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A review by leemac027
I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Although written in 2010, this book is even more relevant today as the Middle East continues to be in tumult and the ongoing violence between Israel and the Palestinian people escalates.
This book shows the daily life of Palestinians, the day-to-day difficulties, danger, violence and tragedy. Just getting access to water, electricity and food is hard. Anything that involves travel through any of the border crossings (when they are open) to exit Gaza involves mountains of paperwork and approvals and even if that is completed, it could depend on the mood of the border guard on the day as to whether you can cross the border in 1 hour, 20 hours or not at all, and then you have to try and get back in.
Izzeldin Abuelaish, a doctor who lived in Gaza and worked in Israeli hospitals, is someone who you would think would be full of hate and revenge. Three of his daughters and a niece were killed by the IDF in a missile strike on his home. Regardless of this tragedy he still believes that peace can be achieved - there is no future in hate.
His own words: "it is quite astonishing to realise how similar our two peoples are, in the way we raise our children, in the importance of family and extended family, and in the animated style with which we like to tell stories. We're argumentative, expressive, emotional people. We share the Semitic religions and languages. We have many more similarities than differences, and yet for sixty years we haven't been able to bridge the divide between us."
Even though he now lives in Canada, he continues his work to achieve peace through the Daughters For Life Foundation set up in memory of his lost girls. https://daughtersforlife.com/ Its aim is to create accessible education opportunities for young women from the Middle East and to help them become strong, well-informed women that are able to speak up and change their communities and the face of the world.
His belief is that education and understanding will lead the way to peace. It has to be a better path that what is still happening today.
A book that should be on every shelf.
This book shows the daily life of Palestinians, the day-to-day difficulties, danger, violence and tragedy. Just getting access to water, electricity and food is hard. Anything that involves travel through any of the border crossings (when they are open) to exit Gaza involves mountains of paperwork and approvals and even if that is completed, it could depend on the mood of the border guard on the day as to whether you can cross the border in 1 hour, 20 hours or not at all, and then you have to try and get back in.
Izzeldin Abuelaish, a doctor who lived in Gaza and worked in Israeli hospitals, is someone who you would think would be full of hate and revenge. Three of his daughters and a niece were killed by the IDF in a missile strike on his home. Regardless of this tragedy he still believes that peace can be achieved - there is no future in hate.
His own words: "it is quite astonishing to realise how similar our two peoples are, in the way we raise our children, in the importance of family and extended family, and in the animated style with which we like to tell stories. We're argumentative, expressive, emotional people. We share the Semitic religions and languages. We have many more similarities than differences, and yet for sixty years we haven't been able to bridge the divide between us."
Even though he now lives in Canada, he continues his work to achieve peace through the Daughters For Life Foundation set up in memory of his lost girls. https://daughtersforlife.com/ Its aim is to create accessible education opportunities for young women from the Middle East and to help them become strong, well-informed women that are able to speak up and change their communities and the face of the world.
His belief is that education and understanding will lead the way to peace. It has to be a better path that what is still happening today.
A book that should be on every shelf.