Τι φοβάται το Ισραήλ από την Παλαιστίνη
Raja Shehadeh, 2024
★ 4.30 from 3.8k ratings on Goodreads
The Palestinian Authority's former chief negotiator on why 1989 didn't reach the West Bank — a personal, forensic look at the stories states tell themselves. A curious, lyrical and sometimes angry walk through history and landscape, with a forensic voice and a steady pace.
Feels like curiosity and hope. About nature, power and war.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you want a concise, personal account of diplomacy and state narratives, especially with moral clarity and hope for peace. Some readers find the perspective one-sided or incomplete, so it helps to read with that limitation in mind.
Why read it
It gives you a close look at how states justify what they do, and why a missed chance in 1989 still matters for the West Bank.
A page from the book
The one day a year the outsiders feel free is the day they can pretend to belong.
Οι γυναίκες ετοίμαζαν το φαγητό και, κατόπιν, όλοι στοιβάζονταν στα αυτοκίνητα –καθώς δεν υπήρχαν εισιτήρια για πάρκινγκ εκείνη τη μέρα–, και πήγαιναν για πικ νικ, επευφημώντας και τραγουδώντας δυνατά όταν περνούσαν κοντά από περιπολικό. Έφταναν RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1MTE= νωρίς στη λίμνη Τιβεριάδα, στο Βόρειο Ισραήλ, άνοιγαν τα χαλιά τους κοντά στο νερό και άναβαν φωτιές για μπάρμπεκιου, τραγουδούσαν και χόρευαν διαρκώς. Όπως το περιέγραφε ο ίδιος, «κάθε χρόνο, λίγοι άνθρωποι πνίγονταν. Γιατί όχι; Οι Άραβες πνιγόμαστε στην ανεξαρτησία τους. Το απόγευμα ήμασταν στενοχωρημένοι και αισθανόμασταν άσχημα καθώς έπρεπε να γυρίσουμε σπίτι. Εκείνη τη στιγμή τελείωνε η ελευθερία μας […] What readers say
Readers describe the book as concise, informative, and eye-opening, often responding with anger and distress at the events while valuing its moral clarity and hope for peace. Some find it one-sided or incomplete.
Raja Shehadeh.Raja Shehadeh has slept in the West Bank's olive groves to save them from uprooting. He shared the 2013 Orwell Prize and founded the human-rights group Al-Haq.
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Questions readers ask
- Is Τι φοβάται το Ισραήλ από την Παλαιστίνη for me?
- You may like it if you want a concise, personal account of diplomacy and state narratives, especially with moral clarity and hope for peace. Some readers find the perspective one-sided or incomplete, so it helps to read with that limitation in mind.
- What is Τι φοβάται το Ισραήλ από την Παλαιστίνη like?
- A curious, lyrical and sometimes angry walk through history and landscape, with a forensic voice and a steady pace. Feels like curiosity and hope. About nature, power and war.
- What should I read after Τι φοβάται το Ισραήλ από την Παλαιστίνη?
- If you liked Τι φοβάται το Ισραήλ από την Παλαιστίνη, try The Laws of Human Nature (Robert Greene), Decision Points (George W. Bush) and Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari).
A taste of the feed
He did not want a statue. He wanted a city that could live without him.
“I could give you many other reasons,” he concluded, “why you should feel confident in ultimate victory, if only you will make up your minds not to add to the empire while the war is in progress, and not to go out of your way to involve yourselves in new perils. What I fear is not the enemy’s strategy but our own mistakes.” The novelty of what he was proposing aroused great debate. Neither hawks nor doves were satisfied with his plan, but in the end, his reputation for wisdom carried the day and his strategy was approved. Several months later the fateful war began.
The Laws of Human Nature · Robert Greene
When the market stops following the rules, who is truly responsible for the collapse?
I was furious the situation had reached this point. A relatively small group of people—many on Wall Street, some not—had gambled that the housing market would keep booming forever. It didn’t. In a normal environment, the free market would render its judgment and they could fail.
Decision Points · George W. Bush
The thing you can't live without was once optional.
One of history’s few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations. Once people get used to a certain luxury, they take it for granted. Then they begin to count on it. Finally, they reach a point where they can’t live without it.
Sapiens · Yuval Noah Harari
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