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Description
"From horror to fatigue to indifference, an important look forward and back that provides a grass-roots sense... An honest and troubling snapshot of Israel--both Palestinian and Israeli--that reveals the creeping realization that a two-state solution may no longer be possible."--Kirkus (starred review)
Throughout their youth Nir Baram's generation were bombarded with news about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--the injustices, the wrongdoings, the killings. Over the decades, the horror and despair had become habit--he noticed people had begun to give up on the possibility of resolution. Yet, as Baram notes, 'the vast majority of Israelis--as well as international onlookers-- know next to nothing about life on the West Bank, the area at the heart of the conflict they have spent their adult lives dissecting'. Most have never visited the occupied territories, and thus 'the debate revolves around a theoretical, ill-defined area sketched out in our political imagination.'
This book of reportage emerged from the author's realization that Israel is separated from the West Bank not only by checkpoints but also, more significantly, by a cognitive barrier. And so began his quest to understand the occupation from both sides. The result is an essential and nuanced journey through places and experiences that receive little coverage.
Baram, widely considered one of the most important intellectual voices in Israel today, faces painful challenges to his personal political views and his hopes for a more peaceful future.
Nir Baram has worked as a journalist, editor, and advocate for Palestinian rights. He is the author of five novels in Hebrew. In 2010 he received the Prime Minister's Award for Hebrew Literature.
About the Author
Nir Baram was born in Jerusalem in 1976. He has worked as a journalist, editor, and as an advocate for equal rights for Palestinians. He's the author of five novels. Good People (Text, 2016) is the first to be translated into English. Baram received the 2010 Prime Ministers Award for Hebrew Literature. He now lives in Tel Aviv. Jessica Cohen is a freelance translator based in Denver. Born in England and raised in Jerusalem, she translates contemporary Israeli fiction, nonfiction and poetry, as well as commercial material from and into Hebrew. Her published translations include David Grossman's award-winning To the End of the Land, as well as critically-acclaimed works by Yael Hedaya, Ronit Matalon, Amir Gutfreund and Tom Negev.