Synopses & Reviews
A poignant, incisive meditation on Israel's
longstanding rejection of peace, and what the war on Gaza means for
Palestinian and Israeli futures.
When apartheid in South Africa ended in 1994, dismantled by
internal activism and global pressure, why did Israel continue to pursue
its own apartheid policies against Palestinians? In keeping with a
history of antagonism, the Israeli state accelerated the establishment
of settlements in the Occupied Territories as extreme right-wing voices
gained prominence in government, with comparatively little international
backlash.
Condensing this complex history into a lucid essay, Raja Shehadeh
examines the many lost opportunities to promote a lasting peace and
equality between Israelis and Palestinians. Since the creation of Israel
in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe, each
side's perception of events has strongly diverged. What can this
discrepancy tell us about Israel's undermining of a two-state solution?
And will the current genocide in Gaza finally mark a shift in the
world's response?
With graceful, haunting prose, Shehadeh offers insights into a defining conflict that could yet be resolved.
About the Author
Raja Shehadeh is one of Palestine's leading writers. He is also a
lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights
organization Al-Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books
including
Strangers in the House,
Occupation Diaries,
Palestinian Walks, which won the prestigious Orwell Prize, and
We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Other Press, 2023), which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.