Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation

by Vijay Prashad (Editor)

Overview

Operation Protective Edge, Israel's seven-week bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza in the summer of 2014, resulted in half a million displaced Gazans, tens of thousands of destroyed homes, and more than 2,000 deaths--and, yet, it was only the latest in a long series of assaults endured by Palestinians isolated in Gaza. But, following the conflict, polls revealed a startling fact: for the first time, a majority of Americans under thirty found Israel's actions unjustified. Jon Stewart aired a blistering attack on Israeli violence, and a video of a UN spokesperson weeping as he was interviewed in Gaza went viral, appearing on Vanity Fair and Buzzfeed, among other sites.

This book traces this swelling American recognition of Palestinian suffering, struggle, and hope, in writing that is personal, lyrical, anguished, and inspiring. Some of the leading writers of our time, such as Junot Díaz and Teju Cole, poets and essayists, novelists and scholars, Palestinian American activists like Huwaida Arraf, Noura Erakat, and Remi Kanazi, give voice to feelings of empathy and solidarity--as well as anger at US support for Israeli policy--in intimate letters, beautiful essays, and furious poems. This is a landmark work of controversial, committed literary writing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784780678
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	04/14/2015
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	655,183
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian Studies and professor of International Relations at Trinity College, Hartford, CT. He is the author of ffteen books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. He is a columnist for the Hindu and Frontlines, and a regular contributor to many publications, including Counterpunch.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Americans Are So Deranged About Palestine Junot Díaz 1

Introduction: A Country in Darkness Vijay Prashad 3

Conditions

What Is Palestine to the US? Mumia Abu-Jamal 17

Bad Laws Teju Cole 19

Travel Diary Noura Erakat 25

Extract from A Concordance of Leaves Philip Metres 45

Imagining Myself in Palestine Randa Jarrar 55

Checkpoint Jasiri X 67

Below Zero: In Gaza Before the Latest War Ben Ehrenreich 70

Gate of Freedom Deema K. Shehabi 79

Soundtracks of the Resistance Rumzi Araj 81

Until It Isn't Remi Kanazi 87

War Reports

Afterwords Sinan Antoon 91

How Not to Talk About Gaza Colin Dayan 94

Running Orders Lena Khalaf Tuffaha 103

They Wake Up to a Truce a Fragment Fady Joudah 105

Diary of a Gaza War, 2014 Najla Said 107

Gaza Hayan Charara 126

Gaza Renga Deema K. Shehahi 128

A Gaza Breviary Corey Robin 130

Please Look Closely Naomi Shihah Nye 134

Politics

Yes, I Said, "National Liberation" Robin D. G. Kelley 139

This Is Not the Universitv of Michigan Anymore, Huwaida Huwaida Arraf 154

Samidoon: We Are Steadfast Nora Barrows-Friedman 169

The US Boycott of Palestine Alex Lubin 188

The Collapse of the Pro-Israel Consensus Alex Kane 200

What Is Anti-Semitism Now? Sarah Schulman 207

Reflections on the Israeli Army Shutting Down the Palestine Festival of Literature in the Month of May in 2009: Burning Books, a Bebelplatz in Jerusalem Kevin Coval 212

Notes 217

About the Authors 228

Editorial Reviews

"This is a sci-fi book about a dystopian future in which the government has decreed that large segments of the population may not vote and must be relegated to only a portion of the land. The government claims that this is decreed by God. A couple dozen of the most talented writers in the world have to come together to convince the world that the bombing of the families and children of that portion of land is wrong. It is a crazy read that would be horrifying if it were happening today."
--Boots Riley

"The growing recognition of the plight of Palestinians, and support for their struggle for their rights, particularly among younger people, is a welcome and important phenomenon. The contributions here both reflect these developments and should help inspire them."
--Noam Chomsky

"A pretty miraculous compilation of essays and poetry ... There is some beautifully rendered rage in this book that's been sitting in my chest ever since I put it down."
--Jezebel ("The Best Things We've Read, Heard and Seen in 2015 So Far")

From the Publisher