Many books have dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the Israeli perspective. However, few reflect the Palestinian point of view. Letters from Palestine offers an American audience a rare opportunity to listen to actual Palestinian people as they describe what it is like to live in the occupied territories of the West Bank or Gaza, or to grow up as a Palestinian in the U.S. Their accounts are lively, poignant, searing, and tragic, yet often laced with touches of surreal humor. By showing Palestinians in all their humanity, Letters from Palestine enables American readers to see beyond the usual stereotypes.
" After the holocaust, the evil Zionists came to Palestine and stole all the land."
So the remnants of the Jews of Europe, mostly homeless or frightened to return to the Nazi countries of their origins and suddenly finding themselves going from no power of self-determination at all to all-powerful in every way, just kicked everyone out of their homes all by themselves and there you have it. Really is that how Israel was formed? No facts? Just one hatred-filled emotive line to hook the reader in to the 'right' side.
Nothing about the British Mandate partitioning the land into 70% Jordan and 30% Israel. It is always a mystery to me why the Palestinians, Arabs and all their supporters never fight to regain the majority of the land back from Jordan. They never even mention it! Of course. Any time someone Jewish criticises the situation then we are supposed to be accusing people of anti-semitism when they merely are political about the land of Israel/Palestine. But why don't they want the land back from Jordan? What is the difference between Israel having 30% and the Jordanians 70%? Only that the 30% is primarily Jewish. And the 70% entirely Muslim. Of course they are anti-semitic. What other reason can there be?
I know that in the early 70s the Palestinians did attempt to destablise Jordan and in 1971, after the murderous Black September, King Hussein kicked the Palestinians out. And they gave up it seems on Jordan.
That quote sums up the whole book (which I only skimmed). It is meant to appeal to three sorts of people.
The first who believe that emotions are much more important than facts.
The second are people with confirmation bias that will only accept anything that goes along with their beliefs even if there might be evidence to the contrary. This includes those who like to think they are left-wing and on the cutting edge of social issues.
Anti-semites. Or David Icke's 'giant lizards'.
Books like this are designed to spread hatred. They are quite successful at it since without doubt the Israelis might be militarily the stronger but the Palestinians and their supporters and bankers (Saudi Arabia etc) are up the top there in the PR war. Since Saudi Arabia is now Chair of the Human Rights Council of the UN (can you believe that? The power of oil). I expect to see there will more of this PR and much more about the Israelis abuse of human rights, but none of Saudi Arabia's or any of it's protoges. Including ISIS.
I saw a film in the South Bank not too long ago. It was a joint Israeli-West Bank production, not a political film. I was watching Bizarre Foods the other night on Jerusalem. The American host was travelling with the 'top' Israel food critic and she seemed to know and get on with and be promoting quite a lot of Palestinian eating places. Ottolenghi's, a marvellous Israeli-Palestinian vegetarian restaurant in London has produced several cookbooks. Then there are the many Arab-Israeli peace initiatives. Wikipedia has some here.
There are a few Palestinian families on the island I live on. I'm friendly with one. They buy books and toys from me and we chat. They own a department store and one of them was my son's maths teacher. We would both like to see a joint state. If the hawks on both sides were removed leaving the ordinary people who just felt that they would like to have a good education, health care and build a house and that their children should be happy and successful, like most of us, the problem would be sorted. But how to get to that point?
I have a lot in common with the people who contributed to this book. I love hummus, tahina, and pitas. I believe my people are strong and brave. I think the air in Israel is better than anywhere else in the world. I feel blessed to be able to walk on the same land Jesus and King David walked on. I truly think Jerusalem is the best city in the world. There's only one real big difference between us and it changes the entire game. If you haven't guessed it, the second I write it, it will change the way you see me. You ready? Get this! I'm an Israeli Jew. I believe in Zionism and I plan to proudly serve the army. I think Jews deserve this land and that is why, despite our mutual love for pitas, I can not agree with these people.
So what am I doing reading this book, right? Well, I believe in keeping an open mind. I think that all and each person and side have truth in their words. I wanted to hear their side. I was ready to listen to what they think.
I suppose the flaw is mine. I didn't expect this book to be filled up with lies and the truth being twisted around. I was and am ready to hear bad things about my country. I grow and my opinions mature with each person I hear. But this book literally has historical stuff that are wrong. This book ignores whatever it doesn't like.
Moreover, this book offers nothing. It does nothing to move us towards peace. Great, I read a book that said Israel is inhumane and horrible, yay, what now? To solve this conflict, we need to be open to communication from both sides. We need to admit our flaws and immoral acts. Both sides have committed them and both sides should admit it. This book ignored my side. I'm here to give it to you. So without further ado, here's an incomplete list of things this book ignored/ wrote wrong.
1) "Palestine is/was a country." So according to this book (or at least how I understood), Palestine was a fully functioning country until evil Zionists came along and stole the homes of poor Palestinians, making them homeless.
What really happened: Palestine is the name the Romans gave the land a while back. It never was a country. I can prove it. Countries tend to have idk, a a date of independence, a government, laws, an anthem, and so on. Countries have leaders, an economic system, etc. Did Palestine ever have that? Nope. Because "Palestinians" are actually just a million Arabs that lived in the land, next to the Jews that also lived in the land. It wasn't a country. It was a scrap of land.
2) "After the holocaust, the evil Zionists came to "Palestine" and stole all land." So according to this book, that's how it went. Jews just came after the Holocaust, stole the houses of "Palestinians" and threw them out.
What actually happened: Jews, after being thrown out of Israel (which has been populated with Jews since biblical times),were spread around the world. Even before the Holocaust, people were planning Israel. Jews were realizing they can't stay in Europe (as the Holocaust clearly and very bloodily illustrates) and were looking for a country. They wanted to live in peace with the Arabs that lived there.
3) This book avoiding talking about who started the fighting. Well, I'm not going to avoid that. So who knows why the 1947 UN partition planned failed? Let me tell you. Jews were overjoyed that they were getting a country. But the peace loving Palestinians weren't so Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan helped the Palestinians attack Israel. And Israel won. Israel basically had no army back then and they still won. That's why Palestinians were thrown out of their homes. I'm not saying I think that's okay but Israel has a right to defend itself.
4) "Zionists are racist." Zionism is the belief that Jew deserve a country. I fail to see how this is racist.
5) "Israel is committing a genocide." So according to this book, Israel wants to kill all the Palestinians. Israel is committing a horrible genocide.
What's actually going on: First, if Israel wanted to kill all Palestinians, wouldn't it be absurdly easy? I mean, as the book says, Israel's army is one of the best in the world. The fact the Palestinians are still alive shows that Israel does not want to kill all Palestinians. A genocide would mean that Israel is purposely trying to kill Palestinians.
6) "Israel is attacking Palestinians for no reason." So according to this book, Palestinians are sweet, warm, innocent nonviolent people who are being attacked by Israel for no reason.
What's really going on: I'm sure there are innocent nonviolent Palestinians. I'm so sorry. But along with those, there are Palestinian terrorists who are eager to explode in Israeli buses (the first and second Intifada this book was so proud of). There are people there who are happy to kidnap planes, to explode in public places, to shoot rocket on Israel. And yes, Israel needs to defend itself against that. Maybe there are cases where Israel is unjust, I don't know enough to say. But essentially, I think we can agree that Israel is in the right to defend itself.
7) "The Holocaust and whatever's happening to the Palestinian Arabs now is the same." Holy shit. When I read this bit, I wanted to stab someone. Literally to scream at them. I wanted to tell the six million of my people, to tell the other millions of dead homosexuals, intellectuals, mentally ill, and communists that I am so sorry for the way humanity is mistreating them and their deaths. Because don't you dare compare those thing. Don't you dare suggest that even. Don't. Jews were killed for being Jews. Your martyrs are normally dead because they exploded in buses, or shot rockets (which um yeah, if Israel didn't have bomb shelters, would kill plenty) or used the concrete Israel gave them to build tunnels to Israel so they can continue terrorism.
I don't have enough words to explain my anger about it but this tumblr post manages to describe it well.
There's more but I think you get the point. This book is filled with twisted pieces of truth. Israel was wrong to take people from their homes,if they did that. If soldiers are being unnecessarily cruel, that's a problem and one that should be solved. If Palestinians want to solve anything, they should fight against the Hamas (which is a terrorist group that currently was picked in democratic elections). The Hamas is the reason Israel attacks.
You know, I'm being harsh. I've said it plenty of times and I'll say it again. There is truth in each side. This conflict is more complex than I've shown here. I understand that. I understand the Palestinian side, I really do. I'm sorry for the prejudice they suffer through. But I also understand my people.
Read this book. I'm not going to speak against it because each voice is important. But don't stop with this book. Read more about this conflict. Educate yourself before you get an opinion. Be ready to change your mind because the truth is a fickle thing.
I don't read enough about Israel to recommend a book. Letters to Talia maybe. It shows Israeli spirit but it discusses Judaism and religion more. I'd recommend it for fun, because it changed my life more than for the conflict. The Case for Israel maybe, though I haven't read it. Point is, don't just take this book's word for everything that's going on.
It's ironic I read this book today, on Holocaust memorial day.
For Palestinians, 1948 was a catastrophe. When Israel was born, between 700,000 and 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral homes, farms, villages and towns and became permanent refugees. For them this murderous ethnic cleansing was their Holocaust. Sixty-two years later, it continues. For those who live in what was Palestine, the experience is one of contempt, persecution and eradication.
The following quote from professor and peace activist David Shulman’s book “Dark Hope” is a description of what it is like on the ground. “What we are fighting in the South Hebron Hills is pure, rarefied, unadulterated, uncontainable human evil. Nothing but malice drives this campaign to uproot” people from their homes. … “They led peaceful, if somewhat impoverished lives, until the settlers came. Since then, there has been no peace. They are tormented, terrified, incredulous, as am I. What black greed, what unwitting hatred, has turned Israeli Jews into the torturers of the innocent?”
The stories in Letters from Palestine are by people who live this reality on a daily basis. Some are refugees who cannot return. Most live in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In reading their stories, two things are clear: no human being should have to endure what they have endured, on a daily basis, for sixty-two years. It is immoral to allow it to continue.
***
What is it like to be Palestinian? The last five lines of writer and filmmaker Hind Shoufani’s masterful poem “Pick me up” tell us from her experience – you were born a refugee, and this is what it is to be Palestinian. This is what it is to be Palestinian. This is what it is to be, and be and be, and not be.
***
You live in a village. Your small daughter catches a virus that brings with it a high fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Because your small West Bank village is under curfew, you not allowed to take her to a doctor. When the curfew is lifted, Israeli soldiers refuse permission to take her for medical care. They offer no explanation. Eventually she suffers renal failure. Permission to seek needed medical care is again denied. Imagine her being your child or grandchild.
***
Though your family has farmed the same West Bank land for generations, and though Jewish settlements are illegal, one is established near your farm. Though illegal, it soon encroaches on your land with the blessing of the Israeli government. Though you spend thousands of dollars fighting it, the settlers neither give up nor give in. They are backed by the IDF and the government; you are backed by your determination and a lawyer.
***
You are twenty-four, a journalist, and you have won a prestigious award in London. Returning from the presentation, you are accompanied by a representative of the Dutch Embassy. You are stopped by agents of Israel’s Secret Police (the Shin Bet), questioned and viciously tortured. You suffer severe physical injuries, a nervous breakdown and PTSD. Though your injuries require surgery for which you must travel to Europe, it doesn’t happen until the Dutch Embassy put enough pressure on the Israeli government to permit it. Reading the story I experience a flashback to a point in history: the Shin Bet agents remind me of the Gestapo. When you behave the way the Gestapo behaved, you come to resemble them.
***
Move the scene to Gaza. More people are crowded into this tiny strip of land than lived in the whole Palestine before Israel became a state. Unemployment is at 80%. During Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s murderous, all-out three week military assault in late December 2008 and early January 2009, no one can escape because the borders are sealed. It is like shooting fish in a barrel. You think you are in Hell. Most of the casualties are women and children. Many are killed when their homes are turned to rubble by bombs and bulldozers. Israel’s government justifies the operation. They are backed in this by their principle benefactor, the US government, my government. I feel an overwhelming sense of disgust and shame.
***
In spite of mind-numbing odds and sixty-two years of unbelievable persecution, the Palestinian people continue their struggle to build meaningful, productive lives. Letters from Palestine is a testimony to that struggle. It is also a call to action. To do nothing is to join the persecutors.
"We used to be a calm and gentle people” writes 14 year old Dominic Buoni in his poem on page vii, “But have turned furious and outraged / For what has become of our land.” “Palestine isn’t just my home, / Palestine is me.”
reading this in 2023 during another major seige of Palestine is extremely frustrating because of all the similarities and the continued support of this genocide by the US…but to see the beauty and hope of the Palestinian people is truly inspiring. from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!