Emma Williams studied history at Oxford and medicine at London University. She has worked as a doctor in Britain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New York, South Africa and Jerusalem. She wrote for several newspapers and magazines about Palestinian-Israeli affairs and was a correspondent for the Spectator from 2000-2003.
A reader only vaguely aware of the reality behind the headlines
will find much that is observant and saddening in her vivid
portrait of this tribal dispute.
In 2000, Williams journeys with her children to Jerusalem to join
her husband, and she soon realizes the magnitude of Middle Eastern
unrest. A month after they arrive, the Palestinian Intifada
intensifies, and Williams documents the tumultuous effects which
the uprisings have on herself and those around her. Her
perspective, as one who lived and worked with both Palestinians and
Israelis, is portrayed anecdotally, through stories related by
friends and coworkers. She addresses the humanity and the hostility
while incorporating her own experiences into her narrative.
This book must be one of the most honest accounts of those terrible
years. It's proportionate, subtle and comprehensive... biased
towards nobody but the voices of moderation and hope.
This intelligent, incisive account... and Williams' cool analysis
of the humanity and hypocrisy at the heart of the
Israeli/Palestinian fighting is striking
Williams's deeply moving memoir relates the three years her family
spent in a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem. Tragically,
shortly after the family's arrival in 2000, the second intifada
(uprising) erupted, and life in Israel and the occupied territories
was shaken by suicide bombings, vicious reprisals, and constant
fear. The personal experiences of the author's family are
contrasted with the daily violence committed by both Palestinians
and Israelis, both sides driven by a sense of victimhood and
vulnerability. Williams laments that Israeli dominance and the
devastation of the Palestinian economy and community can never
provide security; she blames the U.S. media and government for not
presenting an honest picture of or a responsible policy for the
cruelty and futility of Israeli actions. She frames her memoir with
a tourist's perspective on her family's explorations of the
countryside, visits to historic sites, and friendships with
interesting and compassionate Israelis, Palestinians, and
expatriates. VERDICT A beautifully written report of the human
costs of the ongoing struggle between two peoples unable to live in
peace in the land they both love, focusing on the experiences of
fear and suffering, violence and compassion. Highly
recommended.
...notable for the depth of observation and insight and for the
vividness of the descriptions of particular events and people... a
moving and beautifully written book... It will certainly help
outsiders to better understand both sides and their
struggle.--Brian Urquhart, New York Review of Books
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