In This Place Together: A Palestinian's Journey to Collective Liberation

by Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, Sulaiman Khatib Narrated by Paula Simmons

Overview

A narrative meditation on joint nonviolence, opening a window to the questions of power, multiple narratives, and imagination that touch on struggles for justice everywhere.

As a Palestinian youth, Sulaiman Khatib encountered the occupation in his village and attempted to fight back, stabbing an Israeli. Imprisoned at the age of 14, he began a process of political and spiritual transformation still unfolding today. In a book he asked Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, an American Jew, to write, and based on years of conversation between them, Khatib shares how his activism became deeply rooted in the belief that we must ground all work-from dialogue to direct action to healing-in recognition of the history and humanity of the other. He reveals how he became convinced that Palestinian freedom can flourish alongside Jewish connection to the land where he was born.

In language that is poetic and unflinchingly honest, Eilberg-Schwartz and Khatib chronicle what led him to dedicate his life to joint nonviolence. In his journey, he encountered the deep injustice of torture, witnessed the power of hunger strikes, and studied Jewish history. Ultimately, he came to realize mutual recognition, alongside a transformation of the systems that governed their lives, was necessary for both Palestinians and Israelis to move forward. Still, as he built friendships with Israelis and resisted the occupation alongside them, he could not lose sight of the great power imbalance in the relationship, of all the violence and erasure still present as they dreamt forward together.

Intimate and political, In This Place Together opens us up to the dangers and hopes of working with others across vast differences in power and experience. And it opens a new space, shapes a third narrative, and finds another world that can exist-though it's often hard to see-inside this one.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An engaging, hopeful lesson in how changing the conversation can actually change history.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, a Jewish American, anti-occupation activist, tells Khatib’s story in a work of radiant contradiction and persistent discomfort.”
—Booklist

“A poignant, beautifully told story of a young man wanting to help create a bridge between Palestinians and Israelis. Best suited for those interested in Jewish and Middle East studies and contemporary social history.”
—Library Journal

“The next time someone asks you if there’s still hope for justice and peace in Israel and Palestine, just hand them this book.”
—Peter Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism

“This bold story of an all-too-ordinary Palestinian boy, prematurely made into a man, narrated by a white American Jewish woman, tells the Palestinian story while opening a myriad of taboo topics, without closing any. No matter the angle from which you enter this book, you will exit it slightly upended. For that alone, I invite you into the constructive uneasiness that many more will need to feel before any change on the ground bears fruit that we can all taste equally.”
—Sam Bahour, activist and co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians

“In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its long-festering hatreds and its prospects for peaceful resolution, the phrase ‘the personal is political’ has never been more meaningfully embodied or illuminated than it is in Souli Khatib’s remarkable story. This moving, surprising, politically astute book, written with sensitivity and grace by Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, should be read by Middle East policy makers, scholars, diplomats, news junkies, and anyone who loved Colum McCann’s Apeirogon.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author, founding editor of Ms., and past chair of Americans for Peace Now

“As a Palestinian activist, I am proud to support In This Place Together. Khatib’s story of gradually opening to the power and necessity of joint nonviolence is one that all those who care about the future of Israel-Palestine should read.”
—Mubarak Awad, founder of the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence and Nonviolence International

“This is a story of the truest kind of courage and a much-needed type of leadership.”
—Mira Awad, Palestinian musician and artivista

“Khatib articulates a hopeful, if cautious, vision for shared futures in and through the struggle for justice.”
—Maia Ipp, Jewish Currents

“In This Place Together brought tears to my eyes more than once and inspired me more deeply than I have words to say. Souli Khatib’s path was forged in impossible terrain, and yet his is a story of hope, a light coming in through the crack in the door. This is a must-read, the kind of story our aching human race needs most. It will stay with me for many years to come.”
—Noa (Achinoam Nini), Israeli singer, songwriter, and activist

“In This Place Together is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand the Palestinians’ cause, the peace movement within Palestine, and joint resistance of Israelis and Palestinians. It is beautifully written and evokes many emotions. But most importantly, it gives hope.”
—Aziz Abu Sarah, author of Crossing Boundaries: A Traveler’s Guide to World Peace and cofounder of MEJDI Tours

Library Journal

02/26/2021

Khatib, a Palestinian peace activist, asked American writer Eilberg-Schwartz to help chronicle his journey—from growing up in Hizma, a town not far from the Israeli border, to his present-day life in Ramallah. What unfolds is a story, both sad and hopeful, of living among people historically believed to be the enemy. Instead, Khatib develops a sense of hope and a firm belief in the power of humanity. Khatib acknowledges the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, and expresses his hopes and dreams. Stories of others who live along the border show the daily realities of life in both worlds, and how the land itself has long been disputed. Khatib also looks for possibilities of peace and understanding among people with shared goals and visions for a better future. He admits he has no answers, but believes telling his story might help foster healing and perhaps lay the foundation for new peace initiatives. VERDICT A poignant, beautifully told story of a young man wanting to help create a bridge between Palestinians and Israelis. Best suited for those interested in Jewish and Middle East studies and contemporary social history.—Jacqueline Parascandola, Univ. of Pennsylvania, PA

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2021-01-30
The moving story of a Palestinian ex-prisoner who started a joint peace initiative with Israelis.

Written by Eilberg-Schwartz, an American Jew, at Khatib’s request, the story is a truly revolutionary attempt to set a path toward some kind of peace in the region. Growing up in Hizma, just northeast of Jerusalem’s old city, Khatib spent his childhood mired in the violence and hatred between the two groups cohabiting the same land. When he was 14, he and a friend attacked two Israeli soldiers with knives. He was arrested and imprisoned for more than a decade. He used the time to learn Hebrew and read, and as a more mature man, he recognized that there was no future for either side if they continued to fight each other. When he emerged from jail, the second intifada was gaining momentum as the Oslo Accords deteriorated. Consequently, violence erupted again, absorbing much of Khatib’s family and friends. Khatib refused to involve himself, however, instead learning about and speaking to Israelis, much to the shame of his family. In 2006, he co-founded Combatants for Peace with a group of Palestinian ex-prisoners and Israeli army members who refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The purpose of the organization was to encourage meaningful dialogue among people who rarely interacted—and often acted poorly based on a lack of factual information about their supposed enemies. Everyone involved had been deeply affected by occupation and violence, and all were transformed by the experience of “a shared feeling, an enormous hope.” Khatib continues to travel widely and spread his message of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Immersing herself for years in Khatib’s life, Eilberg-Schwartz constructs a lyrical, beautifully written account of his remarkable journey, which should serve as a beacon of inspiration amid the continued violence.

An engaging, hopeful lesson in how changing the conversation can actually change history.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172765964
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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