The Other Side of the Wall: An Eyewitness Account of the Occupation in Palestine - Softcover

Hardigan, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1614572038 ISBN 13: 9781614572039

Publisher: Cune Press, LLC, 2017

Synopsis

The Other Side of the Wall is an account of the author's experiences in Palestine, where he worked on the front lines of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with the International Solidarity Movement, a prominent organization of peace activists. He witnessed and recorded the suffering and injustices imposed on the Palestinians, such as violence meted out by both soldiers and settlers, long waits at checkpoints, travel restrictions, home demolitions, theft of natural resources, unfair economic practices, arbitrary detention and arrest, long prison sentences, and countless other forms of humiliation. The background during his stay in the West Bank, which often pushed its way into the foreground, was provided by two momentous events: the collective punishment visited upon the population of the West Bank by the Israeli army for the kidnapping of three teenaged Jewish settlers, and the subsequent military assault on the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 Palestinians.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Hardigan is a professor at a well-known university in the United States. He has published numerous articles in some of the world s top scientific journals and has received several awards for his research. He has lectured at universities all over the world.
Between 2006 and 2015 the author spent a total of four years living and working in the Middle East. While teaching in Egypt he was caught up in the Tahrir Square uprising of January, 2011, an experience that shaped his views on the value and effectiveness of peaceful protest. He spent the summer of 2013 in Palestine working on his Arabic, and while traveling throughout the country he was shocked at the ubiquitous injustice he witnessed. The following summer he returned to Palestine and volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement for two months, where he acted in solidarity with the Palestinians in their resistance against the brutal Israeli occupation. It is this experience that he describes in The Other Side of the Wall. In 2015 he lived in and reported from the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Lebanon, site of the massacre of 1982.
The author has written extensively about his experiences in Palestine and Lebanon. His work can be found at richardhardigan.com

Review

A brave, poignant, and invaluable exposure to the daily suffering and dangers endured by the Palestinian people living under a cruel occupation that has lasted for 50 years with no end in sight.

Richard Hardigan is no spectator of this ordeal, writing as one who has for some months stood shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with the Palestinians, inspired by their extraordinary resolve, resilience, and above all by their loving hospitality. Every American should be forced to read this illuminating book! --Professor Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine

Richard Hardigan . . . has written what we have been waiting for for years: a measured, you-are-there account . . . a vivid journal that takes us past slogans and ideologies. --Philip Weiss, co-founder and editor of Mondoweiss

The Other Side of the Wall is a wrenching and revealing account that can only be conveyed by someone who has lived its exasperating and at times heart- breaking details. Richard Hardigan tells the story of the Israeli occupation of Palestine with utmost integrity. It is a powerful experience . . . dauntingly real and unapologetically honest. A strongly recommended read. --Ramzy Baroud, author My Father was a Freedom Fighter and Searching Jenin

Edition details

• Publisher: Cune Press, LLC
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1614572038
• ISBN 13: 9781614572039
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 184