What do you think?
Rate this book
Drinking the Sea at Gaza
In 1993, Amira Hass, a young Israeli reporter, drove to Gaza to cover a story-and stayed, the first journalist to live in the grim Palestinian enclave so feared and despised by most Israelis that, in the local idiom, "Go to Gaza" is another way to say "Go to hell." Now, in a work of calm power and painful clarity, Hass reflects on what she has seen in the Gaza Strips's gutted streets and destitute refugee camps.
Drinking the Sea at Gaza maps the zones of ordinary Palestinian life. From her friends, Hass learns the secrets of slipping across sealed borders and stealing through night streets emptied by curfews. She shares Gaza's early euphoria over the peace process and its subsequent despair as hope gives way to unrelenting hardship. But even as Hass charts the griefs and humiliations of the Palestinians, she offers a remarkable portrait of a people not brutalized but eloquent, spiritually resilient, bleakly funny, and morally courageous.
Full of testimonies and stories, facts and impressions, Drinking the Sea at Gaza makes an urgent claim on our humanity. Beautiful, haunting, and profound, it will stand with the great works of wartime reportage.
Drinking the Sea at Gaza maps the zones of ordinary Palestinian life. From her friends, Hass learns the secrets of slipping across sealed borders and stealing through night streets emptied by curfews. She shares Gaza's early euphoria over the peace process and its subsequent despair as hope gives way to unrelenting hardship. But even as Hass charts the griefs and humiliations of the Palestinians, she offers a remarkable portrait of a people not brutalized but eloquent, spiritually resilient, bleakly funny, and morally courageous.
Full of testimonies and stories, facts and impressions, Drinking the Sea at Gaza makes an urgent claim on our humanity. Beautiful, haunting, and profound, it will stand with the great works of wartime reportage.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
70 people are currently reading
2521 people want to read
About the author
Amira Hass
15 books52 followersShe is a prominent left-wing Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper Ha'aretz. She is particularly recognized for her reporting on Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has also lived for a number of years.
Amira is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors , she was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she studied the history of Nazism and the European Left's relation to the Holocaust. Early in her career, she began her journalistic career in 1989 as a staff editor for Ha'aretz and started to report from the Palestinian Territories in 1991. As of 2003, she is the only Jewish Israeli journalist who has lived full-time among the Palestinians, in Gaza from 1993 and in Ramallah from 1997 .
Her reportage of events, and her voicing of opinions that run counter to both official Israeli and Palestinian positions has exposed Hass to verbal attacks, and opposition from both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
On December 1, 2008, Hass, who had traveled to Gaza aboard a protest vessel, was arrested by Israeli police on her return to Israel for being in Gaza without a permit . and after residing in the Gaza Strip for several months, Hass was again arrested by Israeli police upon her return to Israel on May 12, 2009 "for violating a law which forbids residence in an enemy state .
Awards
(2001) Golden Dove of Peace Prize awarded by the Rome-based organization Archivo Disarmo , (2009)the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women's Media Foundation .
Amira is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors , she was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she studied the history of Nazism and the European Left's relation to the Holocaust. Early in her career, she began her journalistic career in 1989 as a staff editor for Ha'aretz and started to report from the Palestinian Territories in 1991. As of 2003, she is the only Jewish Israeli journalist who has lived full-time among the Palestinians, in Gaza from 1993 and in Ramallah from 1997 .
Her reportage of events, and her voicing of opinions that run counter to both official Israeli and Palestinian positions has exposed Hass to verbal attacks, and opposition from both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
On December 1, 2008, Hass, who had traveled to Gaza aboard a protest vessel, was arrested by Israeli police on her return to Israel for being in Gaza without a permit . and after residing in the Gaza Strip for several months, Hass was again arrested by Israeli police upon her return to Israel on May 12, 2009 "for violating a law which forbids residence in an enemy state .
Awards
(2001) Golden Dove of Peace Prize awarded by the Rome-based organization Archivo Disarmo , (2009)the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women's Media Foundation .
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 23, 2009
If anyone has any doubt that Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is anything short of colonialism, they should read this book. Amira Hass writes a scathing critique of Israel’s domination and cruel treatment of Palestinians in Gaza after the Oslo Accords and convincingly explains why they would never bring peace this way. Surely, Amira Hass would be very lovingly called by the Western press as an enemy of peace, but they need to know this story to understand that any peace negotiations dominated by Israel like the Oslo Accords are doomed to fail. Although the book was written in 1996, it still has a lot of relevance to today.
For those who don’t know, Amira Hass is the only Israeli journalist in Gaza writing for the liberal newspaper Haraetz. In Israel, it is illegal for journalist to go in occupied territories and most people probably don’t even bother. An atheist and daughter of Holocaust survivors, her desire to live in Gaza “stemmed neither from adventurism nor from insanity, but from that dread of being a bystander, from my need to understand, down to the last detail, a world that is, to the best of my political and historical comprehension, a profoundly Israeli creation. To me, Gaza embodies the entire saga of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it represents the central contradiction of the State of Israel-democracy for some, dispassion for others; it is our exposed nerve.”
A bit of history background: From 1993 to 1995, a series of agreements were signed between the PLO and the Israeli government, initiating Palestinian self-rule and establishing terms for the Israeli military redeployment in Gaza and Jericho. The West Bank was divided into three zones: zone A came under direct Palestinian governance, zone B under Israeli military occupation in participation with the Palestinian Authority, and Zone C under total Israeli occupation (60%). Zone A accounted for only 1% of the land and Gaza came under Arafat’s rule.
According to Amira Hass, even after the Oslo accords were signed, the number of Jewish settlements continued to rise unabated and in fact, more aggressively. Israel still had ultimate control over the freedom of movement of Palestinians by putting up countless checkpoints and roadblocks. Arab villages were fragmented by new illegal exclusive Jewish settlements and the connection between the West Bank and Gaza was totally cut off. Jerusalem was closed to Palestinians and policy of closure had devastating impacts on the economy in Gaza.
For many Palestinians, the Oslo Accords represented an appalling betrayal by Arafat. There was no mention of an independent state, access to Jerusalem, end to illegal settlements and the right of return for millions of displaced refugees. After the Oslo accords, Palestinians holding illegal weapons would be disarmed, but thousands of Jewish colonists would not, and they would always enjoy the protection by myriad military officers and patrols. Palestinians perceived Arafat as Israel’s man, given a tiny piece of land to “control” and succumbed to Israel’s “security demands”. Contrary to the widespread hope of the international community, as this book clearly shows, the Oslo Accords did not bring peace but only more tragedy, control and despair to the Palestinian people.
Before the Oslo agreements, Israeli soldiers could raid into houses and destroy properties, confiscate vans and taxis without any excuse. But the problem is much widespread than that:
“In gaza’s soldiers’ vandalism was only one aspect of Israel’s disregard for Palestinian welfare, systematic abuse of property and resources began with the soldier on patrol but was practiced in one form or another by officials from the civil administration, the customs collector and tax man, all the way up to the Israeli finance and defense ministers.”
Israel’s rule over Gaza is a reminiscent of the old colonial system in Asia and Africa, most notably in the taxation system. Palestinians paid more tax than Jews, and sometimes their tax accumulated even if they didn’t have any job. The duties paid on most imported products purchased in the territories were not transferred to serve the Palestinians but remained in the treasury in Israel. The source of cheap Arab labour was one of the drivers for the economic boom in Israel in the 1970s/80s. In return, Israel invested nearly nothing back to develop the infrastructure, education system, water supply, telephone and electricity systems for Palestinians. Gazans benefited little from such economic growth, they continued to live in slums, refugee camps and depended on work permits. In order to register for government housing, they had to pay a fine and relinquished their refugee status, thereby giving up any hope of going back to their village.
While Jewish homes enjoyed the bountiful supply of clean water and swimming pools, Gazans had to make do with limited stinky and unsanitary water. Telephones didn’t work, power outages were frequent, hospitals didn’t have enough facilities or technicians to maintain. Interestingly, from the 1970s, Israel allowed religious institutions to receive contributions from abroad unhindered, while other nationalist (often secular) organizations could only receive funds from the PLO. Hamas-affiliated Islamic institution flourished, filling in the gap to provide a welfare system and employment that the state could not afford to offer.
Since the Gulf war, Israel implemented its closure policy to close off the borders any time it felt like. Because of the economic stagnation in Gaza, most people had to commute to work in Israel, mostly in low pay menial jobs. But the closure policy took away their livelihood by confiscating many permits to enter Israel and even if some could, they had to come back Gaza on the same day. It also stymied the flow of goods and products into and out of Gaza, making it extremely difficult to develop industry or business.
The closure of borders also stopped a lot of students from going to university, family relatives visiting each other, patients reaching hospitals, politicians attending meetings. It stifled and suffocated the lives of more than a million people, subjecting them to constant intimidation, suspicion and abuse. “Every Gaza, regardless of religion, sex or age, became suspect, a person capable of committing an act of terror.”
The closure policy brought the entire economy to a halt and drastically restricted the number of people who could leave the strip. Rightly, “Palestinians suspect that the real purpose behind the closures, the bypass roads, and the separation of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem is to carve up the occupied territories permanently, keep them under different political systems, and complete the destruction of the Palestinian social structure that began in 1948.”
People’s frustration with the new Palestinian Authority grew because their lifeline was threatened by closed borders and living standard continued to fall. Anxious to stay in power, the Authority began to become more and more authoritarian to control its critics and suppress uprisings. The vicious cycle of Israel’s assassination of Islamic leaders, revenge by a Muslim cell and the Palestinian Authority’s harsher measures to punish the population brought more bloodshed to Gaza with no end in sight. And Arafat’s actions would be hailed by America and Israel as decisive steps “in the fight against terror.”
In its endless concessions to Israel, the PLO turned “with growing fervour to repression and intimidation.”
Not only critical of Israel, Amira Hass is unequivocal in her critique of the oppression and exploitation of women in Gazan society, and the blatant corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Gaza became more and more like a police state with countless summary trials, tortures and harassments.
No wonder why they voted for Hamas, damn those pesky people! Why didn’t they just vote for “our” men? The West responded by kindly imposing sanctions on the entire population for voting for the wrong guy, for misusing democracy that was bestowed upon them. Fast forward to 2005, although the Israeli government withdrew from Gaza, it intensified settlement construction in the West Bank. And although Hamas vowed “death to Israel”, the majority of Palestinians had come to realize that defeating Israel is impossible, most of them want a two state solution on the 1967 borders. Hamas offered Israel a long ceasefire and acceptance of two states if only Israel would return to its legal borders and release Palestinian prisoners. Israel retaliated by punishing the whole population, closing off all borders and let in a tiny amount of food and aid, pushing more people into abject poverty and destitution. The bomb finally detonated in January 2009.
Reading about Israel often makes me angry and despondent. If there is one thing about Israel, then it seems that it never learns. It uses its formidable military power to dispossess people of their land, destroy their homes and farms, abuse them with rifles and arrest, and sometimes with absolute superior air power and bombs. And how lovely Western media lead us to believe Israel is simply defending itself against terrorism or Islamic fundamentalism. Terrorist attacks by Palestinians are the most desperate and basic method of resistance in the face of overwhelming power and eradication. The Palestinians do not attack Israeli civilians with the illusion that it can destroy Israel. When faced with a superior power that can strip them of their land, their identity and their humanity, the victims will resort to whatever methods of resistance they can muster. But Israelis continue to have this illusion that by dropping more bombs, erecting more walls, buying more tanks, it can be safer. Delusions of the colonizer never seem to change.
I would love to give this book 5 stars. It really opened my eyes to see a lot of things about Israel we would never see in mainstream media. But I didn’t like the writing style much, perhaps Amira Hass’s coherence and eloquence are lost in translation. The narrative fails to flow, and because of her calm tone throughout the book, it conveys little compassion or indignation. I’d recommend reading this book and Susan Nathan’s The Other Side of Israel if you want a clearer view of this troubling state.
(excellent documentary on the occupation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbjAa...)
For those who don’t know, Amira Hass is the only Israeli journalist in Gaza writing for the liberal newspaper Haraetz. In Israel, it is illegal for journalist to go in occupied territories and most people probably don’t even bother. An atheist and daughter of Holocaust survivors, her desire to live in Gaza “stemmed neither from adventurism nor from insanity, but from that dread of being a bystander, from my need to understand, down to the last detail, a world that is, to the best of my political and historical comprehension, a profoundly Israeli creation. To me, Gaza embodies the entire saga of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it represents the central contradiction of the State of Israel-democracy for some, dispassion for others; it is our exposed nerve.”
A bit of history background: From 1993 to 1995, a series of agreements were signed between the PLO and the Israeli government, initiating Palestinian self-rule and establishing terms for the Israeli military redeployment in Gaza and Jericho. The West Bank was divided into three zones: zone A came under direct Palestinian governance, zone B under Israeli military occupation in participation with the Palestinian Authority, and Zone C under total Israeli occupation (60%). Zone A accounted for only 1% of the land and Gaza came under Arafat’s rule.
According to Amira Hass, even after the Oslo accords were signed, the number of Jewish settlements continued to rise unabated and in fact, more aggressively. Israel still had ultimate control over the freedom of movement of Palestinians by putting up countless checkpoints and roadblocks. Arab villages were fragmented by new illegal exclusive Jewish settlements and the connection between the West Bank and Gaza was totally cut off. Jerusalem was closed to Palestinians and policy of closure had devastating impacts on the economy in Gaza.
For many Palestinians, the Oslo Accords represented an appalling betrayal by Arafat. There was no mention of an independent state, access to Jerusalem, end to illegal settlements and the right of return for millions of displaced refugees. After the Oslo accords, Palestinians holding illegal weapons would be disarmed, but thousands of Jewish colonists would not, and they would always enjoy the protection by myriad military officers and patrols. Palestinians perceived Arafat as Israel’s man, given a tiny piece of land to “control” and succumbed to Israel’s “security demands”. Contrary to the widespread hope of the international community, as this book clearly shows, the Oslo Accords did not bring peace but only more tragedy, control and despair to the Palestinian people.
Before the Oslo agreements, Israeli soldiers could raid into houses and destroy properties, confiscate vans and taxis without any excuse. But the problem is much widespread than that:
“In gaza’s soldiers’ vandalism was only one aspect of Israel’s disregard for Palestinian welfare, systematic abuse of property and resources began with the soldier on patrol but was practiced in one form or another by officials from the civil administration, the customs collector and tax man, all the way up to the Israeli finance and defense ministers.”
Israel’s rule over Gaza is a reminiscent of the old colonial system in Asia and Africa, most notably in the taxation system. Palestinians paid more tax than Jews, and sometimes their tax accumulated even if they didn’t have any job. The duties paid on most imported products purchased in the territories were not transferred to serve the Palestinians but remained in the treasury in Israel. The source of cheap Arab labour was one of the drivers for the economic boom in Israel in the 1970s/80s. In return, Israel invested nearly nothing back to develop the infrastructure, education system, water supply, telephone and electricity systems for Palestinians. Gazans benefited little from such economic growth, they continued to live in slums, refugee camps and depended on work permits. In order to register for government housing, they had to pay a fine and relinquished their refugee status, thereby giving up any hope of going back to their village.
While Jewish homes enjoyed the bountiful supply of clean water and swimming pools, Gazans had to make do with limited stinky and unsanitary water. Telephones didn’t work, power outages were frequent, hospitals didn’t have enough facilities or technicians to maintain. Interestingly, from the 1970s, Israel allowed religious institutions to receive contributions from abroad unhindered, while other nationalist (often secular) organizations could only receive funds from the PLO. Hamas-affiliated Islamic institution flourished, filling in the gap to provide a welfare system and employment that the state could not afford to offer.
Since the Gulf war, Israel implemented its closure policy to close off the borders any time it felt like. Because of the economic stagnation in Gaza, most people had to commute to work in Israel, mostly in low pay menial jobs. But the closure policy took away their livelihood by confiscating many permits to enter Israel and even if some could, they had to come back Gaza on the same day. It also stymied the flow of goods and products into and out of Gaza, making it extremely difficult to develop industry or business.
The closure of borders also stopped a lot of students from going to university, family relatives visiting each other, patients reaching hospitals, politicians attending meetings. It stifled and suffocated the lives of more than a million people, subjecting them to constant intimidation, suspicion and abuse. “Every Gaza, regardless of religion, sex or age, became suspect, a person capable of committing an act of terror.”
The closure policy brought the entire economy to a halt and drastically restricted the number of people who could leave the strip. Rightly, “Palestinians suspect that the real purpose behind the closures, the bypass roads, and the separation of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem is to carve up the occupied territories permanently, keep them under different political systems, and complete the destruction of the Palestinian social structure that began in 1948.”
People’s frustration with the new Palestinian Authority grew because their lifeline was threatened by closed borders and living standard continued to fall. Anxious to stay in power, the Authority began to become more and more authoritarian to control its critics and suppress uprisings. The vicious cycle of Israel’s assassination of Islamic leaders, revenge by a Muslim cell and the Palestinian Authority’s harsher measures to punish the population brought more bloodshed to Gaza with no end in sight. And Arafat’s actions would be hailed by America and Israel as decisive steps “in the fight against terror.”
In its endless concessions to Israel, the PLO turned “with growing fervour to repression and intimidation.”
Not only critical of Israel, Amira Hass is unequivocal in her critique of the oppression and exploitation of women in Gazan society, and the blatant corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Gaza became more and more like a police state with countless summary trials, tortures and harassments.
No wonder why they voted for Hamas, damn those pesky people! Why didn’t they just vote for “our” men? The West responded by kindly imposing sanctions on the entire population for voting for the wrong guy, for misusing democracy that was bestowed upon them. Fast forward to 2005, although the Israeli government withdrew from Gaza, it intensified settlement construction in the West Bank. And although Hamas vowed “death to Israel”, the majority of Palestinians had come to realize that defeating Israel is impossible, most of them want a two state solution on the 1967 borders. Hamas offered Israel a long ceasefire and acceptance of two states if only Israel would return to its legal borders and release Palestinian prisoners. Israel retaliated by punishing the whole population, closing off all borders and let in a tiny amount of food and aid, pushing more people into abject poverty and destitution. The bomb finally detonated in January 2009.
Reading about Israel often makes me angry and despondent. If there is one thing about Israel, then it seems that it never learns. It uses its formidable military power to dispossess people of their land, destroy their homes and farms, abuse them with rifles and arrest, and sometimes with absolute superior air power and bombs. And how lovely Western media lead us to believe Israel is simply defending itself against terrorism or Islamic fundamentalism. Terrorist attacks by Palestinians are the most desperate and basic method of resistance in the face of overwhelming power and eradication. The Palestinians do not attack Israeli civilians with the illusion that it can destroy Israel. When faced with a superior power that can strip them of their land, their identity and their humanity, the victims will resort to whatever methods of resistance they can muster. But Israelis continue to have this illusion that by dropping more bombs, erecting more walls, buying more tanks, it can be safer. Delusions of the colonizer never seem to change.
I would love to give this book 5 stars. It really opened my eyes to see a lot of things about Israel we would never see in mainstream media. But I didn’t like the writing style much, perhaps Amira Hass’s coherence and eloquence are lost in translation. The narrative fails to flow, and because of her calm tone throughout the book, it conveys little compassion or indignation. I’d recommend reading this book and Susan Nathan’s The Other Side of Israel if you want a clearer view of this troubling state.
(excellent documentary on the occupation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbjAa...)
July 29, 2008
If you read just one book about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, this is the one to read.
Amira Hass is a rarely sensitive and gutsy journalist who reports for Ha'aretz newspaper from Gaza. She is one of the very few Israeli journalists who knows Arabic and lives among Palestinians. This account is balanced, personalized and devastating.
Amira Hass is a rarely sensitive and gutsy journalist who reports for Ha'aretz newspaper from Gaza. She is one of the very few Israeli journalists who knows Arabic and lives among Palestinians. This account is balanced, personalized and devastating.
Read
September 26, 2023I respect Hass’s compassion and dedication to understanding the Palestinian experience and using her platform to amplify their struggle. The book provides an on-the-ground perspective of daily life for the people of Gaza and I learned a lot, but in general the journalistic writing style made it difficult to get through. It was a very long 350 pages.
Read
July 31, 2011This is a fascinating and depressing journey inside Gaza- don't listen to a thousand diplomats and officials who get whirlwind tours where they are shown only a fraction, when you can read the book of a foreigner who lived there, and saw its daily ins and outs. She does a very thorough job of focusing in on the things that go beneath the numbers to demonstrate the humanity that lies beneath them. One starts to understand how suffocating the closures of the Erez checkpoint really are for the Palestinian economy, and how much Israeli policy has subjugated Gaza and made it dependent on access to Israel, which Israel then controls as a political tool in response to terror attacks.
September 16, 2012
"The Middle East conflict has been raging off and on since 1948, that much we know but until now the news reports and books for the most part have been slanted in favour of US and Israeli policy and as we all know, if you go against popular opinion and the mainstream press, you risk censure and ridicule. If you dared criticise Israel you were accused of anti-Semitisim or maybe neo Nazi sympathies, these days you'd be accused of being a secret Al Qaeda supporter.
Enter Amira Hass, an Israeli journalist for Ha'aretz who took the unusual stance of moving to the Gaza Strip so as she could report on the Palestinian crisis. Hass's mother remembers the women who stood by watching the cattle trains carrying them to Belsen during the war, they were bystanders and her daughter didn't want to be a bystander hence her unusual decision. What she found in the occupied territories changed not only her life but the lives of many others who had been pro Israel. She found Gaza to be under the heels of a brutal occupation army and called it for what it was, a siege with the West Bank and Gaza the largest open air prisons in the world. She covers the years 1993 through to 1998 in the aftermath of the intifada and just after the Oslo treaty when Palestine was given a small measure of home rule. Her accounts of what happened in those years are vitally important to understanding the current situation today.
Her book outraged the mainstream press because it challenged popular opinion but that is what happens when you move from bystander to activist. The book is easily read and has a great many facts and figures to support her arguments. She also points out the failures of Arafat and the splintering of Palestinian groups to bring about a Palestinian civil war. She is merciless however when it comes to criticising her own government and after all, isn't that what a true patriot is supposed to be doing?
A highly recommended book for anyone who has become suspicious of the US-Israeli relationship. Hass deserves the Nobel Peace prize for her efforts to uncover the truth behind the occupation. It's heartbreaking reading but it stirs the blood and arouses a righteous anger in your soul. Hopefully it will draw more bystanders to speak out against the continuing human tragedy. Politicians will only move to act when enough people threaten their precarious hold on the reins of power. This book is your starting point. "
Enter Amira Hass, an Israeli journalist for Ha'aretz who took the unusual stance of moving to the Gaza Strip so as she could report on the Palestinian crisis. Hass's mother remembers the women who stood by watching the cattle trains carrying them to Belsen during the war, they were bystanders and her daughter didn't want to be a bystander hence her unusual decision. What she found in the occupied territories changed not only her life but the lives of many others who had been pro Israel. She found Gaza to be under the heels of a brutal occupation army and called it for what it was, a siege with the West Bank and Gaza the largest open air prisons in the world. She covers the years 1993 through to 1998 in the aftermath of the intifada and just after the Oslo treaty when Palestine was given a small measure of home rule. Her accounts of what happened in those years are vitally important to understanding the current situation today.
Her book outraged the mainstream press because it challenged popular opinion but that is what happens when you move from bystander to activist. The book is easily read and has a great many facts and figures to support her arguments. She also points out the failures of Arafat and the splintering of Palestinian groups to bring about a Palestinian civil war. She is merciless however when it comes to criticising her own government and after all, isn't that what a true patriot is supposed to be doing?
A highly recommended book for anyone who has become suspicious of the US-Israeli relationship. Hass deserves the Nobel Peace prize for her efforts to uncover the truth behind the occupation. It's heartbreaking reading but it stirs the blood and arouses a righteous anger in your soul. Hopefully it will draw more bystanders to speak out against the continuing human tragedy. Politicians will only move to act when enough people threaten their precarious hold on the reins of power. This book is your starting point. "
July 14, 2018
Very well-written and very informative. Amira Hass writes a critique of Israel's domination and brutal treatment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. If you have any doubt that Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is nothing short of colonization, read this book.
May 22, 2024
This book is not for the faint of heart. It took me over six months to slog through!
Although it was laborious, it was extremely enlightening. Hass’ ability as a journalist to document life in the Gaza Strip while providing accurate historical context was an incredible feat and I’m grateful for the context she shared and the perspective reading this book gave me.
I am in awe of the Palestinian people. This book heightened the respect I feel for them and deepened my conviction that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
Although it was laborious, it was extremely enlightening. Hass’ ability as a journalist to document life in the Gaza Strip while providing accurate historical context was an incredible feat and I’m grateful for the context she shared and the perspective reading this book gave me.
I am in awe of the Palestinian people. This book heightened the respect I feel for them and deepened my conviction that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
March 27, 2024
dense and monotone, it’s informative but man is it hard to get through. I will not be recommending this.
May 23, 2024
A bit dense at times but gives a good insight I was not aware of
May 12, 2013
A journalist and a painfully honest woman, Amira Hass provides a detailed account of the deception and violence committed by both the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, in an effort to maintain power over their respective constituencies. In effect, both sides try to distance their followers from the everyday human rights violations and myopic strategies which endanger their futures. Using politics, religion and, in the case of Israel, hystsrical exaggeration, neither side acknowledges the decline of quality of life in Gaza and the destruction of the peace process in the region, the latter often because of a discrepancy over rhetoric rather than policy. Hass quotes a Gaza resident, "They can keep me from seeing my family, but Israel is afraid of a peace of paper." Sometimes Hass, in making a very reasonable case for the justification of anger and protests by Gaza residents against Israel, fails to call this population on its pdejydices. She does prove that these instances are far fewer than one might expect. The sincerity and completeness of her decision to live in Gaza ahile reporting on the territory for Israel's newspaper Haaretz, has also won her the utmost respect from Palestinians across religious, social and economic ranks. We are expected to see that the Palestinians bear no direct hatred of Jews per se by this quick acceptance that she is offered by her neighbors and her direct contact with members of Fatah, Hamas, etc. I was convinced that Palestinians, just like most Israelis, would like peace and to readily accept co-existence.
What was more valuable was Hass' insight into the stasis on both sides and the practical problems of Oslo. Two-State, One State, really doesn't matter. What matters is that human rights are respected and that isn't necessarily the priority of leaders on either side.
What was more valuable was Hass' insight into the stasis on both sides and the practical problems of Oslo. Two-State, One State, really doesn't matter. What matters is that human rights are respected and that isn't necessarily the priority of leaders on either side.
July 3, 2013
By far the best book i have read so far on the israeli-palestine conflict. Hass' work is rare because as both an Israeli, communist and critic of Israeli policies she also dares to properly discuss the issues inside Palestinian society. She is brutally honest in her criticism of the occupation (the lockdowns, the checkpoint policies, the enforced poverty and unemployment on Gaza, the torture in prisons, the unjust imprisonments etc.) and that of the Palestinian leadership under Arafat (its corruption, its suppression of the opposition, its clientelism, its silencing of free media etc.) as well as certain elements of Palestinian society (the opportunism of Hamas, the violent attacks against marxists, honour killings, the all pervasive patriarchism etc.)
November 20, 2014
Started this book purely based off curiosity. Never read much about the Israeli Palestinian conflict but this book provided a great overview of the conflict. Although the coverage could be seen as biased, I'm not sure the events as described can really be seen any other way. The only reason it wasn't rated 5 stars was due to the names and events. Coming from someone unfamiliar with the situation and players involved it has hard to follow at times. In any case, great book.
January 8, 2011
Dated, but not really. A good look inside of Gaza and how the occupation affected lives.....and to some extent how the current blockade and controls by Israel affect lives. Highly recommend....so one can see the other side of the story.
August 22, 2011
Honestly, I didn't actually finish this book. It was super interesting and I learned some new background information about the conflict, but I just can't seem to actually finish it and it's starting to hold me up. It's amazing how quickly so much of this information can be considered outdated.
Read
March 5, 2013This was the highlight of my reading months. I mean, it was an amazing book, and it made me weep. Over and over again. Every single American Jew should read this book. Read it, and then argue to me that the Occupied Territories should remain in Israel's hands.
February 18, 2015
An incredibly powerful and important eye-opener to possibly the most misunderstood conflict in the world. In-depth insights from economic policies and political ramifications that strangle the Palestinian population. Important for all to read.
June 9, 2007
Great insights into Palestine/Israel, written by a Jewish Israeli journalist, one of a very few who has gone into Palestine extensively and lived there (as I recall.) Excellent writing.
July 4, 2014
It is a very good account of the author's experience. It gives a good insight in how people leave in Gaza and their prospective about the conflict.
June 26, 2025
Abandoned at 51% (p 178 of 352).
Judge the criminal, not the crime... or in this case, rate the *book* not the social condition it is covering. Yes, the social conditions in Palestine, even back in the 1990s when this book was written, are atrocious. But, I am not rating the situation; I am rating the book discussing it.
Why did I abandon it? (and why I rated the BOOK so low). The structure of how this was laid out and planned out is terrible! For something that is to be non-fiction, one would expect some sort of method to how this is laid out. It is not by timeline (we jump from mid-1990s to 1948 to 1970s, forward and back in all directions with no rhyme nor reason); nor is it by political organization, by topics and ideologies ina group, faction or across time, following a person, one or political stance (or stances) from varied points of views by people or groups, nor is it by theme. We talk about this group and that theme, then switch back in time to another group and different topic; we start talking facts and strict historical text and switch to having a meal and a smoke with character ABC, then jump to a different character in a narrative, then to a news item of a minor event to yank our heartstrings, back to a political dignitary and event that happened years prior, then jump forward to something the Israelis did, etc etc.
I am sure that there is a good book in here somewhere. There is a heartfelt story here (or compilations of them), and interesting journalistic memoir, a history of one or several organizations, a story of a prominent figure across any of these organizations, a compelling political narrative from the Palestinian point of view, or one from Israeli point of view, or from an outsider's point of view. But the book, as it is, is a tornado of all these ideas that is very difficult to follow; like all those stories were dropped into a blender and slurried together.
What I knew before going into this book? Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse.
What I knew AFTER reading 178 pages of this book? Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse, maybe accented by a few specific examples, which can be easily summed up as "Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse."
==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ====
Then I have problems of focusing on the problems, on how only one problem matters (Palestinians oppression) and all the others are ignored. For example:
"Women killed for the sake of family honor are not included in the regular crime statistics and such murders are not considered to undermine public safety ... [women] are regarded as male property."
- page 61 in my edition.
What matters (in this book) is that Palestinian MEN are being oppressed. How can you cover the oppression of Palestinians but completely gloss over and IGNORE the same oppression of the women (not by the Israelis, but by their own FAMILIES). How can you denounce one, but not the other?
It is like they are saying that Israelis cannot oppress Palestinians but it is okay for Palestinians to oppress their own women. I'm sorry, but oppression is oppression no matter who is doing it to whom. It is not okay in either case. Why is it just ignored?
Things that would be considered egregious anywhere else in the world are glossed over as if it is not a problem unless it happens to the Palestinians (and only to the men, it seems).
And that is just one example.
Judge the criminal, not the crime... or in this case, rate the *book* not the social condition it is covering. Yes, the social conditions in Palestine, even back in the 1990s when this book was written, are atrocious. But, I am not rating the situation; I am rating the book discussing it.
Why did I abandon it? (and why I rated the BOOK so low). The structure of how this was laid out and planned out is terrible! For something that is to be non-fiction, one would expect some sort of method to how this is laid out. It is not by timeline (we jump from mid-1990s to 1948 to 1970s, forward and back in all directions with no rhyme nor reason); nor is it by political organization, by topics and ideologies ina group, faction or across time, following a person, one or political stance (or stances) from varied points of views by people or groups, nor is it by theme. We talk about this group and that theme, then switch back in time to another group and different topic; we start talking facts and strict historical text and switch to having a meal and a smoke with character ABC, then jump to a different character in a narrative, then to a news item of a minor event to yank our heartstrings, back to a political dignitary and event that happened years prior, then jump forward to something the Israelis did, etc etc.
I am sure that there is a good book in here somewhere. There is a heartfelt story here (or compilations of them), and interesting journalistic memoir, a history of one or several organizations, a story of a prominent figure across any of these organizations, a compelling political narrative from the Palestinian point of view, or one from Israeli point of view, or from an outsider's point of view. But the book, as it is, is a tornado of all these ideas that is very difficult to follow; like all those stories were dropped into a blender and slurried together.
What I knew before going into this book? Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse.
What I knew AFTER reading 178 pages of this book? Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse, maybe accented by a few specific examples, which can be easily summed up as "Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict since the end of World War II, and it is increasingly getting worse."
==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ====
Then I have problems of focusing on the problems, on how only one problem matters (Palestinians oppression) and all the others are ignored. For example:
"Women killed for the sake of family honor are not included in the regular crime statistics and such murders are not considered to undermine public safety ... [women] are regarded as male property."
- page 61 in my edition.
What matters (in this book) is that Palestinian MEN are being oppressed. How can you cover the oppression of Palestinians but completely gloss over and IGNORE the same oppression of the women (not by the Israelis, but by their own FAMILIES). How can you denounce one, but not the other?
It is like they are saying that Israelis cannot oppress Palestinians but it is okay for Palestinians to oppress their own women. I'm sorry, but oppression is oppression no matter who is doing it to whom. It is not okay in either case. Why is it just ignored?
Things that would be considered egregious anywhere else in the world are glossed over as if it is not a problem unless it happens to the Palestinians (and only to the men, it seems).
And that is just one example.
March 23, 2024
gonna start by saying this is one of the most powerful works of nonfiction ive ever read. in the 90s, Israeli journalist Amira Hass moved to Gaza and lived amongst the Palestinians, documenting their everyday lives. Hass's book demonstrates the "humanity that can flourish under harsh and humiliating conditions" by capturing how their day-to-day lives are impacted by the Israeli occupation.
The testimonies and anecdotes that Hass documents of the Palestinian experience completely cuts through the Israeli and "Western" depictions of Gaza. I've found a lot of moral clarity and understanding of the entire "Israel-Palestine conflict" through Hass's engagement with the Gaza perspective.
A majority of the Arabs in Gaza are refugees who are victims of Israeli dispossession. No longer able to live on their former land which is now Israel proper, they've been pushed into the Strip and are disconnected from the rest of the Arab world. All aspects of their life are under the control of the Israeli bureaucracy- their mobility in and out of Gaza, their taxes, their employment, their natural resources, their housing, their food, their police, their government, all out of the control of Gazans themselves, obedient to the whims of Israel. The dispossession lingers in every facet of their lives, yet they still do their best to preserve their traditions and way of life.
The Arab refugees in Gaza still refer to each other by the neighborhoods they used to live in. Despite their dispossession and being unable to ever return, they will always identify with the land. Even those born in the Strip identify with the villages their parents were born in.
the saddest thing about reading this book in 2024 is knowing that the everyday lives of the people of Gaza have been completely destroyed over the last few months. now that Israel has carpet bombed and invaded the Gaza strip, turning it to rubble, makes the documentation in this book much more valuable- as it preserves Palestinian humanity. it's fair to assume the some of the everyday people given a voice in Hass's book have been killed over the last few months or their have had their livelihoods destroyed. this book is an important artifact that preserves a society that is being actively destroyed
The testimonies and anecdotes that Hass documents of the Palestinian experience completely cuts through the Israeli and "Western" depictions of Gaza. I've found a lot of moral clarity and understanding of the entire "Israel-Palestine conflict" through Hass's engagement with the Gaza perspective.
A majority of the Arabs in Gaza are refugees who are victims of Israeli dispossession. No longer able to live on their former land which is now Israel proper, they've been pushed into the Strip and are disconnected from the rest of the Arab world. All aspects of their life are under the control of the Israeli bureaucracy- their mobility in and out of Gaza, their taxes, their employment, their natural resources, their housing, their food, their police, their government, all out of the control of Gazans themselves, obedient to the whims of Israel. The dispossession lingers in every facet of their lives, yet they still do their best to preserve their traditions and way of life.
The Arab refugees in Gaza still refer to each other by the neighborhoods they used to live in. Despite their dispossession and being unable to ever return, they will always identify with the land. Even those born in the Strip identify with the villages their parents were born in.
the saddest thing about reading this book in 2024 is knowing that the everyday lives of the people of Gaza have been completely destroyed over the last few months. now that Israel has carpet bombed and invaded the Gaza strip, turning it to rubble, makes the documentation in this book much more valuable- as it preserves Palestinian humanity. it's fair to assume the some of the everyday people given a voice in Hass's book have been killed over the last few months or their have had their livelihoods destroyed. this book is an important artifact that preserves a society that is being actively destroyed
June 10, 2024
video book review part 1: https://youtu.be/G8S0P4GGn_g
part 2: https://youtu.be/3CNxZidFNyM
It's interesting to see some reviewers say that this book was "hard to get through." I found it compelling and I only wanted to keep going and learn more.
"In its study the PHR points out that during the five years of the intifada, a child under the age of six was shot in the head once every two weeks — an appalling statistic." (p. 56)
"We don't hate the Jews as a people, this is a political conflict." (p. 79)
"The police officer who just bought a luxury apartment far beyond the reach of his salary, the minister doing a little business on the side — the Palestinian press might not cover such details but they are common knowledge in the Strip." (p. 99)
"As I met more and more people, my itinerary began to swell with the many place-names that had been wiped entirely off the map of Israel." (p. 151)
"Our poverty has made us strong, given us experience, so that nothing can budge us. Remember that we started the (first) intifada." (p. 173)
"'The absence of basic human rights,' summed up Ismail from Khan Yunis camp — and from Jaffa — 'made every one of us thoughtful, serious, a person who holds out for change.'" (p. 175)
"Israel — despite having controlled the territories since 1967 — had still not learned that resistance and terror are responses to occupation itself and to the form of terror embodied by the foreign ruler." (p. 247)
part 2: https://youtu.be/3CNxZidFNyM
It's interesting to see some reviewers say that this book was "hard to get through." I found it compelling and I only wanted to keep going and learn more.
"In its study the PHR points out that during the five years of the intifada, a child under the age of six was shot in the head once every two weeks — an appalling statistic." (p. 56)
"We don't hate the Jews as a people, this is a political conflict." (p. 79)
"The police officer who just bought a luxury apartment far beyond the reach of his salary, the minister doing a little business on the side — the Palestinian press might not cover such details but they are common knowledge in the Strip." (p. 99)
"As I met more and more people, my itinerary began to swell with the many place-names that had been wiped entirely off the map of Israel." (p. 151)
"Our poverty has made us strong, given us experience, so that nothing can budge us. Remember that we started the (first) intifada." (p. 173)
"'The absence of basic human rights,' summed up Ismail from Khan Yunis camp — and from Jaffa — 'made every one of us thoughtful, serious, a person who holds out for change.'" (p. 175)
"Israel — despite having controlled the territories since 1967 — had still not learned that resistance and terror are responses to occupation itself and to the form of terror embodied by the foreign ruler." (p. 247)
July 27, 2025
A distressing reading. I was already pretty familiar with the Israel-Palestine conflict before, and I was perfectly aware that it did not start with October the 7th, but the more you read and the worse it gets. It's so frustrating to read a book that was written more than 30 years ago, and to see that everytihng that is happaning now is nothing new. It fits perfectly with the Israelian strategy that has been in the making for decades: the two-state-solution is just smoke in the eyes, Israel never really wanted it and never will: they just want to control the whole territory, they want the Palestinian to either leave, of become so dependent on Israel and so devided that they won´t pose any threat, and they want to bring them to an extreme point where they will only look for survival, "forgetting" about any nationalistic wish and identity.
What is maybe new now is the scale and the pace of their actions, and the fact that in spite of the outrage bursting all over the world, they just go on and on, with a level of entitlement and inpunity which has no precedents, strong of US-protection and of the idea that none of the main western counries will put any serious obstable to their actions.
People really need to understand what is really going on we, western countries are allowing to happen, if not openly supporting.
What is maybe new now is the scale and the pace of their actions, and the fact that in spite of the outrage bursting all over the world, they just go on and on, with a level of entitlement and inpunity which has no precedents, strong of US-protection and of the idea that none of the main western counries will put any serious obstable to their actions.
People really need to understand what is really going on we, western countries are allowing to happen, if not openly supporting.
September 1, 2025
For a book with a title so poetic, I expected to read something more heartfelt, an account of the emotional pain of life under occupation. That is until it was quickly revealed that the title of the book was stolen from a speech by Yassir Arafat.
Which serves as just another example of the theft and oppression that native Palestinians have had to endure for eighty years under the thumb of European colonialism. This all seems lost on Amira Hass, who thinks that the problem with the occupation lies in its severity and intensity, rather than its actual existence.
I will leave you with the final sentence: “On condition, of course, that any solution treat the Palestinians with dignity, as a people with elemental rights and a claim equal to that of the others who live in this land and call it home.”
This is the goal of the Zionist colony. To completely break the will of the Palestinian resistance until they absolutely submit to Western imperialism under the ridiculous guise of religious decree. The irony here of course is the writer’s judgement (and dismissal) of Islamic values and principles as outdated concepts, coupled with her failure to recognise the laughable justification of Jewish occupation as an ancient supernaturally-ordained prophecy.
Which serves as just another example of the theft and oppression that native Palestinians have had to endure for eighty years under the thumb of European colonialism. This all seems lost on Amira Hass, who thinks that the problem with the occupation lies in its severity and intensity, rather than its actual existence.
I will leave you with the final sentence: “On condition, of course, that any solution treat the Palestinians with dignity, as a people with elemental rights and a claim equal to that of the others who live in this land and call it home.”
This is the goal of the Zionist colony. To completely break the will of the Palestinian resistance until they absolutely submit to Western imperialism under the ridiculous guise of religious decree. The irony here of course is the writer’s judgement (and dismissal) of Islamic values and principles as outdated concepts, coupled with her failure to recognise the laughable justification of Jewish occupation as an ancient supernaturally-ordained prophecy.
May 14, 2019
Even though this book was written around 20 years ago, it is still relevant to the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, which of course remains at a deadly stalemate. Written by an Israeli journalist, it details the historical process that took place following the influx of Jewish emmigrants in 1948/1949, both from a political and personal point of view. The detail is staggering, and Hass has access to all kinds of politicians and normal Gazans, relaying their stories and points of view in an extremely well written and well researched way. Hass explains in great detail the power struggle between the Israelis and Palastinians and the quest for Palestinian independance. The persecution of the Palestinians by the Israeli authority is considered inhumane, for example closing the checkpoints, sometimes for months on end, preventing Gazans from going to work in Israel, receiving medical treatment and visiting friends and family, even in the West Bank. 100% worth a read.
February 22, 2020
This journalist win with this book the R. Kennedy Award.
Like the comment made by one of her Palestinian activist friends that while the Israelis were around, they always wore their pajamas to bed. They didn't need to give IDF soldiers another reason to belittle them....For other details about this book It could better read it...
Drinking the Sea at Gaza maps the zones of ordinary Palestinian life. From her friends, this journalist learns the secrets of slipping across sealed borders and stealing through night streets emptied by curfews. Hass bravely moved to Gaza City and worked as a foreign correspondent rather than reporting on the region from the safety of Tel Aviv. While living in the strip, she befriended Palestinians who bemoaned their bitter, poverty-stricken existence under Israeli occupation; moved by their accounts.
Like the comment made by one of her Palestinian activist friends that while the Israelis were around, they always wore their pajamas to bed. They didn't need to give IDF soldiers another reason to belittle them....For other details about this book It could better read it...
Drinking the Sea at Gaza maps the zones of ordinary Palestinian life. From her friends, this journalist learns the secrets of slipping across sealed borders and stealing through night streets emptied by curfews. Hass bravely moved to Gaza City and worked as a foreign correspondent rather than reporting on the region from the safety of Tel Aviv. While living in the strip, she befriended Palestinians who bemoaned their bitter, poverty-stricken existence under Israeli occupation; moved by their accounts.
August 13, 2025
This was truly a wealth of knowledge. Though it was written more than 20 years ago it still proves just as relevant today. Even though I knew the broad details of Israel's occupation of Gaza, reading the "mundane" granular situations really painted a much more complete picture of the oppression happening to Palestinians. From taxes, access to water, limiting exit permits, Israel has made every aspect of life miserable. And more than 20 years later, things have only gotten worse.
It's definitely a slow read due to the dense and expansive nature of the everything Hass covers, and at some points I had to power through what felt like reading a textbook, but it was absolutely worth it. I just wish she had included more personal anecdotes of her daily life living in Gaza, as those were my favorite parts of every chapter and brought more humanity to the sea of facts.
It's definitely a slow read due to the dense and expansive nature of the everything Hass covers, and at some points I had to power through what felt like reading a textbook, but it was absolutely worth it. I just wish she had included more personal anecdotes of her daily life living in Gaza, as those were my favorite parts of every chapter and brought more humanity to the sea of facts.
November 16, 2024
All books are products of their time, and Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege is no different, painting a tragic portrait of a people desperate for freedom and dignity. But Hass seems a little too quick to place most of the blame on the Israeli government, instead of sharing it with the Palestinian leadership. And her closing paragraph, meant to serve as a summation of Palestinian suffering and humanity, betrays itself in its closing quote. But most of all, in a post-Oct. 7 world, one wonders whether this book could have been written today. I have my doubts, but I hope that the next Amira Hass can prove me wrong.
January 8, 2019
The book is dated, and was published over 20 years ago. The subject of of the enclosure of Gaza by Israel is still ongoing. Amira Hass is Jewish and Israeli journalist, and she wrote this book with the Palestinian perspective. Her concerns come across as insightful and sincere. There is no reason to think that the Gaza de facto occupation will end soon, or that the misery of most of its citizens will diminish.
February 25, 2018
This was a go to recommendation for me for a long time. It was one of the first I'd read from the Israeli left, so it was refreshing to hear her acknowledge the facts and wrongs suffered by Palestinians. That is a must in the quest for peace.
November 29, 2019
this is a moving, well-researched and eloquent book ever to be written on issues currently taking place in Palestine...it is informative, absorbing and most important is that the author makes one realize the human aspect of the Palestine plight...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews