A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism

by Esther Farmer (editor), Rosalind Pollack Petchesky (Editor), Sarah Sills (Editor)

A Land With a People is a book of stories, photographs and poetry which elevates rarely heard Palestinian and Jewish voices and visions. Eloquently framed with a foreword by the dynamic Palestinian legal scholar and activist, Noura Erakat, this book began as a storytelling project of Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City and subsequently transformed into a theater project performed throughout the New York City area.

Stories touch hearts, open minds, and transform our understanding of the "other"--as well as our comprehension of own roles and responsibilities-- and A Land With a People emerges from this reckoning. It brings us the narratives of secular, Muslim, Christian, and queer Palestinians who endure the particular brand of settler colonialism known as Zionism. It relays the transformational journeys of Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, queer, and Palestinian Jews who have come to reject the received Zionist narrative. Unflinching in their confrontation of the power dynamics that underlie their transformation process, these writers find the courage to face what has happened to historic Palestine, and to their own families as a result. Contextualized by a detailed historical introduction and timeline charting 150 years of Palestinian and Jewish resistance to Zionism, this collection will stir emotions, provoke fresh thinking, and point to a more hopeful, loving future--one in which Palestine/Israel is seen for what it is in its entirety, as well as for what it can be.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Poetry, Social Justice, Politics, Essays, Jewish

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2021

Reviews

[Grapie Deltaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly informative and important collection with essays, poetry, and artworks that are devastating and deeply impactful.

From those raised to be passionately Zionist and later educated themselves to those who will carry the memories of loss and targeted violence with them for the rest of their lives, this book manages to hold so much pain and perseverance.

CW: War, genocide, violence, dead loved ones, grief, Zionism, racism, forced sterilization

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for anyone who wants to get a basic understanding of Israel and Palestine. A digestible, kind and empathetic collection of first hand accounts, history and timelines that are informative but also personal and humanizing. It’s a refreshing resource with human context in a time when we are in taking so much information on social media. Written in 2021, it’s a reminder that the conflict did not start on October 7, but that there have been years of struggle long before then.

[Diane Lent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book warms the heart and enriches the understanding of Zionism, Israel and Palestine. Dozens of essays give first hand information on the conflict. Palestinians and Jews contributed stories poetry, art and photos. Locations span, Palestine, Israel, the Middle East and the United States. Great appreciation for Esther Farmer, Rosalind Petchesky and Sarah Sills.

[Ben]

Extremely readable and urgent.

[Emily Warfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a strong argument to be made for centering Palestinian voices, but there’s also a strong argument for books like this one, for Western readers who are still beginning their learning process and are neither Palestinian nor Jewish, to get a better understanding of the lay of the land. I just wish there had been more dialogue between the pieces— I know that’s hard to accomplish from a logistical perspective of seeking submissions, though

[Tali Natter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, moving, and crucial personal stories covering a wide breadth of experiences, I know many of these will stay with me, and I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a more accessible way into learning/reading about Israel/Palestine. The essayists are diverse in background, age, religion, geography, etc. and tell stories on themes of resistance, identity, family, political awakenings, generational trauma, collective memory, etc. They were all unique, yet tell a clear collective and nuanced story of the wide extent of harm caused by Zionism, both for Jews and Palestinians. I appreciated that the stories sometimes had contradicting conclusions compared to one another, like there were a few I didn’t completely agree with, and I appreciated the emphasis on how anti-Zionist Jewish organizers must follow the lead of and uplift Palestinians on the ground. The stories describing the beauty in Gaza were particularly heartbreaking. While I appreciated the timelines, histories, definitions, etc. that added context to the stories, I found them dryly written and hard to get through. I definitely learned more from the stories than those sections. It also seems that the book was edited/compiled by members of JVP, so it would be interesting to hear stories Jewish anti-Zionists in different organizations.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked
- diverse accounts from Palestinians, Jewish Americans, and Israelis about their family history and their journeys to joining the Palestinian cause
- I love the mixture of essays, poetry, and the pictures (I wish the pictures weren’t black and white)

What didn’t quite work for me
- each author only has 1-2 pages and some essays end quite abruptly. I wish to spend more time reading each author’s thoughts
- it can read a bit repetitive because the essays try to cover very similar events (nakba, settler violence etc). I think this book will work very well as an introductory read for those curious about Israel/palestine conflicts

[han · Rating 5 out of 5]

A needed read

I am glad I took my time to go through and reflect on this marvelous, horrific, beautiful, tragic, and desperately needed collection of essays, poetry, and art.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most powerful books i've read on Palestine to-date. There was a good mix of history and personal accounts which helped me stay connected with the book. I have a hard time reading books that are strictly historical accounts, they are important, just harder for me to finish in a timely matter. The personal accounts were also interesting to read because although they came from different voices, many had overlapping themes. Some of those key themes were:

1. How Anti-Jewish Zionism Is:
Despite Zionists fighting to name any critique of their colonial settler state as anti-semitic, Zionism itself has been guilty of this crime since it's inception. "Homogenizing Jews as a single National or racial identity inextricably bound to the state of Israel is itself a form of antisemitism with very old roots." (Page 20). You have to be white, Jewish, and living in Israel to be an Israeli. Zionism invalidates the Jewish identity of anyone who does not fit into this criteria.

Zionism details "...Jews as a "race," aliens in any location but the Israeli homeland." (Page 20). For Jews living outside of Israel, are they less Jewish? This quote from Biden at the 2023 Hanukkah gathering at the White House makes one question if Jews are safe anywhere but Israel, "Folks, were there no Israel there wouldn't be a Jew in the world that was safe."

For Jews who are not white in Israel, this quote from Petchesky helps illustrate their experiences. "Israel's first Prime Minister and long-time Zionist leader, David Ben-Gurion, was obsessed with the idea of “demographic balance” as a means to maintain Zionist hegemony over Palestine. As early as 1937, he observed that establishing what he considered an optimal balance between Arabs and Jews might necessitate the use of force, and in a 1947 speech he affirmed that 'only a state with at least 80 percent of Jews is a viable and stable state.' (Page 23). As many know, Palestine was a thriving, diverse culture of varying religions and ethnicities before Zionism, so what then happens to Arab Jews in maintaining this "demographic balance"? Arab Jews in Israel are known as Mizrahi Jews, as the book outlines, and are treated horribly in Israel. From having their babies stolen and given to Ashkenazi Jews by healthcare workers (Page 29) to administering birth control against consent to prevent further reproduction (Page 30).

I don't believe this book detailed personal accounts for Palestinian Christians or Muslims (if they did, sorry I missed it), but we know Palestine was religiously diverse pre-Zionism and we can only assume Zionists are doing what they can to further their agenda of a white Jewish Israeli state. And recent happenings in the occupied state confirm that, here is just one example, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1....

Some other key reasons this book details Zionism as being Anti-Jewish can be found in "Zionists Love Israel but They Don't Love Jews" by Esther Farmer. I'll share some quotes below:
- "When my grandparents and my father emigrated to America in the 1920s, they spoke Yiddish and Arabic. Yiddish was a bit of a family mystery since it has never been associated with the Middle East. Also, Yiddish was the language of the poor Jew, and it was not particularly encouraged after Israel was created. That has always seemed ironic to me, given that Israel was supposed to be about supporting Jews and Jewish culture. Yet the Zionist Elites were willing to sacrifice a vibrant and alive language, along with a progressive cultural history with which the Yiddish language was associated, in favor of the scholarly Hebrew that, when I was growing up, was not the spoken language of most Jews." (Page 100)
- "My brother and I did not advertise my parents' anti-Zionism to our Jewish Neighbors, since most Jews acted like you were less than human if you opposed Zionism." (Page 101)

2. Palestinians Have Varying Experiences & Thoughts:
This might seem silly but what i've noticed in some media sources and in community conversations, a few Palestinians are often valued as the voice for what all Palestinians think and want. This book highlights the diversity of thoughts and feelings amongst Palestinians. Often where Palestinians are in the region, where they are in life, etc impact what they think is best for their situation. For example, some Palestinians would not dream of leaving their occupied state while others have been trying to move countries for years. It's important to listen to each and every Palestinian and uplift their voices.

3. Women Led-Movements Dominate Palestine
I was inspired as I continued to read how instrumental women have been in leading movements in Palestine. Here are a few I took note of but I'm sure there are more I missed:
- "Despite many obstacles, every turn of the seven-decade-long Nakba has been met with unyielding resistance by Palestinians, oftentimes led by women and also by Jews condemning Zionism's extreme violence and injustice." (Page 25)
- "Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is one of Palestine's most brilliant and original feminist scholars, researchers, teachers and activists. In the mornings, she accompanies children, mainly girls from the neighborhood, on their walk to school, to protect them from harassment by soldiers; in the evenings after teaching her classes, she may be protesting yet another house demolition. Her books about the impact of Israel's security theology on the lives of Palestinian women and children are the greatest source of my understanding about the subject in the lens through which I am able to see Jerusalem." (Page 147)

4. Israel is Following the Same Colonizer Script in Many Ways
As I read about the treatment of Ethiopian women being sterilized without their consent or knowledge of it happening, I couldn't help but recall the experiences of Indigenous women in America where the exact same thing happened. Or their babies being taken and given away again without their consent or knowledge, often to boarding schools in the case of Indigenous Americans.

With the Deadly Exchange Program in progress between America and Israel, it's extremely scary to see the parallels in police forces. "The convergence of two horrific atrocities in 2014 - the brutal police murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the Israeli siege and massacre of civilians in Gaza - cemented Black-Palestinian bonds. Demonstrators in Ferguson held up signs pledging solidarity with Palestine, and Palestinians sent Ferguson activists instructions about how to defend against tear gas - from the same U.S. branded canisters that had rained down on Gazans." (Page 43). I was also so proud to hear how Black Panther organizations in the U.S. have built strong relationships with Pro-Palestinian organizations.

5. Zionism is Intertwined in the American Jewish Faith
It was quite scary to realize how systematically Zionism is pushed into Jewish American lives. As someone is not Jewish, I truly had no idea how prevalent Zionism is in the American Jewish community. I believe all Jewish voices are important in breaking this colonial, genocidal system and I very much appreciate all those who shared their experiences in this book.

And there is so much more I took away from this book and I know it will be one I re-read and reference as time goes on. Please do read this book if you want to learn more about Palestine. And especially read this one if you've tried the other highly recommended books like On Palestine or A Four Thousand Year History, and found them too challenging.

[thi]

Read in part of #ReadPalestine (Nov 29-Dec 5) and Publishers for Palestine which allowed FREE ebook access to Palestinian voices

https://publishersforpalestine.org/

“I now conclude and avow that the price of a Jewish state is, to me, Jewishly unacceptable and that the existence of this (or any similar) Jewish ethnic-religious nation state is a Jewish, i.e. a human and moral, disaster and violates every remaining value for which Judaism and Jews might exist in history. The lethal military triumphalism and corrosive racism that inheres in the state and in its supporters (both there and here) are profoundly abhorrent to me. So is the message that now goes forth to the nations of the world that the Jewish people claim the right to impose a holocaust on others in order to preserve its State.”
—Henry schwarzschild
German Jewish refugee from the Nazi Holocaust who emigrated to the US in 1939. He worked in the South in the 1960s with the ACLU against the death penalty and believed that Judaism meant social justice action “here and now.”

A collection of first hand accounts from displaced survivors of the Nakba, descendants of said survivors, “israelis”, and Jewish people and their experiences with Zionism

Palestinians have been, and continued to be silenced but through accounts like these their experiences are immortalized, the shamelessness of the European powers are immortalized and the failures of the western government are immortalized, all in the endeavour to end Zionism

“We will keep speaking up and talking back through and despite silencing. We will continue to raise our voices and reclaim our stories.”

“Israel is a historical example of immense and tragic propor- tions, showing what happens when the persecuted fail to find solidarity with others and become instead interested only in themselves. I am proud to come from a long tradition of anti-Zionist Jews whose history has been deliberately erased. We are part of the movement of Jews toward reclaiming the humanitar- ian and progressive politics and values to which Jews have historically adhered.”

“My only weapon is my pencil.”

[Megan Sager · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ - I’ve been wanting to educate myself on Palestine & Israel for a while now and I’m so glad this is the book I started with. The short explanation of the whole conflict at the beginning was really nice and it really prepared me for the rest of the book. I loved all the different POVs and how everyone had a different kind of connection to Palestine & Israel. There was so much pain in these stories and I could really feel it. They all connect together to one key point which is the Israeli government is corrupt and Free Palestine! If you weren’t angry before, you sure will be after reading this book. Especially because it doesn’t even contain anything from the past year. Also I love the title being a response to the phrase “ A land without a people, for a people without a land” 🇵🇸❤️

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a significant collection. From Noura Erakat's forward to essays by Palestinian Jews who are from Palestine before the Zionist colonization of the land. This collection of poetry, photos, essays, and oral histories are compiled beautifully to demonstrate the relationship between Zionism and those who have been subjected to the ideology - Palestinians and Jews alike. It's a critical tool for those who want to work against the apartheid regime.

[Alise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edited by a Palestinian Jew and two american Jewish activists, A Land With A People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism collects poetry, art and personal essays in addition to a concise but detailed history of Zionism prior to the occupation and Palestinian life and resistance.

I think this is among the more accessible reads and a great entry-level option for the history portion as well as the touching personal collection.

[SG Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone wanting to further educate themselves on the history of Zionism in the west bank.

[David Bragin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides not just a factual telling of the history of Zionism but also, through clearly laid out timelines, shows the history of resistance to Zionism within the Jewish community, in Israel/Palestine and the Diaspora. The heart this extraordinary book, however, are personal stories from both Jewish and Palestinian voices. They show the writers’ struggles to see clearly beyond the myths and distortions of Zionism, and the settler colonial project that led to the creation of Israel and the displacement of the Palestinian inhabitants of the land.

The book will be of interest to readers familiar with the subject, but also, because of the humanity manifested by the story tellers, provides a fascinating introduction to the powerful feelings of the writers, that will appeal to any reader, regardless of their knowledge of the history.

[denice ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was this month’s social justice club read and I am so grateful I got the chance to read this book. It was beautifully written. I loved the thoughtful creation of a fundamental understanding of the history of the land, zionism, it’s roots, why and how it sustains white supremacy, and how policies were used as a manner of sustaining the notion. I really liked the interweaving of poems - as a writer myself, I adore the way poems can convey feelings and someone’s state of mind (or rather the state of their heartspace). If you would like even more historical contextual information, read The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. It is significantly thicker - but I promise it is absolutely worth the read. I’m very much into history alongside understanding laws and policies - and Khalidi’s book does so more in depth. It was easy read. But the content is emotionally heavy. I read it within a week - because I allowed myself breaks. It’s less than 200 pages so you could finish it in a day. But again, I am grateful a close friend gave me the gentle note of it being heavy. It’s frankly heartbreaking how it must even be written how Palestinians are worthy of being seen as fellows humans deserving of humanity and care, the intentional cruelty they have faced, and the coercive manipulation of narratives. I shamefully must admit I did not know of Palestine until Israel’s attack in October 2023. I didn’t know how to navigate the aspect of religion being tied to israel - what I knew is that Palestinians are the Indigenous peoples of the land and the israeli government was using manifest destiny as well as the holocaust to excuse their atrocities against Palestinians. This book really helps unravel the disgustingly intentional narrative that Judaism and Zionism are one. So grateful I have this book in my collection (and if you’re not able to buy it, borrow from your local library)!

[Evita]

🍉BOOK THOUGHTS🍉

“We will continue to raise our voices and reclaim our stories.”

A Land With A People - Esther Farmer, Rosalind Pollack Petchesky and Sarah Sills.

A Land With a People is a collection of stories, art and poems from Palestinians and Jews who have endured, fought against, or broken away from the harmful rhetoric of Zionism.

If you don’t know where to begin when it comes to educating yourself on Zionism and Palestine, this book is a great starter. It begins with a brief history section which is very helpful in explaining terms and things that have happened in the area up until about 2020/2021. Then come the stories. And the stories are so powerful. They include narratives from secular, Muslim, Christian, and queer Palestinians, as well as the journeys of Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, queer, and Palestinian Jews who have rejected the Zionist narrative. Since the narrators are so diverse and their voices are so different, the book will keep you engaged from start to finish. There is also a lot of social commentary that will make you sit with your feelings and think. Reading these stories will make you see the real humans behind the news. People with hopes, dreams, and futures they want to experience.

Overall, this is a very insightful read and I absolutely recommend picking it up!

Now, I will let these quotes from the book speak for themselves:

“We are Palestinians, after all. Not belonging is what we do.”

“But as Palestinians, we don’t want anyone to pity us. We want to be treated with humanity, justice, and equality.”

[Magdalena O! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated the mix of Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish voices. The stories from jews that were inoculated into Zionism and broke from it are crucial in seeing how truly fucked up Zionism is for Jews and Judaism as well. It is not in our favour, and it hasn't been from the beginning. Even the phrase "land without a people for a people without a land" was said by a Christian who was prompting Jews to settle Palestine for the goals of the christian messiah myth and to avoid jews from immigrating to elsewhere in Europe and USA.

In short, Zionism helped anti-Semitism thrive.

One story was about an older woman whose daughter was going to go to a protest and she was worried about her so she came along. During the protest she finally recognized the violence of Israel and changed her whole outlook. It is difficult to re orient yourself and to recognize your whole life is predicated on lies and violence. But not as difficult as what those lies and violence do to Palestinians

The texts in this collection demonstrate how it is imperative for Jews to genuinely take up tzedek and tikkun olam to stop the erasure of Palestinians.

The mix of prose, poetry, and reflective essays make this an essential collection!

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism: A collection of personal stories, history, poetry, and art edited by Esther Farmer, Rosalind Petchesky, and Sarah Sills offers insight into the experiences of myriad people on their journey to understand zionism and confront it in their own ways. A Land With a People seeks to explain the history of Palestine and to remind the world there were people living in Palestine before Israel was created. Several of the essays also explore the difference in antisemitism and antizionism. The photographs and the artwork included in A Land With a People enhance the writings . A Land With a People is an intense collection of beautiful writings that can be heart-wrenching at times and heart-warming at others and sometimes both at the same time. The vision of the myriad artists who contributed to A Land With a People gives me hope that people can find a way to create a better world.

[Heather Larocchia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise but extremely informative text, I feel this book was a balanced mixture of historical facts and personal narrative. As someone with no ties to Palestine, Judaism, or Israel, my background knowledge is limited and reading this deepened my understanding of the current genocide. Specifically, the connections between Zionism and racism are made very clear within this text. Various civil rights leaders around the world who are (were) committed anti-zionists are also highlighted. The Black Panthers, Young Lords, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu are all noted, as well as Albert Einstein. I would have preferred to read more essays like Rosalind Petchesky’s “Zionism’s Twilight” over some of the poems, but I recognize the value poetry brings to this text overall.

One line that I’ve been thinking about ever since reading this essay: “Palestine solidarity and anti-Zionism have become the new ‘communism.’” (43)

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me a bit of "Kingdom of Olives and Ash," though I felt that it provided less context. The general tone suggested that the ideal reader already understood, and perhaps had formed an opinion on, Zionism... but that being the case, many of the entries felt a bit surface-level. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it as a book one might use to jump in as a starting point on the subject.

Anyway, this was hardly my first book on the subject, and I appreciated the range of people who contributed to this collection. I believe this book was published in 2021, so many things are out of date, and this hits differently in the ongoing aftermath of October 7th. This book essentially chronicles the overlap between Jewish and Palestinian (and Jewish Palestinian) rejection of Zionist ideology.

[Brock Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotionally honest, devastating, heartwarming read. If you, like me are looking to acquire a basic understanding of Israel/Palestine from the art and stories of Palestinians and Israelis alike, this is a great place to start. The poetry and essays are so effectively contextualizad and accentuated by the abbreviated history of the region.

“When Jewish Zionists appropriated the idea of Palestine as ‘a land with a people for a people without a land,’ they did so with the awareness that the land was not empty. Rather they chose to treat the indigenous Arab people as invisible, as strangers, as less than Europeans; in short, as not really a people. The literal historical ground of Zionism’s growth is racism “

[Alice D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was on the Middle East Outreach Council Book Award committee that chose this as the 2022 winner in the Youth Non-Fiction category. It's a spectacular book with timely essays that I've used in my high school world history classes. The essays are not too long, but many times I spent a day thinking about them before I went on to the next one, so it took me longer to read this than most books. I HIGHLY recommend this for school libraries and anyone interested in getting both sides of the story in this crucial issue.

[Erica George · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.5⭐️] Very informative. Of the books I’ve read recently about Palestine, this has been the easiest to digest. The short stories and poems helped keep my attention and it was nice to read about the “conflict” from people of both backgrounds.

Credibility: 9/10

Authenticity/Uniqueness: 10/10

Writing style: 9/10

Personal Impact: 10/10

Intrigue: 6/10

Logic/Informativeness: 9/10

Enjoyment: 7/10

9+10+9+9+6+9+7 = 59/7 = 8.43

-2.2 = ⭐
2.3-4.5 = ⭐⭐
4.6-6.9 = ⭐⭐⭐
7.0-8.9 = ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9.0-10 = ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

=4.5

[Victoria Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving stories, poetry, about the history of Zionism in Palestine. First hand and historic accounts from both Jews and Palestinians. I wish every American would be required to read this book to get the real story. It’s another one of those instances in which we tell ourselves happy bullshit story to keep from facing the horrible truth. I once read of someone’s saying “All the Palestinians are being punished for October 7 and the holocaust.” The rank injustice makes me breathless with anger.

[Zaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book on my reading list for quite sometime now and had several people recommend it to me. I can confidently say it was a spectacularly written collection consisting of powerful testimonies from both Palestinian and Jewish perspectives on the colonization of Palestine and zionist agenda. It is a combination of history put into context as well as personal stories that go beyond the stereotypical portrayal of Palestinians shown in the west. It is a reminder of what Palestine was and will continue to be beyond the propaganda that is so integrated into western ideology.

[Michael Duane Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so familiar. The same rampant racism has been endemic throughout American history, and we only began to shed some of that hate in the 1970s, in my short lifetime. I'm ashamed it took me sixty years to deprogram myself. It's difficult to shed a culture of islamophobia when our leaders are frothing at the mouth with it. Books like this are a big help. These are voices of Jews, Palestinians and expats and their awakening from Zionism. It's a long time coming. May the day come when Palestinians will be seen as they are, vibrant generous human beings. Good book.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Zionism in the foundation of Isreal & its impact on the Palestinian people.
The way that this book is organized is that after the introduction / history, it’s followed by personal stories ranging from 2-10 pages from all sorts of different people. Emotional and informative.

[Jim Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, painful book.

Tough to read this now. It came out a few years ago, before the current situation in Gaza.

The reality is describes is heartbreaking, infuriating. Knowing that the situation is now much, much, much, much worse hurts.

I would love for many, many people to read this book.

[Thea N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 2021, so it has very current relevant thoughts on Palestine. This is a collections of short essays and poems of Palestinians and Anti Zionist Israeli Jews, telling their stories of their families and themselves, how they deconstruct the dogma they were taught and the heartache and devastation of Palestinians and their history.