Palestine Speaks - Softcover

Eds. Cate Malek; Mateo Hoke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784780502 ISBN 13: 9781784780500

Publisher: Verso Books, 2015

Synopsis

For more than six decades, Israel and Palestine have been the center of one of the world's most widely reported yet least understood human rights crises. In Palestine Speaks men and women from the West Bank and Gaza describe in their own words how their lives have been shaped by the conflict. This includes eyewitness accounts of the most recent attacks on Gaza in 2014. The collection includes Ebtihaj, whose son, born during the first intifada, was killed by Israeli soldiers during a night raid almost twenty years later. Nader, a professional marathon runner from the Gaza Strip who is determined to pursue his dream of competing in international races despite countless challenges, including severe travel restrictions and a lack of resources to help him train.

About this title

About the Author:

CATE MALEK and MATEO HOKE began working together in 2001, spending eight months researching and writing a story about the daily lives of undocumented Mexican immigrants living in Colorado. Cate holds degrees in journalism and American studies. She currently teaches English at Bethlehem University. Mateo holds a degree in print journalism, focusing primarily on long-form interviews and environmental issues. VOICE OF WITNESS started life in 2004 as a book imprint of McSweeney's, founded by author Dave Eggers and physician/human rights scholar Lola Vollen. In 2008 Mimi Lok came on board as Executive Director and Editor. The Voice of Witness Book Series depicts human rights injustices through the stories of the men and women who experience them.

Review:

"A stunning, essential, and heartbreaking book that puts a profoundly human face on the suffering of the Palestinian people. This should be required reading for anyone with an interest in the Middle East, which is to say: everyone. Like all Voice of Witness books, "Palestine Speaks," uses the grand old tools, presenting beautifully shaped narratives that evoke the reader's empathy and help him see the connections between himself and the people narrating. The effect is magical and empowering-the reader feels a sense of connection and warmth, and is thus able to imagine positive outcomes. In other words, to read a Voice of Witness book is to feel one's habitual sense of disconnection begin to fall away." --George Saunders, author of "The Tenth of December" and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient "Thirty years ago, Edward Said wrote of the systematic exclusion of Palestinian voices from American public discourse, of Palestinians being denied the 'permission to narrate' their own lives. Not nearly enough has changed, but "Palestine Speaks"--a collection of testimonials from Palestinians narrating their own experiences, their own suffering, their own choices-defies that interdiction. This is a rare and courageous book." --Ben Ehrenreich, journalist and author of "Ether" and "The Suitors" "Palestine Speaks" demonstrates that nothing is more eloquent than the voices of those who endure and try valiantly to survive. Nothing is more important for us than to listen to them carefully, to grasp their suffering, to learn from their testimonies about them and about ourselves, and to use this understanding to bring their tragedy to an end." --Noam Chomsky, author and professor at MIT "An excellent introduction to a controversial subject. Hoke and Malek's work should prove a sturdy and revelatory resource for those looking for a deeper understanding of an intractable conflict." --"Publishers Weekly" (Starred)

About this edition

• Publisher: Verso Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1784780502
• ISBN 13: 9781784780500
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1