Being Palestinian

‘These thoughtful, poignant reflections bring forth vividly some of the human dimensions of one of the great tragedies of current history, the forced dispossession of Palestinians from their homeland.’ - Noam Chomsky

‘This handsome collection speaks in a multiplicity of voices and textures that capture the enduring presence of the homeland in every Diasporic home. Palestinians and non-Palestinians will be moved by it in equal measure.’ - Azmi Bishara

How does it feel when you cannot find Palestine under ‘P’ in the encyclopaedia your father brings home? Why cultivate fig and orange trees in the Arizona desert? What does it mean to know every inch of a village you have never seen, a village that no longer exists?

In this groundbreaking volume, 102 Palestinians in North America and the United Kingdom reflect in their own words on what it means to be Palestinian in the diaspora. Men and women, young and old, Christians and Muslims, including well-known academics, poets, writers, faith leaders and singers, reveal their tangled ties to ‘home’ and ‘homeland’, exploring how Palestine in the diaspora can be both lost and found, bereaved and celebrated, lived and longed-for.

Touching, often troubling, but full of character and wit, the reflections in Being Palestinian offer a radically fresh look at the modern Palestinian experience in the West. And the time-honoured issues of identity, exile and diaspora give acute sense to these very personal reflections.

Key Features

• Includes reflections from celebrated academics and writers, including Najla Said, Lila Abu Lughod, Ghada Karmi, Naomi-Shihab Nye, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Sharif Elmusa, Nathalie Handal, Nabil Matar and Khaled Hroub
• The volume will include up to 20 personal photographs which visually depict the authors’ reflections in the book
• Covering the United States, Canada, England, Wales and Scotland, the volume offers fascinating portraits of a community spread across the West
• The first published account of the experiences of the political prisoner Dr Sami Al-Arian