BRATTLEBORO-Thank you for your thoughtful editorial. (Full disclosure: My personal views align with those of Jewish Voice for Peace, which also had a Viewpoint in Voices on the same day.)
I would like to suggest three books that I believe will offer your readers necessary historical context for the terrible war taking place now in the Middle East. Well-researched and documented history adds important context that is vital to understanding the tragedy that is occurring there. These books provide that history and context in a factual and informative way.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe: The author was a highly respected history professor in an Israeli university until he was exiled to the United Kingdom, where he continued teaching in a British university. His critically acclaimed history begins well before Israel became a nation, going back to the late 19th century and continuing to the 21st century. Readers may be stunned at what they learn.
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East also provides historical perspective but it is mainly the gripping story of a friendship between two people - one Israeli and one Palestinian- over decades, a relationship that symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East.
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall: Published last year, the book is ostensibly about what happened on the day a bus accident killed several Palestinian children and injured others. It also illuminates how Palestinians have increasingly suffered under Israeli occupation for many decades.
Taken in total, these three books shine light on the continuing tensions, and violence, between two peoples who in fact share similar histories and backgrounds. They are all deeply important and moving, and they all add to any conversations about what we are bearing witness to.
Elayne Clift
Brattleboro
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