Synopses & Reviews
"Few Palestinians have opened their minds and hearts with such frankness."—New York Times
"Shehadeh writes beautifully, his language infused with a lyrical, melancholic sense of loss"—Sunday Telegraph
"Shehadeh writes with great clarity and simplicity, but no bitterness about the unhappy history of his family and country."—Independent
When conflicts become entrenched over generations, the language of war infiltrates everyday life, concealing destruction and hardening positions. Nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East.
Award-winning author Raja Shehadeh explores the politics of language and the language of politics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reflecting on the walls that they create—legal and cultural—that confine today's Palestinians just like the borders, checkpoints and so-called "Separation Barrier". He shows how the peace process has been ground to a halt by twists of language and linguistic chicanery that have degraded the word "peace" itself.
The situation at the world's greatest political fault-line has never looked bleaker, but still Shehadeh finds reason to hope and explains why.
Raja Shehadeh is Palestine's leading writer. 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 and Occupation Diaries and winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize for Palestinian Walks. He lives in Ramallah in Palestine.
Synopsis
A passionate and elegant reflection on the language of the Middle East conflict
Synopsis
Award-winning author Raja Shehadeh explores the politics of language and the language of politics in the Israeli Palestine conflict, reflecting on the walls that they create - legal and cultural - that confine today's Palestinians just like the physical borders, checkpoints and the so called 'Separation Barrier'.
The peace process has been ground to a halt by twists of language and linguistic chicanery that has degraded the word 'peace' itself. No one even knows what the word might mean now for the Middle East. So to give one example of many, Israel argued that the omission of the word 'the' in one of the UN Security Council's resolutions meant that it was not mandated to withdraw from all of the territories occupied in 1967.
The Language of War, The Language of Peace is another important book from Raja Shehadeh on the world's greatest political fault line.
About the Author
Raja Shehadeh is Palestine's leading writer. He is also a lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books including Strangers in the House and Occupation Diaries and winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize for Palestinian Walks. He lives in Ramallah in Palestine