Around the World in 80 Books discussion
Books Set in the Middle East
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Israel and Palestine
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Diane, Armchair Tour Guide
(last edited Jul 08, 2012 09:08pm)
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Aug 31, 2011 07:35pm
Post any books set in Israel or Palestine here. Both areas are included in the same thread because of shared place names and proximity of location.
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Books set in Israel or Palestine:
Tale of Love and Darkness, A by Amos Oz
The Nimrod Flip-Out by Etgar Keret
Black Box by Amos Oz
The Book of Intimate Grammar: A Novel by David Grossman
The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories by Etgar Keret
A Pigeon and a Boy: A Novel by Meir Shalev
To the End of the Land by David Grossman
Missing Kissinger by Etgar Keret
See Under: Love by David Grossman
The Girl on the Fridge by Etgar Keret
The Lover by A.B. Yehoshua
Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
The Zig Zag Kid by David Grossman
Homesick by Eshkol Nevo
My Michael by Amos Oz
The Liberated Bride by A.B. Yehoshua
Someone to Run With by David Grossman
A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua
Panther in the Basement by Amos Oz
Sotah by Naomi Ragen
Jamilti and Other Stories by Rutu Modan
A Perfect Peace by Amos Oz
Exodus by Leon Uris
The Source by James A. Michener
Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel by Joe Sacco
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle by Dan Senor
Mr. Mani by A.B. Yehoshua
Almost Dead by Assaf Gavron
Let It Be Morning by Sayed Kashua
Great Lion of God: A Novel About St. Paul by Taylor Caldwell
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case by Batya Gur
Friendly Fire by A.B. Yehoshua
A Literary Murder by Batya Gur
The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World by Avi Shlaim
A Little Piece Of Ground by Elizabeth Laird
Shut Up I'm Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned by Gregory Levey
Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries by Suad Amiry
Be My Knife by David Grossman
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
The Attack: Novel by Yasmina Khadra
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas
Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine by Raja Shehadeh
Four Meals by Meir Shalev
The Glory: A Novel by Herman Wouk
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter
When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant
Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef
The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev
The Haj by Leon Uris
Arabesques: A Novel by Anton Shammas
Operation Shylock by Philip Roth
The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva
Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh
It's Easier to Reach Heaven Than the End of the Street by Emma Williams
Wandering Star by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
To Know a Woman by Amos Oz
O Jerusalem by Larry Collins
The Covenant by Naomi Ragen
My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness by Adina Hoffman
The Yellow Wind: With a New Afterword by the Author by David Grossman
Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari Nusseibeh
Damascus Gate by Robert Stone
Where The Streets Had A Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Bethlehem Road Murder: A Michael Ohayon Mystery by Batya Gur
Dancing Arabs by Sayed Kashua
The Mitla Pass by Leon Uris
I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti
The Gates of Zion (Zion Chronicles #1) by Bodie Thoene
Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark
Rhyming Life and Death by Amos Oz
View from the Eye of the Storm: Terror and Reason in the Middle East by Haim Harari
Picnic Grounds: A Novel in Fragments by Oz Shelach
If You Awaken Love by Emuna Elon
My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner by Meir Shalev
Extreme Rambling: Walking Israel's Separation Barrier. for Fun. by Mark Thomas
The Heart is Katmandu by Yoel Hoffmann
Fast Times in Palestine by Pamela J. Olson
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago
* Just a correction, no country is called country named Palestine. Palestine was how the land of Israel was called until the 50's, when Israel became an official country. But it isn't a country...Plestine.
Palestine generally referred to the geographic area between Jordan and Egypt, also known as the land of Israel. While there may not be a 'country' named Palestine, nowadays Palestine refers to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip-- proclaimed the State of Palestine by the PLO--with Jerusalem as its designated capital.
Blood Brothers, exp. ed. by Elias Chacour
West of the Jordan: A Novel by Laila Halaby
Blessed are the Peacemakers by Audeh Rantisi
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf
The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré
Christians in Palestine by Jean Rolin
Ottoman Brothers: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Early Twentieth-Century Palestine by Michelle Campos
Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories by Anna Baltzer
A Palestine Affair by Jonathan Wilson
Narrow Gate Churches: The Christian Presence in the Holy Land Under Muslim and Jewish Rule by Atallah MansourSociology Of Early Palestinian Christianity by Gerd Theissen 
Phoenix: Daily Life in Palestine at the Time of Christ by Daniel-Rops
Between 2 Fires, The Untold Story Of The Palestinian Christians by Jack KincaidThere is also Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani but it does not let me link to it for some reason?! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...
I Am a Palestinian Christian by Mitri Raheb
Bethlehem Besieged by Mitri RahebThe Forgotten Faithful: The Christians of the Holy Land by Said K. Aburish
Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts by K.C. Hanson
Faith and the Intifada: Palestinian Christian Voices by Naim Stifan Ateek
Jerusalem Testament: Palestinian Christians Speak, 1988-2008 by Melanie A. May 
The Body and the Blood: The Middle East's Vanishing Christians and the Possibility for Peace by Charles M. Sennott
Son of Hamas I just finished this. It is the story of the oldest child of one of the founding members of Hamas, his family and the origins of Hamas. Mosab is now a Christian, living in the United States. I found it very informative and an easy read, one of those you can't put down until you are finished.
Arafat's Elephant by Jonathan Tel
Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani
The Family Orchard by Nomi Eve
Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life by Tass Saada
Thank you for pointing that out Natacha. Actually, I couldn't understand why Palestine had been lumped together with Israel - it is entirely separate albeit illegally occupied.
Israel Is Real by Rich Cohen
King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel by Jonathan Kirsch
Diane wrote: "Post any books set in Israel or Palestine here."Rebirth, about the rebirth of Israel in 1948: www.rebirthofisrael.com
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by written by Israeli professor of history Ilan Pappé from detailed research of the archives of the IDF and Ben-Gurion's personal diaries and meeting notes.From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israel by Victor Kattan
I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish
The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine by Miko Peled. Miko's father, Matti Peled, was a general during the so called '6 Day War'. Matti, and later his son Miko, became peace activists calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine.
Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy by Ben White - an eye opening analysis of apartheid within the green line.
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning HomeHi,
I lived in Israel for 23 years and wrote a memoir that would be compared to a combination of Under The Tuscan Sun; Eat, Pray, Love; and the Hobbit. I visited 16 different countries in my travels between the USA and Israel. For anyone that wants a perspective on living in Israel, comparing the democracies of Israel to the USA and the adventure of it all - this book is for you.
Palestine is the name the Romans gave to their province of Judea after the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-70AD. This area was then a province not a country either under the Romans, Crusaders, or Ottomans , or even Arab rulers. It was then the name of the Mandate the British held after they captured it from the Ottoman Empire in 1917. Then in 1948 the Jewish people called part of Palestine a state of Israel after the only ever country that was on that territory - Israel, from biblical times for about 1000 years from the time of Joshua till the Hashmoneans. When six Arab armies threatened Israel with Annihilation in 1967 another chunk of Palestine, the West Bank and Gaza became part of Israel territory, in addition to part of Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. The rest of mandated Palestine is Jordan of today. Thus the claim by some Israelis that Jordan is Palestine and the fear of the Hashemite Jordanian rulers that Jordan will be Palestine led Jordan to a peace treaty with Israel. The Gaza strip, once controlled by Egypt, was given up by Israel and is in a state of terror war with Israel, thus being blockaded. The West Bank is still occupied, but the Palestinian Authority has rights over sections. Israel offered the Palestinians autonomy under the camp David Peace Treaty, - something more than what the Kurds or Druze have for example in Arab lands. This was refused by Yassir Arafat who wanted a Palestinian State for the first time in history. Unfortunately, due to propaganda or innocent lack of knowledge for the confusing facts, the West Bank occupation IS NOT illegal as many with a political agenda keep saying. This is so because Israel liberated these territories in self defense, and also has biblical claims to these territories that are stronger than any Arab claims. It should be left to negotiation. What is of contention and might be labeled illegal are the settlements on these territories because the UN wants to keep the territory legally captured by Israel as unchanged as possible so as not to effect the status of negotiations. That is - Israeli presence as military camps or, pre fab settlements, national parks is OK , permanent settlements not. Unfortunately, because of the long period between the capture of the territories, the differing claims for the territory, it is hard to stop settlement activity because Israel is very small and the Israelis need a place to live. The Palestinians have vast other Arab lands to live in if they want. It is estimated that if there will be a settlement, the majority of Palestinians will not leave their present homes to move to the newly formed Palestinian State, not even Palestinians living in Israel proper. The stated policy of the USA and Israel and the Palestinian Authority is that there should be a two state solution, although a federation with Jordan should not be ruled out in the future or a land swap that would have to include all the parties, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestinian territories, so as to make room for all.
The Body by Richard Ben Sapir
The Debba by Avner Mandelman
Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace
Moon of Israel: A Tale of the Exodus by H. Rider Haggard
Jason I have reported your post as inappropriate. This thread is for books on Israel and Palestine - it is not for a lengthy Zionist diatribe...
Jason wrote: "Palestine is the name the Romans gave to their province of Judea after the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-70AD. This area was then a province not a country either under the Romans, Crusaders, or ..."All that still doesn't explain nor justify the fact that Palestinians are denied identities, so even IF they were 'to leave and go elsewhere,' they still lack one of the most basic things a human being could have to prosper (psychologically and materially being but a few examples).
If that's what Israel really wants, then why doesn't its government policies reflect that? Needless to say, it also doesn't explain why relocation measures have never taken place to help the Palestinians "go to all these other vast places," but major massacres and genocides have.
Also, it is hotly debated whether many of the Jews who currently live in Israel are actually 'true Jews' themselves, depending on who you ask. And this is an ongoing debate within Jews/Israelis themselves. But somehow it's 'logical' for anyone with even a mere hint of a Jewish background to go and live there, while Palestinians should not? I add to this the fact it happens that non-Jews go to Israel, lie on purpose about being Jewish to get into the country, and once in go back to whichever faith they actually subscribe to.
It's the same story: everyone has a 'right' to be in Israel except Palestinians.
If that's the argument to be made, then technically it can be applied to probably every country on earth in some way or another, seeing as people have migrated and mixed, indigenous peoples were nearly wiped out, and so on. It does little to solve the CURRENT situation.
Kathlyn wrote: "Jason I have reported your post as inappropriate. This thread is for books on Israel and Palestine - it is not for a lengthy Zionist diatribe..."I'm curious, Kathlyn, are you going to report Natacha's post above as inappropriate as well as Jason's? She mentions no books. Or are anti-Israeli rants okay with you?
A book that I don't believe has been mentioned yet is From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
. It won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1989.
She is very well welcomed to report mine as well, and I presume she will. However if someone can make certain statements, then I have every right to state my own as well. While my previous post didn't mention books, I have mentioned several in earlier posts, whereas Jason merely promoted himself via posting his own book.It's also typical that anytime someone speaks up for Palestinians that they are automatically deemed "anti Israeli." No one said anything about the State of Israel not having a right to exist, but apparently saying one word against its government is enough to earn that label. Oh well. :)
I'm reading a book of collected essays from Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten and there was one article where Mr. Weingarten went to sites of recent terrorist attacks. (The article was published in August 2004. It recounts his plane trips and an excursion to the site of one of the terrorist attacks in Spain on the commuter trains, but the majority of his story takes place in Jerusalem and talks about the frequent terrorist attacks there.)Mr. Weingarten is the only two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The essay is called "Fear Itself" and is in The Fiddler in the Subway: The Story of the World-Class Violinist Who Played for Handouts. . . And Other Virtuoso Performances by America's Foremost Feature Writer.
There are two books of letters written by Israeli soldiers that might be of interest:
Self-Portrait Of A Hero: The Letters Of Jonathan Netanyahu by Jonathan Netanyahu. The last name might be familiar. This is a collection of letters by the elder brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jonathan participated in the Six Day War, as well as The Yom Kippur War. He was killed while trying to rescue Jewish hostages being held in Africa.
Another book was Alex Building a Life: Building a Life : The Story of an American Who Fell Defending Israel, Told in His Letters, Journals, and Drawings by Alex Singer, which contains the letters of a soldier who served during the time of the first Intifada. He was also killed fighting terrorists.
This one tells how it all began in an Israeli war-torn passionate love story: www.rebirthofisrael.com
Is no-one moderating this forum? Yet another person using this thread to promote their own book, website and extreme political viewpoints?? (viz - Dave Longeuay / 'rebirthofisrael', above)
Kathlyn wrote: "Is no-one moderating this forum? Yet another person using this thread to promote their own book, website and extreme political viewpoints?? (viz - Dave Longeuay / 'rebirthofisrael', above)"Kathlyn, you are operating under a misconception about what is permissible on these threads. An author is allowed to talk about his book on a resource thread if it is on topic. Read this message to authors: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6....
What troubles me more is this tendency of yours to attack anyone with views that differ from yours on this thread. This thread is about Israel and Palestine. You are going to have to get used to sharing space on here with people of different viewpoints. Jason, I think, was contesting your assertion that the West Bank is illegally occupied. If you use such loaded words, I don't think you can complain if people respond to them and you shouldn't start flagging posts as offensive or calling for a moderator. If you want this thread to be about books, you need to think about doing your part to achieve that goal and maybe consider toning down your rhetoric.
Personally, I would prefer if we could keep this thread about books and not become bogged down in arguing over politics. I chose not to respond to Natacha's bait although I found some of her claims tenuous and offensive. This should be about books about or centered in the region. Let's not get involved in teaching others what to think on here or attempting to silence those who think differently.
Mickey - this thread is for books on Israel and Palestine. It is not a forum for political debate / propaganda. It is also rather disingenuous to recommend a book without mentioning that you are the author of that book. As an aside my words are not loaded; they are a statement of fact. In the opinion of the International Court of Justice, the West Bank is occupied territory. Indeed the only country in the world that does not consider the West Bank to be occupied is Israel.
This thread is intended for posting books about Israel and Palestine, and not for debating political or religious views. Please refrain from posting any biased comments for or against either country. It is acceptable for an author to mention his or her book about either country, but please keep any descriptions of said book objective. Everyone is entitled to their own views, but please remember that this is a public forum about books, and not an outlet for airing personal opinions. I respect all viewpoints, but this is not the forum for arguments. There are Goodreads groups available for such debate, but not this one. Thank you for your consideration.
Diane wrote: "This thread is intended for posting books about Israel and Palestine, and not for debating political or religious views. Please refrain from posting any biased comments for or against either count..."Thanks, Diane.
If Jason hadn't been the one to instigate the whole thing by STARTING on his own rant, mine would've been nonexistent. Perhaps we should all remind ourselves of that. :)
To be fair, Jason was responding to Kathlyn, who made a remark about illegal occupation, which wasn't called for. He responded to her.However, does it really matter? That's not the point to this thread. Diane has asked us to stick to talking of books and asked us to do it in a less offensive manner.
The bottom line is thee are lots of books like Rebirth, which is a controversial book, that will stimulate conversations, but it's to do just that. Stimulate conversation, not argue or get derogatory.
Around the World in 80 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Book of Intimate Grammar (other topics)The Zigzag Kid (other topics)
Missing Kissinger (other topics)
The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God and Other Stories (other topics)
Black Box (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Meir Shalev (other topics)Amos Oz (other topics)
Rutu Modan (other topics)
David Grossman (other topics)
Etgar Keret (other topics)
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