The Words of My Father: Love and Pain in Palestine

by Yousef Bashir

A Palestinian-American activist recalls his adolescence in Gaza during the Second Intifada, and how he made a strong commitment to peace in the face of devastating brutality in this moving, candid, and transformative memoir that reminds us of the importance of looking beyond prejudice, anger, and fear.

Yousef Bashir’s story begins in Gaza, on a verdant ten-acre farm beside an Israeli settlement and military base. When the soccer-mad Yousef was eleven, the Second Intifada exploded. First came the shooting, then the occupation. Ordered to leave their family home, Yousef’s father refused, even when the Israeli soldiers moved in, seizing the top two floors. For five long years, three generations of the Bashir family were virtual prisoners in their own home. Despite this, Yousef’s father—a respected Palestinian schoolteacher whose belief in coexisting peacefully with his Israeli neighbors was unshakeable—treated the soldiers as honored guests. His commitment to peace was absolute.

Though Yousef’s family attracted international media attention, and received letters of support from around the world, Yousef witnessed the destruction of his home, his neighborhood, and the happy life he had known with growing frustration and confusion. For the first time he wondered if his father’s belief in peace was justified and whether he was strong enough—or even wanted—to follow his example. At fifteen, that doubt was tested. Standing in his front yard with his father and three United Nations observers, he was shot in the spine by an Israeli soldier, leaving him in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, for a year.

While an Israeli soldier shot him, it was Israeli doctors who saved Yousef and helped him eventually learn to walk again. In the wake of that experience, Yousef was forced to reckon with the words of his father. And like the generous, empathetic man who raised him, he too became an outspoken activist for peace.

Amid the tragedy of the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, "The Words of My Father" is a powerful tale of moral awakening and a fraught, ferocious, and profound relationship between a son and his father. Bashir's story and the ideals of peace and empathy it upholds are a soothing balm for these dangerous and troubled times, and a reminder that love and compassion are a gift—and a choice.

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

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2020

Reviews

[Yossi Khebzou · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever. A beautifully written, heartbreaking story with a message of peace and coexistence. It is a story that speaks to me, a Jewish reader, on how occupation has corrupted my dear Israel. I have a strong bond with the Jewish State, and it's sad to look at it as the perpetrator of injustice and inhumanity. Nevertheless, the Israel I know and love is also represented in the book as the nurses who helped Yousef in Tel Aviv and the kids he lives with in the hospital. It's a story of humanity, of how people represented in the media as just victims have too, a daily life: the Palestinians go to school, like soccer, mess around with their friends and hide from their parents.

It is a story of peaceful resistance and sacrifices, as Khalil Bashir, the father of the author, did not give in to the IDF Soldiers who mistreated his family, shot his son and made them prisoners in their own house. In the contrary, he always treated them like guests and seemed to understand that they don't know what they're doing because "they are kids".

The thing that shocked me the most was the necessity to humiliate by the soldiers. Khalil Bashir relates that after the night they left in the Gaza Disengagement, they found that the soldiers had defecated on all the Kitchen Pots just to disturb them, or to asses their "superiority" over the family.

I love the ending of the book, with a peace offering to the soldier who shot him: “Without your bullet, I might never have understood forgiveness. You were created by the same God who created me. You have the same humanity as I have. You are part of the same family as I am. I forgive you, my cousin.” concludes Bashir.

Must-read.

[Stitching Ghost]

No star rating because I don't rate memoirs.

Bashir does a great job at making his point that there isn't a singular Palestinian experience but his hope for a peaceful outcome seems more tragic than anything else at this point in time.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally wouldn't have picked up this book, but the author was our houseguest for a time during the 2018 election, when he came to Seattle to volunteer for a congressional candidate who I also volunteered for. He gave us a copy of his book, and it was a fascinating read. Having been raised Jewish, I had only one side of the Israel-Palestine story, and his book is an evocative telling of the other side. Yousef's father showed him how, with Ghandi-like serenity, to be a force for peace even when you have been given so many reasons to hate.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and moving memoir. Yousef Bashir is from a middle-class family in Gaza. His father is the headmaster of the local high school and the family owns a large idyllic farm where he and his siblings are raised. His childhood is very happy until the onset of the second intifada. Then a battalion of Israeli soldiers moves into the family home, taking over the top floors and forcing the family to live huddled in one room.

Yousef's father is an outstanding individual who believes in peace and co-existence with the Israelis. He refuses to leave his home or succumb to hate. As a young teen, Yousef sees his father's refusal to give in to anger as a weakness. When Yousel is shot by one of the soldiers on guard he is filled with anger at both the soldier and his father.

Because of his injury, (he was shot in the back and unable to walk), he was sent to Tel Aviv for treatment. Here he encountered Israeli, doctors, nurses, physical therapists and fellow patients who treated him and his parents with kindness and caring. They were able to treat him successfully and he was able to walk again.

Yousef's negative and positive experiences with Israelis helped him to see complexity and difference within groups and begin to understand his father's belief in the possibility of peace. After his recovery, he participates in the Seeds of Peace program and eventually comes to live and study International Relations in the United States.

Upon his father's death, Yousef decides to dedicate his life to working for peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis. The book is a loving tribute to his father. I highly recommend it.

[Jillian Lightbown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I am glad to have read this. This book helped me develop an understanding, past the headlines, of this tragedy for Palestinians.

[natalie zander · Rating 4 out of 5]

there’s a level of detail in this that only trauma can produce, yet it still reads like a conversation – like listening to a friend tell you a story; you hear all their quirks and asides and trains of thought, and the story wouldn’t be complete without that. in a word, this is deeply, deeply human.

[Fara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banyak yang kita boleh belajar daripada catatan penulis tentang ayahnya yang memiliki kesabaran yang luar biasa, masih boleh mencari nilai manusiawi dalam diri askar-askar IDF yang memusnahkan tanaman, haiwan malah rumah mereka. Masih cuba mencari titik tengah untuk berdamai, melayan askar-askar yang menceroboh dan menjadikan mereka tawanan di rumah sendiri dengan baik.

IDF sengaja melepaskan tembakan rambang ke arah perumahan dan kadang-kadang memusnahkan tanaman dan bangunan dengan harapan penduduk takut dan meninggalkan rumah mereka. Ayah Yousef kiranya sangat kental bertahan meskipun sudah beberapa ahli keluarga menjadi mangsa - ayahnya dan Yousef sendiri. Tingkap pecah ditembak, dia baiki. Tiang telefon tumbang, dia minta syarikat telekomunikasi di sana pasangkan semula. Sehingga akhir hayat ayahnya, mereka berjaya kekal di rumah yang sama sehinggalah IDF meninggalkan kawasan itu.

Membaca buku ini juga memberi gambaran lebih jelas bagaimana sukarnya hidup di Gaza. Tentang banyak barang/makanan yang diharamkan dijual di Palestin, tentang sukarnya bergerak ke sana ke mari. Sempadan Rafah contohnya tak ada waktu tertentu untuk dibuka. Yousef terpaksa menunggu tiga hari di sempadan (untuk sambung belajar di luar negara) sebelum ia dibuka dan ditutup semula dengan segera, setelah beberapa kali ke sana dan gagal menyeberang.

Kita biasa dengar kanak-kanak ditangkap kerana melempar batu ke arah tentera mereka. Dengan perincian dalam buku ini, terasa betapa mengarutnya perkara tersebut. Betapa paranoidnya mereka dengan bayang-bayang sendiri sehingga menjatuhkan hukuman yang melampau atas perbuatan yang boleh dielak jika mereka punya sedikit hati dan timbang rasa.

Oh, rupa-rupanya orang Palestin berpuak juga. Yang di West Bank, ramai daripada golongan elit, memandang rendah pada yang datang dari Gaza atau yang duduk di kem. Terkadang lupa mereka juga manusia biasa, tak dapat dielak daripada berselisih hal politik, kepercayaan dan lain-lain juga.

Buku-buku macam ni membuatkan kita menghargai banyak benda sebenarnya. 2023, tak tahu apa cerita dengan rumah keluarga penulis.

Moga baik-baik dan indah pada akhirnya.

[Jess Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the 2024 paperback edition - and, wow, the afterword sent chills all over my body.

[lj · Rating 4 out of 5]

important read. human storytelling can open so many minds!! i wish more people would read this book

[Ona Elkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow. Beautiful, raw, gut wrenching, horrifying, and a spectacular showing of the best and worst parts of humanity on full display. Israel has been terrorizing Palestine through systematic cruelty, oppression, and ethnic cleansing for far longer than the timeline of the current genocide, and this book serves as a fierce reminder of that history. I am grateful to Yousef Bashir for sharing his own story and that of his father, Khalil Bashir, and hope that he lives to see a day when Palestine is free and his home, family, and people are free again. I wish that individual hope, courage, and forgiveness were enough but systematic oppression must be dismantled by systematic change. Free Palestine and love each other🇵🇸❤️

[Alexandru Bîrsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words to describe what I felt reading this memoir. I know we can all do our part, and we should do it whenever we are given the chance. But when it comes to this story, I was just an observer and my entire being wanted justice to be served to all the people treating Yousef's family in such a vile and dehumanizing way. I wanted revenge. And yet, Yousef and his father lived through it all and still chose forgiveness and peace as their core values and weapons. I could say that this is what makes us human, but I think they are by far more than that. Their kindness and capacity to forgive while still resisting and fighting for their people and land, without losing their humanity, not even for a bit, is super-human. Free Palestine.

[danaetayy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratings dont matter

This authors story shows how a traumatic event caused from hate actually showed him the loving and caring of “other side” in which he learned forgiveness

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

I spent six months in Jerusalem in 2019, studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at schools in Palestine and Israel. I picked this book up sometime after returning to America, hoping to one day return to this world and reflect on the heartbreaking reality of this land - a land which has been stained by endless fighting and a divisive hatred for 'the other' on both sides.

I'm glad I made that decision. This memoir recounts the story of a young boy from Gaza and his family during the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising which led to years of bloodshed and death on both sides. Israeli soldiers unlawfully occupied the author's home when the Intifada started, which is where the book is most focused. But even with the horrific stories recounted in that experience, the book ultimately seems meant to memorialize the author's father, who was a staunch advocate for peace despite the atrocities he and his family faced almost daily.

I admire the courage and persistence of Yousef Bashir in writing this book and telling his story. English isn't his first language, though I believe he's been in America for quite some time now. The book was relatively easy and straightforward to read. America, and the world at large, would do well to consume and reflect on these deeply personal stories before jumping to conclusions about the conflict.

Even still, I had a few issues with this memoir. I think it could've benefited tremendously from more historical context. I don't think the book even explains what the Second Intifada was, which, unfortunately, is probably necessary (I sadly wouldn't have known had I not studied the area directly. Same goes for his vague references to Arafat).

I understand this is a memoir written by a Palestinian, so it's a given we'll be hearing about one person's experience. But I hoped it would be situated more in what that time period was really like beyond Yousef's memories at home so we could glimpse the bigger picture of what was happening. I wanted to know more about his understanding of what was happening in Gaza and Israel outside his home, and why such a horrific occupation was even happening. Was his experience an abnormal one since his home was located just next to an Israeli base, or was this a reality throughout all of Gaza?

I didn't feel those questions were really answered. Given that the memoir was written decades after the events rehashed in the book and Yousef is a known speaker and activist today, I also hoped he would at least touch on his more recent work and why his story still matters today (particularly since the occupation is still happening today -- many atrocities are still happening there today).

The book also felt hurried at times, which worked to disinvest me a tad from the story. For example, Yousef mentions at the end of the story that Gaza was cut off from the outside world so he couldn't reach his family. This seems like a pretty big deal, and, understandably, would be extremely trying for anyone trying to assimilate into a new culture when that's happening at home. Then, suddenly, the issue he raised is dropped three or four paragraphs later and Yousef mentions that his conversations with his father were getting better over time. It was confusing, and that wasn't the only instance of this sort of thing in the memoir. I'm not sure if he's planning to write a second memoir with the more recent half of his life, but he brushes over pretty much all of his challenges studying in America (he was forced out of one university, for ex., but mentions this only briefly).

Basically, I liked it and I'm glad I read Yousef's story, but I wanted more. I'm not sure he adequately explains why he had such a hard time communicating his love to his father, and it was a bit frustrating when he'd tell us what he wanted to say but would say something completely separate to his father. Since Yousef's relationship with his dad seemed the overarching focus of the book, I wanted to understand it more and really put myself in Yousef's mind - which proved difficult to do at times.

For those looking for a memoir on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I would highly suggest Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. That memoir was a five-star read for me, and had more of the context I thought was lacking in this one.

[Deb OShaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative read and perspective from a Palestine man growing up in Gaza.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautifully written story about choosing peace in the face of the worst possible circumstances and the legacy of family. I was moved to tears by this book.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this memoir from HarperCollins.

In this memoir, author Yousef Bashir tells the story of his childhood and adolescence growing up in Gaza under occupation by the Israelis. When Yousef's father, a tireless advocate for peace, refused to leave the family home and make his children refugees, the Israelis simply took over the top two floors of their family home. While Yousef just wanted to be a typical kid and play soccer, he was forced to live with soldiers in his home who locked him and his family into their living room every night. Then, when he was fifteen, he was shot in the spine by an Israeli soldier and spent over a year in a wheelchair. This time away from his family and in the aftermath of the senseless cruelty of a strange forced Yousef to contemplate his father's dedication to peace.

It was hard to imagine the force of his father's moral convictions to stay in his home even as the soldiers slowly destroyed his property, severely impeded his family's quality of life, and ultimately severely injured two of his children. In fact, his father received international attention as a result of his unusual choice. Given the circumstances, Yousef's frustration with his father's choice was easy to understand, which only made his eventual commitment to the same beliefs.

I haven't read extensively about the Israeli occupation in Gaza and this was an interesting introduction. Beyond the issues that plagued the place of his birth, this memoir tells the story of a father son relationship. After spending much of his childhood frustrated by his father's choices and advice, Yousef ultimately came to deeply respect his father's views and has followed in his footsteps to be a strong advocate for peace.

[Daniela]

"A nech vás nepodnieti nepriateľstvo k určitým ľuďom k tomu, aby ste boli nespravodliví."

S hanbou priznávam, že ma tento rok naučil, ako málo toho viem o situácii v pásme Gazy, a koľko by som toho naozaj vedieť mala. Aj kúpa tejto knihy bol môj pokus o dovzdelanie sa.
Nič som o nej poriadne nevedela, ale všeličo som si predstavovala. Kniha je svedectvom nezlomnej viery v mier a mierové spolužitie dvoch národov na jednom území. Občas som bola až podozrievavá a vravela som si, že nik nemôže byť až taký idealista (a to ja sama som pritom naivne idealistická).
Kniha bola napísaná jednoduchým spôsobom, autor v nej opisoval svoje detstvo, až som občas mala pocit, že ju naozaj napísal chlapec na prahu puberty. To je vlastne ale aj dobré, lebo myšlienky v nej, hoci nesmierne hlboké, sú vo svojej podstate veľmi jednoduché - myšlienky mieru, túžba zaspať vo vlastnej posteli a zobudiť sa v nej ráno, bez toho, že by vás budili guľky či vojaci so samopalmi.
Som nesmierne vďačná, že som tieto hrôzy nikdy neokúsila na vlastnej koži a držím všetky prsty, ktoré mám myšlienke Júsufa a jeho otca.

[Mia Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always looking for ways to engage with Palestinian content in ways that fit my brain and memoirs are perfect. This is one of the most important books I’ve read in a while. Thank you to Yousef for sharing his story, and my heart breaks for every other story there are too many to count

[Hamna R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a new perspective on the situation in Palestine. Throughout, when something horrible would happen I would find myself thinking “it’s ok it’ll get better soon” because that’s what happens in books, it gets bad then it’s gets better. However, i had to remind myself that this isn’t a story, it’s the reality of many Palestinians and even if the book ends on a positive note, the story is not over. I feel that the ending of the book could have been better, however, it is a memoir so I cannot complain about someone’s experiences. I disagree with America being the saviour and hope that in the continuation of this, Yousef is able to see that when his classmates said he was a puppet to America, it was not entirely wrong and definitely was not a compliment.

[Nayaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a person who knows Gaza and Israel only from what the newspapers report, this book was very informative and an eye opener too. It’s a very personal account and one cannot, but be awed by the perseverance of people in conflict zones. The author has managed to communicate in the young voice/mind for most of the book and later transition a little to the adult voice towards the end.
Now that I have heard the Gaza side, I am on the lookout for the Israel side of the story too.

[Sara]

مقدرتش أكمله .. تطبيع ناعم. سرد بنبرة هيا ياحمامة السلام طيري ورفرفي وهسامحك ياابن عمي ياللي ضربتني برصاصة بس ضمدت جراحي ف المستشفي ومش كل الاحتلال وحش .. الكاتب بيحكي ان والده كان بيعتبر قذف حجارة همجية وانه محب للسلام ورافع راية المحبة للجميع رغم الانتهاكات الدائمة عليه واسرته واقتحام بيته الدائم لاستخدامة للمراقبة واطلاق النار ع المقاومة!

طبعا الكتاب موجه للجمهور الغربي اللى بنطبط عليه ونقوله ارجوك تعاطف دة احنا حتى بنحبكم ولو اذتونا ..

[Alice Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read from a different point of view.....a peace-loving Palestinian family living in occupied Gaza.

We are all family and the Palestinians and Israelis closer than most. They are indeed cousins. Co-existing in such a small area would be nice. Hopefully one day, it will also be possible.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I TORE through this book. Bashir is a strong, honest writer whose account makes me hopeful for peace and whose story is truly remarkable. Once you start, you can’t put it down.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book and important read! read it on the train/to from work (two days a week). i chose this book because i come from a fairly pro-israel perspective (while being pro-peace, pro-coexistence, etc), so i felt it was essential and about time for me to read a palestinian perspective on peace-making. i want to continue to read more about i/p this year, and reading more palestinian perspectives is a goal of mine in 2025. i will only engage with writers who are pro-peace and pro-coexistence, so that unfortunately narrows down my options. i’m glad i found yousef bashir’s story.

while parts of the story were obviously sad, the purpose of the book was to promote peace and coexistence, and thus it wasn’t a particularly hard or upsetting read (and therefore safe to read on public transit without fear of bawling my eyes out). i didn’t learn too much from this book in terms of what israel was up to in the early 2000s and prior, and most of anything i did learn unfortunately didn’t surprise me. however, it was meaningful to have real stories to connect the historical events to. the impact on civilians from the i/p conflict is inherently tragic, but it feels so much more “real” when there are names involved.

my only “issue” with the book was that parts of the book felt repetitive— it was made abundantly clear that a young yousef was rebellious and that his father was pro-peace— but i enjoyed the book overall. i’m glad that i read it, and i plan to read more palestinian perspectives in the near future.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It will be all right...The walls shook as the house was hit with waves of bullets and small missiles. This, I thought, was the truth standing between me and the words of my father.” Author Yousef Bashir’s father describes, “I am a peace lover. I don’t attack, nor hate, nor plot. Nor do I lose my right to exist.” While Bashir expresses, “All I knew about Israelis was that they had guns and had the power to tell me and my family when to use the bathroom and when to go to school, and that one of them had almost ended my life a few weeks earlier. Apparently, just because he could...I spent hours imagining that some day I would meet him again so I could ask him: ‘Why?’” “Why can people not live in peace, enjoying the luxuries of their ingenuity instead of living on the thorns of their tragedies?”

Bashir wrestles with this question without an answer in his letter to the soldier who shot him: “Three pieces of your bullet embedded in my back, next to my spine, make me think of you every day. I wanted to hate you, but a miracle happened. No, not the miracle that I can walk again. Another miracle. One that was shown to me through my father’s commitment to peace, my mother’s unfathomable love, and the doctors and nurses who tended to me with the deepest compassion. It is the miracle of forgiveness. Without your bullet, I might never have understood forgiveness. You were created by the same God who created me. You have the same humanity...You are part of the same family...I forgive you, my cousin. In peace.”

“The bullet constantly reminds me that I am a human being and in that I find optimism. I have never felt hatred toward anyone and I never had to wrestle with hatred until I was shot. For me, believing in peace is not just an act or a few words. I have to forgive the soldier and to forgive the people of Israel. That is how I plan to win back my freedom and homeland.”

Peace begins at Home
Peace begins in Me
Peace begins in You
Peace begins in Her
Peace begins in Him
Peace begins in Them

This is my home.
This is my house.
This is my land.
It is my childhood.
It is my memories.
It is my family.
The love of my land runs in my veins.

The Words of My Father is a profoundly moving, hopeful and relevant memoir, required reading for all global citizens and soldiers waging peace.

[Khanh Vu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quotes:
- "Both of the teachers were refugees whose families had fled other parts of Palestine after the formation of Israel in 1948. Unlike my family, they had experienced the special bitterness of being refugees. My father understood that. They all knew, though, that there was no reason for them to argue among themselves, that the cause of their problems was not with each other. They practiced their own form of coexistence."
- "It became harder and harder to know what to think about my father or his philosophy. Although it was the soldiers who were creating this hell for us, I found myself getting frustrated with him."
- "Sometimes, he gave me one of his speeches about thinking positively. Sometimes, I did not want to hear all that again. I had been told that if he was tiring me I was to tell him to leave. I loved knowing I had that power. I never used it. I wanted to keep hearing his voice, and he would talk until I eventually managed to fall asleep."
- "Many carried foreign passports; some of them even had US passports and cuold travel wherever they wished. They, of all people, should have seen the need for a peaceful resolution. Yet, I felt like I was the only one at the school who understood the importance of peace. I, with only a Palestinian Authority passport for five years had barely allowed me to go to my own bathroom, seemed more aware than all the rest of them. It blew my mind how so many Palestinians walked around with hatred toward one another because of a mess started by the British, the Egyptians, the Israelis, and a whole of other people who were not Palestinians."
- "My brothers would also call me from Germany and my sweet older sister even sent me a Kodak camera for my birthday. 'Take pictures, Yusfi. I want to see you,' she wrote. It seemed so pointless though. Our lives were becoming so different, how could a picture make up for the difference?"
- "In those dreams that happen when you are not quite asleep and not quite awake, my father came to visit me, and even brought my mother with him Her voice swept through my furniture-less flat, wondering what she should cook for me and if I had detergent for my laundry. I did not believe the illusion and kept on struggling to fall asleep, but my beautiful smiling father, dressed completely in white, sat on the right edge of my mattress. 'Would you like to have tea with me?' he offered with his usual enthusiasm. 'Do not be afraid, everything is going to be fine, you are going to be fine,' he added, before standing up to go argue with my mother about something she had or had not done, while I made the sad mistake of waking up."

Comments:
Re: Palestine and Israeli occupation:
- Beautiful book that is enlightening about the Palestinian-Israeli "conflict" (is there really a conflict or confusion if one side is clearly the more aggressive and invasive side that started all the war? I'll let you decide.)
- In the US, no one TALKS, much less argues, about the Palestinian-Israeli issues. Probably some political ties and cultural influences, but few people understand how horribly the Palestinians are treated by the Israelis. Most think it is a conflict with both sides sharing equal shares of suffering, war, destruction, and deaths -- but that is not true. I'm sure it might be true now (although it's hard to think Palestine can equal Israel in military force and weapons, what with Western support and investment), but in the beginning, it's not hard to realize who "started" the "war".
- Read this book to see what is happening on the ground, what it really means to live on Gaza Strip during the Israeli occupation as a Palestinian, what WAR is like.
- Reading this, I wish that it were fiction -- just a made up story that no one had to live through, because I didn't want to believe the Israeli military was committing such atrocities. But this is a true book. Even if you don't read this book, GO EDUCATE YOURSELF ON PALESTINE HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS.
Re: writing and literary analysis:
- 4 stars for the structure and plot, 3.5 stars for writing style and voice.
- Prose not super concise and clean cut, sometimes repetitive, could use a bit more of revision.
- But the thing I wanted to discuss most is the difference between an artist and a politician. An artist - a writer - wants to be multifaceted, wants to show the audience the diversity of his thoughts and be unpredictable, causing the audience to go ooh and aah. But a politician, in order to be heard and to gain support, must be absolutely straightforward and SINGULAR in opinion. In other words, a politician must always always take a side and be simple-minded, neglecting the diversity of viewpoints. Neither bad nor good, this book was written by a politician. That much was clear. It was evident in the voice, in the constant repetition of the author's political message, the simple-mindedness with which the author approached the problem and regurgitated his "mantra".
- This book is a good tool to spread his story and message, but it is not exactly a masterpiece in
storytelling. There was little change in the narrator's views and opinions, only one big one after he had gotten hurt, and even that one was not well explained. He claimed his time in the hospital helped him gain perspective on the Jews - yes, but there must have been moments of doubt as well. And where are those? In order to make it more real for the readers to follow along your thought process, you should explain any initial hesitation and how you overcame it. For example, the scene with the Americans who were prejudiced against Palestinians specifically or Muslims more generally, how did that make you feel? Did you hate them? Were you disgusted by them? I understand the message the author is trying to spread is that of PEACE, in which you should never say you hate someone. Again, because this book is written by a politician, it should not show weaknesses or anything that goes against the preaching, but if this book's sole purpose was to tell a story, from one human to another, one way to be more relatable is to expose your own vulnerabilities to the readers, to allow them to understand you and, only later, believe you.

[Shakiya Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the first 2/3rds, 3 stars for the last third. The intimately personal story Bashir shares of his experience growing up in Gaza is equal parts heartbreakingly evocative and beautifully captivating, as he shares what it was like not only as someone who’s home is violently occupied, but also how that intersects with the life of a middle class boy who loves Real Madrid, good food, and being spoiled by his grandmother. That’s what I think is so special about this book, it manages to capture the complexities and grey areas that characterise reality - even in a region often politicised in binary black and white terms. In this way this book helped to save me from the danger of the single story of Gaza that I think is tempting to adopt given the recent events.

With this being said, I do think the rejection Bashir recounted experiencing by both peers and family members as a result of his belief in a peaceful co-existence with Israel is, disappointingly, rather telling of how his perspective contrasts with other Palestinian sentiments.

I felt that a lot of this memoir’s substance dissipated in the last third, as Bashir’s focus shifts towards getting to America in a way that sometimes feels devoid of depth. (Though I do acknowledge this perspective may be a result of my taking America’s political freedoms for granted.) This relative downgrade in substance also accompanied Bashir’s wholehearted adoption of his fathers message in this portion of the book, in a way I felt was lacking much direct explanation as to why, other than out of respect for his father. But perhaps you could say all his preceding life events were explanation enough.

All in all, I am grateful to the author for sharing this incredible story of love and loss.

[Jerry]

*No rating because I don't rate memoirs*

The author writes about his childhood in Gaza and his journey to the United States. A heart-wrenching tale about tragedy and hope. I would recommend to anyone looking for Palestinian views in the conflict.

Like the many tales of life in Palestine, the book is an eye-opening window into the type of suffering less fortunate humans on this Earth undergo. As we near Thanksgiving, I'm viewing it as a reminder to be thankful for what we have and to help those who have less.

[Zuzana Šmilňáková]

je to o Gaze, začala som čítať v júni a dočítala až teraz, kedy kniha nabrala úplne nový význam... neviem, nemyslím si, že sa s autorovým pohľadom na okupáciu bude stotožňovať veľa ľudí, a možno ani ja, ale autor je v tomto smere veľmi self-aware a reflektuje svoje privilégium ako middle až upper middle class v Gaze, zaujímavé sú jeho reflexie na vzťah Palestínčanov a Palenstínčaniek v Gaze a na okupovanom Západnom brehu

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a powerful testament to peace and a beautiful story about Palestinian resilience. I adore Yousef’s father and love Yousef’s own journey towards peace. I could never imagine living through the frustrating occupation that his family endured. Yousef, you are an inspiration.