Maneuvering Between the Headlines: An American Lives Through the Intifada

Life in today's Israel is perpetually shadowed by "the situation," the catchword for the Second Intifada enveloping every aspect of life since its eruption in 2000. Motro, an American writer, lawyer, and prizewinning columnist who has lived in Israel for 20 years, captures its unfiltered reality in this memoir of her life in the Middle East.

The author's insulation from the lives of Palestinians was shattered by her personal connection to the very first child killed in the Second Intifada, shot before the world's eyes against a wall in Gaza while cradled in the arms of his wounded father. Stunned by the photo plastered across the front page, Motro realized that the father was a man she had known for years. Motro tells their personal story and the story of a peace that eluded the grasp of both famous and obscure Israelis. She chronicles courageous attempts to allow coexistence between the two nationalities and tests the values that first brought her to the country.

Motro's American perspective will resonate with U.S. readers. Maneuvering Between the Headlines speaks not only of the power of hatred, but to the ability of both Jews and Arabs to continue to reach out across the abyss.

"Despite a rather gimmicky title, Motro's book is a lucid and heartbreaking account of what has happened to 'everyday life' in Israel in the years since the eruption of the 'Second Intifada' in 2000. Motro was a self-described idealistic member of Tel Aviv's liberal intelligentsia: a journalist and teacher at the University of Tel Aviv's faculty of law. For her, the escalating violence began as a series of brutal shocks. The first child killed in the Intifada is the son of a Palestinian man she had known for many years. Her cardiologist husband escapes a bomb only through a last-minute change of plans. Once friendly neighborhoods become no-go zones. Though Motro and her family (including a young daughter) live in a comparatively safe area, the climate of fear and suspicion become pervasive. While she still pursues her activities as a writer and peace activist (which earns her the 2001 Common Ground Award for Journalism in the Middle East), the shock of the beginning soon gives way to a weary, numb acceptance. More than simply an account of lives devastated by an endless cycle of bombing and recrimination, the book records in detail the way in which violence has eroded Israel's civil society, whether wielded against it or in its support. (July 19)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"The book shows the myriad ways that the struggle touches Israelis' lives — including the lives of Arab-Israelis....Although this book will give the reader few insights into the root causes of the struggle or its historic development, it may suggest cause for hope." Orlando Sentinel

In her memoir of living through the Second Intifada, which began in 2000, Motro (law, U. of Tel Aviv, Israel) connects her experiences as an American academic in Israel, along with the experiences of her various human acquaintances, to the larger issues of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. At the outset, she declares that her sympathies lie with the Israeli peace movement.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In her memoir of living through the Second Intifada, which began in 2000, Motro (law, U. of Tel Aviv, Israel) connects her experiences as an American academic in Israel, along with the experiences of her various human acquaintances, to the larger issues of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. At the outset, she declares that her sympathies lie with the Israeli peace movement. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Helen Schary Motro teaches at the University of Tel-Aviv Faculty of Law, and her commentary articles appear frequently in the major American and international press, including the New York Times, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, and International Herald Tribune. She lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.