Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation by Vijay Prashad

Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation Reviews

• 
  Mandy

  This review first appeared at
  A Passion to Understand (a blog about genocide, apartheid and social justice).
  

  Gaza, 2014. Following the kidnap and murder of three Israeli youths, the IDF embarked on a seven week campaign against Gaza. In that time, over 2,000 Gazans were killed, most of them civilians and most of them children, while tens of thousands were injured. Hospitals, schools and houses were demolished and half a million Gazans were displaced.

  The Gazan conflict divided people like no other conflict. Across social media, timelines were filled with people trying to draw attention to the devastation and destruction in Gaza while pro-Zionists asked what else they could do in the face of continuing Hamas aggression. 

  With access to Gaza notoriously controlled and restricted, there was limited reporting on the ground, scant consideration of everyday Palestinians who were living in a state of terror. 

  Edited by Vijay Prashad and featuring a host of writers, poets, essayists and activists, Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation attempts to give a human face to that struggle. 

  Reading this collection with a desire to learn more about the conflict from a Palestinian point of view, one might expect little more than anti-Israeli propaganda and rhetoric. Letters to Palestine is nothing of the sort. It is an earnest collection of essays, poems and diary excerpts that seeks to understand both the conflict and history of Palestine. 

  In his essay 'Bad Laws', Teju Cole talks about how what he terms 'cold violence' is exacted through a series of laws, by-laws and regulations that are all perfectly legal under Israeli law. Based as they are in restrictions on freedom and movement, he notes that these laws are in contravention with international standards and conventions. He mentions Sheikh Jarrah where Palestinians are slowly losing their permanent residency in East Jerusalem, where the right of return applies to Jews in East Jerusalem but not Palestinians. 

  "The historical suffering of Jewish people is real, but is no less real than, and does not in any way justify, the present oppression of Palestinians by Israeli Jews" – Teju Cole, ‘Bad Laws’, Letters to Palestine

  In an excerpt from her 'Travel Diary' Noura Erakat begins by describing her anger and anti-Israeli sentiment but over the course of her journey to Palestine begins to develop a more nuanced position. She brings up the subject of privileged Palestinians, those who have done very well out of occupation and observes that not all Palestinians are good-hearted, not all Israelis 'evil'. While capturing the atmosphere in Palestine during her visit, Erakat mentions the work of Zochrot, an Israeli non-profit organisation whose aim is to raise awareness of the Palestinian Nakba and of New Profit who work towards the demilitarisation of Israel. Spanning over eleven days in May 2013, the diaries give a unique snapshot of a moment in Palestinian time.

  "Israeli settler colonialism, apartheid and occupation should not cease because Palestinians are good and Israelis are bad"- Noura Erakat, ‘Travel Diary’, Letters to Palestine

  Nalja Said shares her 'Diary of a Gaza War, 2014' as a Palestinian living in America during the conflict. Intimate and painfully honest, Said's entries show her worry and despair for her loved ones in Gaza. 

  "If you think that Palestinians all hate Jews and are rejoicing in the deaths of those three boys (Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, Eyal Yifrah), then you are a racist. That's all I have to say. As my dad used to say, ‘No one has a monopoly on suffering’" – Nalja Said, 'Diary of a Gaza War, 2014', Letters to Palestine

  "The boy who was killed was a cousin of my dear friends... You who are reading this are now two degrees from the murdered Palestinian - a child killed in revenge" – Nalja Said, 'Diary of a Gaza War, 2014', Letters to Palestine

  In 'Below Zero: In Gaza Before the Latest War', Ben Ehrenreich reminds us of the appalling conditions of loss, devastation, poverty and wretchedness in Gaza even before the war. 

  Interspersed throughout the collection is a series of heart-breaking, eye-opening poetry. Poems tell of Kafkaesque experiences of denied entry and the soul-destroying set up of the checkpoints. Notable entries include 'Until It Isn't' by Remi Kanazi, 'Afterwords' by Sinan Antoon and 'Running Orders' by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. 

  "Prove you're human/ prove you stand on two legs/ Run" - Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, 'Running Orders', Letters to Palestine

  The last part of the collection is dedicated to an examination of the Palestinian liberation movement in America and its links to the civil rights movement. For the most part, this was too US-centric to be of specific interest to foreign readers but there were some interesting parallels to be drawn to the South African and worldwide anti-Apartheid movement. 

  In 'Yes, I Said, "National Liberation"', Robin D G Kelly notes the intersection with Black rights and Ferguson, how the black civil rights movement moved from supporting Israel to recognising the injustices there. 

  It would be impossible to capture the scope of this collection here.  Vijay Prashad has done an excellent job in curating a collection of short, powerful pieces that is each powerful in its own right. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone seeking to know more about the situation in Gaza both before and during the conflict last year.
• 
  Richard

  This book is not a work of fiction and reading it could be life-changing.
  
  Letters to Palestine is a collection of views, poems, diaries, eye-witness accounts and political essays. What I found amazing reading them was the humility that comes from the pages. The US/UK default position appears to be, to side with Israel based on its recent history since the holocaust that led to the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. To discount, be blind towards or ignorant of the displacement of the Palestinians. The loss of their land, the destruction of their homes and the displacement of whole villages. In part this is due to Jewish propaganda and the demonisation of arabs as would be terrorists and the power and influence of the US government.
  
  These writers cast an eye over the conditions living under siege, with strict border control and police check points. The blockage of Gaza and destruction of their narrow strip of land that has be reduced and degraded by 3 Israeli assauts and incursions.
  Others go into details and cover life beyond occupation and talk about physical bombardment and living at war as a third world population against the might of armed forces unwritten by US dollars.
  Finally there are political insights into demonstrations, peaceful protest and mobilisation of a new younger voice through social media.
  
  I found the whole book facinating both in the historical perspective and the heart breaking relatity of a voiceless, unrepresented minority subjected to acts of brutality and rascism akin to apartheid in South Africa and segration in southern US states.
  
  The facts about US security council vetoes are also disturbing as is the lack of political will to counter the facts on the ground. This book isn't a desperate angry tirade to take up arms or organise against Israel but a calm outpouring of human experiences which propel the reader to empathise and re-evaluate their pre-conceived ideas and notions. Neither is it a book casting light on a futile situation as things appear to be changing. Reading this book will inform not indoctrinate, ultimately help the reader understand better and maybe revise opinions and views.
• 
  Sham Al-Ghazali

  One of the most beautiful books ever written. A collection of poems, letters and essays written in extending a hand to Palestine and telling them that they are loved and wanted. It was so remarkably put together I found myself loving turning each page as cliche as it sounds and feeling the same pains the Palestinian writers did when they weren't allowed re-entry and whatnot. I loved it.
• 
  Mohamed

  How does one begin to talk about Palestine? Being from Egypt, a country with close proximity as well as quite a bit of history when it comes to the Arab/Israeli conflict, it feels like I've been aware of the plight of Palestine for as long as I've been alive. Sometimes it is a wound that flares and burns and makes itself visible, and sometimes it is a dormant feeling, tightly wound around one's heart. But it's always there, and you can never really forget about it. Beyond all the mires of politics and shifting landscapes, the unchangeable fact is that Palestine is an occupied land, and its people fight for the land and life that is their right. No amount of time or blood will change that.
  
  And this book brings all those feelings to the forefront of one's brain, as you read those different anecdotes and letters, that vary between examining the political landscape of the region, to someone's unfortunate time at the airport. The selected writings are all illuminating and heartfelt - as well as heartbreaking - as you think of all the things Palestinians have endured, merely due to a Western sense of guilt (and a need to maintain their grip on the region once wholly within their reign). But it also gives you hope, as it examines the shifting global opinion, and reiterates how Palestine will continue to endure.
• 
  Christopher Moltisanti's Windbreakers fan

  This book is a heartfelt and honest assessments of a tabooed topic in world political arena. Letters to Palestine takes the readers back to the complex history between Israel-Palestine and makes the case for non violent resistance activism such as BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction) and scholarly activism. This book is a memoir of award winning artists, writers, and poets including Junot Diaz, Teju Cole,
  Naomi Shihab Nye and many others, who have been to this part of the world and saw the apartheid and unjust treatments toward Arabs by Israeli government as well as apartheid supporters in US and in Europe, and explored the horrendous war on 2014 as well as wars of past. If you are interested in this conflict and want to understand its complexity through the eyes of its sufferers, not through the eyes of Hamas/PLO/IDF/Israeli Government, then it's a must read.
• 
  Sara

  This collection of essays, personal stories, and poems powerfully describes the challenges and injustices faced by Palestinians. It is both an accessible introduction to and a thought-provoking exploration of the current situation in Palestine and Israel, bringing the perspectives of civil society to the forefront.
• 
  Mandy

  Letters to Palestine is a powerful and compelling collection of essays, letters and poems from some of America’s leading writers inspired by Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza in the summer of 2014. For the first time there seemed to be a real groundswell of opinion that Israel’s actions were unjustifiable. At long last some Americans, particularly young ones, are beginning to recognise Palestinian suffering and this growing recognition of the Palestinian plight and an increasing anger at US support for Israel has led to the compilation of this moving anthology in which each writer expresses his or her empathy and solidarity with the beleaguered Palestinian people. An important and significant book.
• 
  Eshah Shakeel

  Beautiful, heartbreaking, poignant.
• 
  Shelly Shore

  heart-shattering and gorgeous.