These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons

by Ramzy Baroud

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have experienced life in Israel's prisons since 1967, as did many more in previous decades during the course of the ongoing Israeli military occupation. Yet rarely has the story of their experiences in Israeli jails been told by the prisoners themselves. Typically the Western media portrays them as 'terrorists' while well-meaning third-party human rights advocates paint them as hapless victims. They are neither. This book permits the reader to access the reality of Palestinian imprisonment as told by Palestinian prisoners themselves -- stories of appalling suffering and determination to reclaim their freedom.

The stories in this book are not meant to serve as an account of Israeli torture methods. Instead, each story highlights a distinct experience -- each so personal, so profound -- in order to underline the humanity of those who are constantly dehumanized by Israeli hasbara and the mainstream corporate media's biased accounts.. While highlighting Israel's brutality, readers come to grips with the resilience and grit of Palestinians and their ability to rise above Israel's cruelty and be emblems of power for their people.

Palestinian prisoners are an essential element in the collective resistance against Israeli colonialism, apartheid and military occupation. Rather than being viewed as unfortunate victims, their steadfastness exemplifies the ongoing fight of the Palestinian people as a whole. Despite Palestinian factionalism and lack of a unified political movement, Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons serve as one of the remaining platforms for unity. Regardless of affiliation, they are treated by their captors in the same debasing manner, often in total disregard for human rights conventions. These heroes of resistance, as viewed by Palestinians, often transcend factional divides. Despite numerous obstacles, they resist their jailers as a collective, enduring their pain and fostering their will together.

In reality, all Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and siege are also prisoners. The Gaza Strip is often referred to as the “world's largest open-air prison.” It is in this context that this book becomes an essential read.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History

204 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2019

Reviews

[Jennifer Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Chains Will Be Broken is small, but a real gut punch. It is simply the stories of individual Palestinian prisoners. Men, women, children. Some arbitrary, some sentenced to 600 years, some arrested for resisting occupation, unlucky enough to break down in front of a checkpoint. All are stories of horrific Israeli cruelty and extraordinary Palestinian patience and resilience.

The prisoner issue is often left out of the conversation, though freeing these thousands of people is the reason Israeli hostages get taken. There is great info at the end on international law and whether or not it is useful by Richard Falk

This is definitely an accessible angle into understanding a slice of what people have come to call "the conflict." (Ethnic cleansing, occupation, apartheid, genocide are more accurate descriptions.) I highly recommend it.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book that is meant to be wielded with statistics and documents proving this or that fact. These are testimonies told by Palestinians who have been incarcerated, or by members of their family. Political imprisonment is meant to break the ties that bind, but these stories speak of the deep connections to family, friends, land and culture.

[Jamila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation of stories from former and current Palestinian prisoners is possibly the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read. The injustice of the Israeli apartheid regime is stripped bare for all to see. Bearing witness to such horrors is important, and this book serves as a deeply personal testimony of those who experienced them.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in two days and the stories got progressively sadder.

RTC.

[Efron C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read important to understanding the prisoner movement and overall an amazing book. Free all them all!

[Zico · Rating 4 out of 5]

معين الدمع لن يبقى معينا … فمن أي المصائب تدمعينا

زمانٌ هون الأحرار منا … فديت وحكم الأنذال فينا

ملأنا البر من قتلى كرام … على غير الإهانه صابرينا

كأنهم أتوا سوق المنايا … فصاروا ينظرون وينتقونا

لو أن الدهر يعرف حق قوم … لقبل منهم اليد والجبينا

عرفنا الدهر في حاليه حتى … تعودناهما شدا ولينا

فما رد الرثاء لنا قتيلا … ولا فك الرجاء لنا سجينا

سنبحث عن شهيد في قماط … نبايعه أمير المؤمنينا

ونحمله على هام الرزايا … لدهر نشتهيه ويشتهينا

فإن الحق مشتاق إلى أن … يرى بعض الجبابر ساجدينا

(تميم البرغوثي)