurel Holliday

Israeli Jews and Palestinians appear side by side for the first time in this remarkable book to share powerful feelings and reflections on growing up in one of the world's longest and most dangerous conflicts. Here, thirty-six men and women, boys and girls, tell of their coming-of-age in a land of turmoil.
From kibbutzim in Israel and the occupied territories to Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Israeli Jews and Palestinians tell of tragedy and transcendence as they face their deepest fears and dream of a peaceful future. Listen to them as they recount stories of their brief and often violent youth.
No matter what their ethnic identity, how much and how long they have suffered, these courageous autobiographers most often reveal a deep longing for peace. Perhaps their hopes and fears are best illustrated by a parable retold by eighteen-year-old Redrose (a pseudonym):
"Two frogs got trapped in a jar of cream. They couldn't jump out of the liquid and they couldn't climb because the sides of the jar were slippery. One frog said, 'By dawn I'll be dead,' and went to sleep. The second frog swam all night long and in the morning found herself floating on a pat of butter."

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East, Biography

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Laurel Holliday, formerly a college teacher, editor, and psychotherapist, now writes full time in Seattle.

She is the award-winning author of the Children of Conflict series. The three volumes were collected and abridged in the Archway Paperback edition titled Why Do They Hate Me?: Young Lives Caught in War and Conflict. Dreaming in Color, Living in Black and White is an abridged edition of Holliday's fourth title in the Children of Conflict series, Children of the Dream: Our Own Stories of Growing Up Black in America.

Laurel Holliday is also the author of Heartsongs, an international collection of young girls' diaries, which won a Best Book for Young Adults Award from the American Library Association.

Reviews

[Janni]

I read this one years and years ago, and was pretty deeply influenced by how different the narratives of each side looked, and how everyone told their story through the filter of their own losses, with any other losses being only dimly understood. The book influenced my understanding not just of this conflict, but of how as humans we process war and violence in general.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting and informative but very depressing. I believe that most average people want peace, but this left me feeling near hopeless on this issue. This book was published in 1998, and here we are a quarter century later with things looking worse rather than better. So many lives lost on both sides.

[Amy Moniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read first-hand accounts on both sides of this very emotional battle. Everyone wants peace, but no one can agree on how to go about it. So much bloodshed. So sad.

[Connie Jellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend reading this book. The news does not report a balanced story, but children have no agenda. A must read.

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had to put down this book for a couple of months before plowing through the rest. the most heartbreaking story is one from gaza where a boy's mother gets killed defending him and his brothers from a soldier. i like how the editor puts an israeli experience of the six day war, next to a palestinian one. you get the persepective of the arab driven from their home and the israeli soldier, often female, entering these ghost villages. i appreciate this book. you should be aware however, that it begins with an israeli story and it ends with a zionist narrative which is a little scary to me. palestine, as in the title, comes second.
some of the authors are teens and some are in their sixties, but all the stories have an urgency for peace.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A topic near to my heart and my academic field of study. This work is a collection of personal stories or "Oral Histories" that bring to the table the real and most important people--children--living in the war toen and politically unstable region of Palestine.

[Foxglove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, very useful to understanding the narratives.