One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

This author is passionate about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. He does a great job in sharing that passion. Rather than jumping right into it, he starts with his background growing up in Egypt and eventually making it to North America. The Middle East is filled with dictators and many abuses of human rights. The west claims to be better and generally does so at home. However, it treats others differently. Euphemisms such as "collateral damage" are used to minimize the deaths of others. He criticizes those that support Israel as well as the inaction of political parties. The Democrats get the most condemnation. They seem to focus on "not being Republicans", but then do very little to actual benefit those in need. This sounds very familiar and is similar to what I recently read about Native American Advocacy.

The Israel/Palestinian situation is a textbook case of the futility of revenge. Gaza's attacks on Israeli civilians immediately pivoted sympathy towards the Israelis.  The Israeli counterattacks have then lead to greater sympathy towards those in Gaza. So perhaps attacks do work if you know your enemy will just attack back. I wonder how much of this all would be resolved if the rest of the world would just back away. Other Arab countries started attacking Israel from the start. Western support Israel (especially after holocaust guilt.)  Now many aid workers and international organizations supporting Palestinians. Each external party has their own goals and they are not necessarily in sync with those living there.

The author is careful not to present extremist advocacy. There is no "Palestinians should expel all Jews". Instead, it is just Israel should not kill Palestinians and should treat them like normal people. This is an easy sell. However, is it a long term solution? How do we get "good government" in areas that have not previously had it?

Behind You Is the Sea: A Novel

Behind You Is the Sea: A Novel by Susan Muaddi Darraj

This novel tells the interrelated stories of a number of Palestinian integrates who live primarily in Baltimore. Many have become very Americanized, though some cling to beliefs from the past. The religion that comes out most strongly in the novel is that of Palestinian Christianity. There are some struggles with Arab stereotypes (such as being against "Aladin"). However, the novel seems to try extra hard at showing them as primarily American. Some are rich. Some are poor (and may work for the rich.) They have plenty of foibles including sex and violence. Things are not easy in America, but not insurmountable. 

Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon

Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon by Eric H. Cline

Eric Cline has written many other books that describe details of ancient civilizations that archeologists have discovered. In this book, he focuses instead on the archeologists themselves. The focus is on the dig for "the lost city of Solomon". The site had many layers of artifacts, some of which are still being uncovered. 

Most of the work done was done between the world wards by Rockefeller-funding groups from the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. These had plenty of problems working together. This is to be expected with people traveling across the world to spend huge amounts of time together working with others. Some people didn't get along. Others had extreme prejudices. Others were just a product of their time. Wives would often accompany the men, but did not do much work until the end. Some people just did not get along with each other. There were mixtures of local workers with out of towners. Great discoveries were made, but there were also plenty of mistakes made. The work came to an abrupt close due to World War II. The return was prevented by looting and damage to the site. 

The book was not what I had expected. It does, however provide a counterpoint to the archeology of Indiana Jones. These guys were working at the same time, but not quite the same glamor of those in the movie.

Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices

Under Ottoman rule, Islam had spread through the Middle East, but there was significant poverty. The Muslim Brotherhood arose as a social organization to benefit Arabs and help encourage improved religious experience. The British control and then the state of Israel significantly upended life in Palestine. Many people lived was refugees, hoping to some day return or be compensated for their land. Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood. It advocated a more conservative religious practice and grew to encourage violent resistance to Israel.

The author of this book was the son of one of the founders of Hamas. He had great respect for the Islamic ideals of his father. However, he became deeply disturbed as the group began to advocate violence. He had gone to a Christian school and gradually began to adopt Christianity. He and his family had been targeted by Israel numerous times. At one time, they proposed he be a secret agent for Israel. He had imagined being a double agent, but gradually warmed towards working with the Israelis. He served as a spy in order to help prevent violence. However, he eventually soured of it. He didn't like causing the deaths of others (even if the others were planning to be suicide bombers.) He also felt he could not live normally. Eventually, he left to the United States.

The middle east conflict is complicated. There are some perverse incentives involved. Palestinian leaders can benefit from international aid and prestige by not accepting peace. Hardliners would rather keep things in the current state than give up anything for peace. The war is fought as much in the realm of public opinion as on the battlefield. The leaders of Hamas were willing to let civilians die just to make it appear "bad" in the media. (He even documents some "staged" attacks.)  Jews were persecuted in Europe. Now they are persecuting in the Middle East. Palestinians have been persecuted by the Israelis. However, when given some autonomy, they fight amongst themselves. There are internal challenges among the people that must be addressed for true peace.  

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History

This history of Palestine focuses on providing historical references to the name "Palestine" and the various cities as a counter to Israeli Zionism. There are bits and pieces of actual history that show up in the process, but they get lost in the anti-Zionism. This book fails as both a history and an anti-Zionism work.

The first part of the book spends an undue amount of time focusing on history of the name "Palestine". There are various sources quoted that record the name Palestine. There are some variants of the name and geography, but it generally refers to the same area. I suppose the author must feel this is important for his argument. Alas, with the different languages and the way languages change over millennia, this seems somewhat irrelevant.

There is discussion of the history of the land. The author sees the Old Testament as a book of legends. He feels much more confident of the mentions in Herodotus. (Alas, his reliability is also questioned.)  Palestine has had a rich history including with various populations and religious traditions through its history. Christians, Muslims and Jews had lived there, with the area under Islamic rule for much of the last Millennium. 

The author criticises many of the Zionist as being Europeans that had no claim to the land. They created a new language (Modern Hebrew) and adopted new names. They pushed out the resident population and changed the names of cities. (The book contains a long catalogue of changed names.) The author sees them all as colonizers that pushed out the mostly rural peasants to create their new kingdom. I just wish the book could have spent more time on history and less on modern counter-arguments. 

The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories

From the title alone, it is clear on what side of the Israel Palestine debate the author falls. Israel is seen as violating international law and committing war crimes as the Palestinians are "imprisoned" . The prison sometimes switches between maximum security and minimum security but remains a prison. Israel wants to control the land. However, they want to ensure that they have a Jewish majority. Leaving the Palestinian lands in this occupied status helps them keep their means. They have moved on from the "ethnic cleansing" to imprisonment. 

The story of Israel can be seen as a reminder of what can happen when giving the oppressed control. Israel was the historical homeland of the Jews. However, it had been controlled and inhabited by Arabs for centuries. After the atrocities of the holocaust, the European powers thought it appropriate to let them have the land as a homeland. (The Zionists had already been working towards this for an extended time.) The Jewish residents wanted to make sure they maintained control and were extremely paranoid about losing this control. They have exercised various means to keep this control, leaving the second-class Palestinians. It has shown the impossibility of writing a past wrong without creating many new wrongs.

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity

I saw a recent interview with the author of this book and he is mad. The situation in Gaza is horrible. He wants the humanitarian crisis to end now. He says that 25 family members have been killed. Can he still advocate for peace and reconciliation at a time when Hamas and Israel are trading fire?

He has managed to maintain a calm head during difficult conditions. He grew up in a refugee camp. There he was second to the "long term residents". He eventually chose to study medicine. He lived through travel challenges, but was able study in Egypt and eventually do training and work in a hospital in Egypt. He treated Israelis and saw Israelis treat Palestinians. There was a desire to work together for humanity.

He also had to endure challenges. He missed some of his wife's final days due to delays in border crossing. He had children killed by Israeli bombardment of his house. He managed to still love his neighbor even when encountering great grief. However, he did realize that the best way to continue to care for his family was to leave Gaza. He settled in Canada.

He still has some palpable anger at the situation. However, he tries to focus it on the overall, while still respecting individuals. He has had some advantages over regular Gazans in his life. (His relationships allowed some of his children to get Israeli medical care after the shelling, while others may not have received it.) The Gaza situation is a difficult one wihtout any direct answers. Both sides have concerns and have committed atrocities. More respect needs to be in place before a solution can be acheived.

The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine

​Despite attempts at peace, it seems violence is the only language that leads to progress in the Israel/Palestine relationship. The sides may attempt to blame each other. However, both sides have been guilty of using violence to further their goals. In the early days, Israel had forcibly evicted Palestinians after negotiations stalled. Palestinians have responded with further violence. There is little incentive for either side to give in. They each have various allies (that are often changing.) Palestine has been promised to various Arab countries as well as claimed by Israel. There is a hot-potato situation that doens't have an easy solution.

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege

An Israeli lived in the Gaza strip and wrote about her experiences and the life of the people there. I was hoping for more "day in the life" of those in Gaza. However, she aligned closely with the activists, and thus the focus was more on the activist experience. Is everyone an activist? Or is this a very narrow subset of the population? It was not until the end, that there was more of a focus on the regular life experience. Family has become very important. Other parts of life come and go. The borders are periodically sealed off. (This can be especially problematic since it is a small area disconnected from the remainder of Palestine.) Police intervene in life. There are problems with corruption on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Infrastructure is not well developed. Taxes and red tape can be high. There are few natural resources and high poverty rates. Job prospects are mostly with the government or in Israel. The culture has been getting more conservative, with greater respect for traditional female homemakers and Islamic lifestyle. There are a many challenges without easy solutions.