Reviews

Within this book, one can experience first-hand the pathos, resilience, and aspirations of the Palestinian collective through the narratives of individual Palestinians who have undergone the tragedy of dispossession, denial, and exile. The very intimacy of these revelations, their searing honesty, and their unassuming humanity compel the reader to engage in the challenge of awareness through identification, and to acquire that uncomfortable, yet essential, knowledge that has hitherto been denied or excluded or distorted. The simple truth, often the most complex reality to convey, is laid bare in Palestine is Our Home for all those who want to shed the complacency of ignorance in favor of the responsibility of knowledge. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, founder and chairman of the board of MIFTAH, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy Through their voices, including her own, Professor Nahida Gordon captures the painful and tragic past of the Palestinian people, as well as their present suffering, fear, and frustrations. What comes through is a tenacious hope for a peaceful future based on truth, justice, and reconciliation that embraces all the people in Palestine-Israel. The Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Palestine is Our Home is a labor of love. It is an informative, intelligent and deeply felt expose of Palestinian history and life. In addition to a number of carefully crafted short essays there are valuable first hand testimonies from witnesses who experienced different periods of Palestine's painful history. This book is a valuable addition to the growing literature on one of the major, as yet unresolved, conflicts of our time. Raja Shehadeh, Author and founder of Al-Haq, Palestinian Human Rights Organization The stories of those who have experienced the depopulation of Palestinians by Zionist forces in 1948, are the most authentic and informative of all records of the Nakba, the most tragic event in Palestine's 5000-year history. These stories represent the human dimension, which no archives can match. Here lies the power of the book, Palestine is Our Home: Voices of Loss, Courage, and Steadfastness by Nahida Halaby Gordon. Nahida recorded testimonies of Palestinians' dispossession from almost every district in Palestine. No less important is recounting the suffering and determination of Nakba survivors as they rebuilt their lives afterwards, not forgetting at any time their homeland from which they were uprooted. This book is a powerful testimony to the suffering of Palestinians. Dr. Salma Abu Sitta, author and president of Palestine Land Society Palestine is Our Home is a wonderful gift to readers. Nahida Gordon undertakes the critically important task of collecting the stories of Palestinians, including her own, who witnessed the Nakba and who have engaged in the struggle for justice ever since. This book goes beyond common stereotypes and reflects the ways Palestinians - including all those in the global diaspora - have engaged with their rich history, through education, art and folk art. Gordon and all the contributors offer deep knowledge, hope and the empathy needed to create a future of justice and reconciliation. They invite and challenge us to reflect and act in ways that can contribute to the urgent task of making such a future. I urge everyone who cares deeply about this issue or just wants to learn more to pick up this book and take up that invitation. Ali Abuniham, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada Through narration of history and personal narratives, Palestine Is Our Home conveys the pain and suffering of Palestinians; and it is objectively and gently declarative regarding the reality of Palestinian lives whether lived within Palestine or their diaspora. We recommend this book to all those who wish to understand the seldom heard voice of Palestinians. Israel Palestine Mission Network, Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.)