OCCUPIED VOICES: Stories of Loss and Longing from the Second Intifada

In 2000, Pearlman, a Jewish doctoral student in Middle East politics and longtime human rights activist, spent six months living and studying in the West Bank. Her book grows out of her sojourn and "provide[s] a window into the human dimension of their struggle" by letting the Palestinians speak for themselves. Think of it as Studs Terkel goes to the Middle East—except that only one side in the conflict gets to speak. The first thing that emerges from these interviews is that the Palestinians have suffered a great deal—if someone hasn't been hurt, jailed or degraded by the Israeli occupation, they know someone who has. "The army just opens fire whenever it wants to," says Mahmoud, whose house was razed by the Israeli army. But while Pearlman says her aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some readers will come away only with despair, a sense that the conflict will never be settled. One Palestinian after another here shows an inability to see any legitimacy in the Israeli side, or to support an end to the current intifada or any attempts at peace—the moribund Oslo peace process is seen as a sellout. And when Pearlman fails to question such statements as that Israel has failed to comply with any U.N. resolution since 1948, many readers may despair regarding Pearlman as well. (July)

Forecast:This could be shelved with Amira Hess's Reporting from Ramallah (MIT) and Mourid Bargouti's I Saw Ramallah (Anchor) for readers seeking insight into the Palestinian viewpoint as a new Palestinian prime minister makes possible some movement toward peace.