Looking for Palestine

Looking for Palestine
Author: Najla Said
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2013-08-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1101632151

A frank and entertaining memoir, from the daughter of Edward Said, about growing up second-generation Arab American and struggling with that identity. The daughter of a prominent Palestinian father and a sophisticated Lebanese mother, Najla Said grew up in New York City, confused and conflicted about her cultural background and identity. Said knew that her parents identified deeply with their homelands, but growing up in a Manhattan world that was defined largely by class and conformity, she felt unsure about who she was supposed to be, and was often in denial of the differences she sensed between her family and those around her. The fact that her father was the famous intellectual and outspoken Palestinian advocate Edward Said only made things more complicated. She may have been born a Palestinian Lebanese American, but in Said’s mind she grew up first as a WASP, having been baptized Episcopalian in Boston and attending the wealthy Upper East Side girls’ school Chapin, then as a teenage Jew, essentially denying her true roots, even to herself—until, ultimately, the psychological toll of all this self-hatred began to threaten her health. As she grew older, making increased visits to Palestine and Beirut, Said’s worldview shifted. The attacks on the World Trade Center, and some of the ways in which Americans responded, finally made it impossible for Said to continue to pick and choose her identity, forcing her to see herself and her passions more clearly. Today, she has become an important voice for second-generation Arab Americans nationwide.

Growing Up Palestinian

Growing Up Palestinian
Author: Laetitia Bucaille
Publisher:
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2004
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780691116709

Looks at the lives of three young Palestinian fighters caught up in the second Palestinian Intifada and examines the recent history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the cross-generational differences and divisions in religious, cultural, and social views.

A Little Piece of Ground

A Little Piece of Ground
Author: Elizabeth Laird
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2016-02-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1608465837

A Little Piece Of Ground will help young readers understand more about one of the worst conflicts afflicting our world today. Written by Elizabeth Laird, one of Great Britain’s best-known young adult authors, A Little Piece Of Ground explores the human cost of the occupation of Palestinian lands through the eyes of a young boy. Twelve-year-old Karim Aboudi and his family are trapped in their Ramallah home by a strict curfew. In response to a Palestinian suicide bombing, the Israeli military subjects the West Bank town to a virtual siege. Meanwhile, Karim, trapped at home with his teenage brother and fearful parents, longs to play football with his friends. When the curfew ends, he and his friend discover an unused patch of ground that’s the perfect site for a football pitch. Nearby, an old car hidden intact under bulldozed building makes a brilliant den. But in this city there’s constant danger, even for schoolboys. And when Israeli soldiers find Karim outside during the next curfew, it seems impossible that he will survive. This powerful book fills a substantial gap in existing young adult literature on the Middle East. With 23,000 copies already sold in the United Kingdom and Canada, this book is sure to find a wide audience among young adult readers in the United States.

Tasting the Sky

Tasting the Sky
Author: Ibtisam Barakat
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2007-02-20
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 1429998474

“A spare elegant memoir. . . . The immediacy of the child’s viewpoint . . . depicts both conflict and daily life without exploitation or sentimentality.” —Booklist, starred review “When a war ends it does not go away,” my mother says. “It hides inside us . . . Just forget!” But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember. In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home. Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace. Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children’s/YA Literature “Beautifully crafted. Readers will be charmed by the writer-to-be as she falls in love with chalk, the Arabic alphabet, and the first-grade teacher who recognizes her abilities.” —School Library Journal, starred review “A compassionate, insightful family and cultural portrait.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Brims with tension and emotion.” —Publishers Weekly

Children of Catastrophe

Children of Catastrophe
Author: Jamal Krayem Kanj
Publisher: Garnet Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2010
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1859642624

The making of a refugee - Life in the camp - Revolution and political evolution - Israeli military raids - Camp economy - Lebanese civil war - Journey into a new life - A new American home and the return to Palestine - The destruction of Nahr el Bared camp: the unrecorded story.

Growing Up Palestinian

Growing Up Palestinian
Author: Laetitia Bucaille
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2006-03-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691126119

"This remarkable book tells the inside story of three young men caught up in the Palestinian Intifada. Through their stories, the tangled and tragic web of the past twenty years of the most enduring conflict in the Middle East unfolds before us. For over a decade, Laetitia Bucaille lived in the Occupied Territories for months at a time, gaining rare access to the three militants she calls Sami, Najy, and Bassam and many other Palestinians they cross paths with-those who grew up during the first Intifada and whose lives became bound up with the second, which erupted in 2000. The result is an intimate yet unsentimental portrait of daily life in the West Bank and Gaza from the mid-1980s to the present. In a new afterword, the author examines the social and political developments in the Occupied Territories since the book's publication in 2004, including the implications of Yasser Arafat's death and the challenges and opportunities presented to his elected successor, Mahmood Abbas."--Book jacket.

Born in Jerusalem, Born Palestinian

Born in Jerusalem, Born Palestinian
Author: Jacob J. Nammar
Publisher: Interlink Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2012-12-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1623710197

When Jacob Nammar was a young boy growing up in Harret al-Nammareh, his family, his friends, and the streets of his West Jerusalem neighborhood were the center of his life. It wasn’t long, however, before his existence was turned upside down when his family was forced out of their home during al-nakba, the catastrophe that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of nearly 750,000 natives and the destruction of over 500 Palestinian villages and towns. In this heartwarming memoir, Jacob paints a vivid portrait of Palestinian life—from his childhood days in pre-1948 Jerusalem, the struggles of the Palestinian community under Israeli rule, to his ultimate decision to leave for America at age 23. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming coming of age story set amid the backdrop of one of the most tragic historical events that engulfed the region.

Mornings in Jenin

Mornings in Jenin
Author: Susan Abulhawa
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2010-02-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1608190463

A heart-wrenching novel explores how several generations of one Palestinian family cope with the loss of their land after the 1948 creation of Israel and their subsequent life in Palestine, which is often marred by war and violence. A first novel. Reprint. Reading-group guide included.

Children of Israel, Children of Palestine

Children of Israel, Children of Palestine
Author: Laurel Holliday
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 396
Release: 1999-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0671008048

Thirty-six people tell of their experiences growing up in the midst of the conflict between Israel and Palestine; Shelved in fiction area.

Young Palestinians Speak

Young Palestinians Speak
Author: Annemarie Young
Publisher: Interlink Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-11-12
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781623716424

Palestinian children share their dreams and fears for themselves and their country. In Palestine today, a second generation of children and young people is growing up experiencing life under occupation. These are children who know only fear when they see an Israeli soldier or come across a roadblock. This book provides a platform for children and young people, from all over this occupied land, to speak in their own voices about the day-to-day experience of living under occupation. It begins with an explanation of what the occupation means for those living under it, and is followed by the heart of the book: nine sections, each one focusing on one of the places visited by the authors. At the end, there is a timeline showing the main events that led up to the occupation. As you read their words, you will see that what these young people want is a stable family life, security where they live, the freedom to move around their country, safety and space in which to grow up and dream of a future. They are just like young people everywhere; it is only the circumstances of their lives that are so different. The young people in this book share with you their hopes and fears for themselves and their country and in so doing lay open their humanity.