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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsThe Other Side of Israel: My Journey Across the Jewish/Arab Divideby Susan Nathan
Review-A-Day"The discoveries that Nathan makes along her journey are not new to anyone who has made it their business to look with clear eyes at the Palestinian-Israeli problem. They have been available in Arabic witness accounts for a long time and in English at least since 1980. What is new is seeing them revealed through the personal narrative of a woman who has had to make a choice between ideology and common humanity. And it is a tribute to her and to the Israeli friends she cites that — having made the choice — she and they are no longer content to be bystanders." Ahdaf Soueif, Times Literary Supplement (read the entire Times Literary Supplement review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In 2003, Susan Nathan moved from her comfortable home in Tel Aviv to Tamra, an Arab town in the northern part of Israel. Nathan had arrived in Israel four years earlier and had taught English and worked with various progressive social organizations. Her desire to help build a just and humane society in Israel took an unexpected turn, however, when she became aware of Israels neglected and often oppressed indigenous Arab population. Despite warnings from friends about the dangers she would encounter, Nathan settled in an apartment in Tamra, the only Jew among 25,000 Muslims. There she discovered a division between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs as tangible as the concrete wall and razor-wire fences that surround the Palestinian towns of the West Bank and Gaza. From her unique vantage point, Nathan examines the history and the present-day political and cultural currents that have created a situation little recognized in the ongoing debates about the future of Israel and the Middle East. With warmth, humor, and compassion, she portrays the daily life of her neighbors, the challenges they encounter, and the hopes they harbor. She introduces Arab leaders fighting against entrenched segregation and discrimination; uncovers the hidden biases that undermine even the most well-intentioned Arab-Jewish peace organizations; and describes the efforts of dedicated individuals who insist that Israeli Arabs must be granted the same rights and privileges as Jewish citizens. Through her own courageous example, Nathan proves that it is possible for Jews and Arabs to live and work peacefully together. The Other Side of Israel is more than the story of one womans journey; it is a road map for crossing a divide created by prejudices and misunderstandings. Review:"When she was 16, Nathan, a British Jew living in South Africa, had sex with her aunt's black servant. 'Sex between a black man and a white woman in apartheid South Africa,' Nathan writes, 'was not just a physical act, it was an act of powerful political dissent.' Decades later, Nathan would again make a striking political statement with a simple physical gesture: she moved from her home in Tel Aviv and settled in a small Arab town in northern Israel, quietly but clearly renouncing the Zionist philosophy that had facilitated her citizenship in Israel through the Right of Return. Nathan matter-of-factly describes the impossibility of getting furniture delivered or an airline reservation made with an address that doesn't appear in any of the state's databases, although 25,000 Muslims live there. These quotidian details nicely illustrate her critique of Israel as a state that 'enforces a system of land apartheid between... two populations,' just as South Africa had. It is a shocking comparison, but Nathan goes further, drawing a parallel between the Holocaust and Israel's practices toward its own Arab citizens. Yet, even when throwing down a gauntlet, Nathan's writing is poised, emotionally candid and ultimately empathic to the plight of both groups. The Arabs' displacement mirrors the Jews' wandering, Nathan observes, and before the two groups can coexist peacefully, each must recognize itself in the other. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) About the AuthorSUSAN NATHAN was born in England and when young visited family and friends in apartheid-era South Africa, the country of her fathers birth. It was there that she had several deep encounters with the social and political situation of that country. She became an AIDS counselor in London, and after she was divorced and her children were grown, she followed the Jewish Law of Return and moved to Israel. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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