Jehad Abusalim - Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire

Praise for Light in Gaza

Light in Gaza is a strong, honest presentation of todays Gazans, a necessary read that provides a good understanding of the humanity of the Palestinians in Gaza. PALESTINE CHRONICLE

This book is rich in insights from Gazans living under Israels brutal siege as well as those living abroad. The editors and authors are determined to start a conversation about Gaza and to break the intellectual blockade imposed on it. From Jehad Abusalims introduction to the last word, these compelling works move from personal reflections to political and economic analysis. They capture the reader and pull them through a journey that is as uplifting as it is heartbreaking that it should have to be lived at all. It will not leave you unmoved and will reinforce your determination to strive for Palestinian freedom. NADIA HIJAB, cofounder and honorary president, Al-Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network

Because of Israels blockade, Ive only been able to go to Gaza once. Everyone I spoke to there could tell me about the unimaginable hardship and trauma theyd experienced. But what stayed with me most was something I hadnt expected: The unquenchable optimism and humor of Palestinians there. Reading Light in Gaza a decade after my visit brought that feeling flooding back. This brilliant, funny, inspiring collection of stories and essays by writers in Gaza was exactly what I needed to reinvigorate my hope and determination to work for a future that uplifts us all. ALI ABUNIMAH, author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine

A must-read for anyone interested in learning about Gaza, from the Palestinians of Gaza themselves. Powerful and engaging. LAILA ELHADDAD, coeditor of Gaza Unsilenced

Gaza is often referred to as an open-air prison, because it is so hard for messages, images or bodies to get out, or for resources to get in. Light in Gaza breaks through the prison walls and gives us a unique opportunity to hear and learn from those living under Israeli occupation in Gaza. Their voices are filled with pain, loss, frustration, anger, but most of all, hope. This powerful and beautifully crafted collection is one that readers must engage with heads and hearts wide open. BARBARA RANSBY, historian, author, activist

An emotionally and intellectually sophisticated collection that is deep, processed and enlightening. SARAH SCHULMAN, author of Let the Record Show

A book that embodies the central paradox all Gaza-watchers are aware of: while Israelaided by Egypt and tolerated by the international system constantly sharpens tools to control and brutalize Gaza, Gaza insists on its agency, its dignity and its imagination. Read these writingsliterally born of firefor the wealth and variety of their ideas and for their grounding of the aspirations and dreams of Palestinian Gazans. AHDAF SOUEIF, author of Cairo: My City, Our Revolution

Light In Gaza is essential reading, not least because it reflects the voice of a people who are routinely and egregiously robbed of their basic humanity. It also represents a profound challenge to anyone who reads it. One author asks, Can a story or a poem change the mind? Can a book make a difference? The answer, as ever, is up to us all. RABBI BRANT ROSEN, founding rabbi of congregation Tzedek Chicago

As Mahmud Darwish wrote as early as 1973, we do injustice to Gaza when we turn it into a myth. This is why Light in Gaza, through its insightful collection of essays and poems, offers such a unique picture of the Palestinian experience in a territory cut off from the world for a decade and a half. JEAN-PIERRE FILIU, author of Gaza: A History

The poignant first-person essays in this wide-ranging anthology have the greatest and rarest of virtues: they are portraitsbrave, tender, resilient of life in Gaza by the people who actually live it. NATHAN THRALL, author of The Only Language They Understand

2022 American Friends Service Committee

Published in 2022 by

Haymarket Books

P.O. Box 180165

Chicago, IL 60618

773-583-7884

www.haymarketbooks.org

ISBN: 978-1-64259-725-7

Distributed to the trade in the US through Consortium Book Sales and Distribution (www.cbsd.com) and internationally through Ingram Publisher Services International (www.ingramcontent.com).

This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foundation and Wallace Action Fund.

Special discounts are available for bulk purchases by organizations and institutions. Please email for more information.

Cover artwork by Malak Mattar. Cover design by Rachel Cohen.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

Foreword

Palestinians in Gaza are seldom given voice or asked to speak. Gaza is too often portrayed as a site of destruction or impoverishment. Yet it is so much more than that, as this collection of essays makes clear. In the pages that follow, Palestinians in Gaza powerfully narrate their reality so that people will understand their dreams, fears, and aspirations, including what is needed to bring about change.

The authors in this anthology offer their reflections through personal narratives, poetry, and analyses of economic and cultural issues. In so doing, they not only reveal a commitment to a future that will enable Palestinians to transcend the boundaries that limit them, but also speak about what is needed to realize that future.

We hope this collection will open new understandings and create a new discourse about Gaza and its people, by introducing authentic analysis rooted in scholarly and personal understandings. The damaging divisions and movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians by Israel, particularly since the 1993 Oslo Accords, have fragmented the Palestinian community and isolated Gaza. The intensified military closure and blockade of Gaza has only deepened Gazas misery. For change to occur, Gaza must be understood as an integral part of historic Palestine. There can be no meaningful or sustainable resolution in Palestine and Israel without Gaza. This book, in its own way, will explain why.

The anthology is deeply personal for us. It is a work inspired by our love for our friends, family, colleagues, and partners in and from Gaza. The brutal realities of Israels occupation and blockade have continued for too long and must end, and we hope that in some small way this work can contribute to that change.

As editors we have learned from this experience and from the authors, and we hope that you also will be impacted by their remarkable writing.

We are indebted to our editorial committee members (Tareq Baconi, Ann Lesch, Sara Roy, and Steve Tamari) who worked with the authors on their chapters during a pandemic and while Israeli aggression escalated in May 2021. Their expertise and dedication to justice for Palestinians enriched this collection of writings.

Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, Michael Merryman-Lotze