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Day of the Long Night : A Palestinian Refugee Remembers the Nakba

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Some people today argue that the causes of the Palestinian refugee problem are "controversial" or up for debate. Some would question whether there was a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing. Revisionist historians with Zionist sympathies deny that key events ever took place. However, for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had to endure that period in 1948, there is no controversy. What happened was a part of their own personal lives - a traumatic part of their lives. Jamil Toubbeh is one of those Palestinians, a Christian, and his autobiography is an eloquent description of what happened in 1948 and how it affected his life forever. Since the author is a Palestinian American, his autobiography contrasts his life in America with his life in Palestine, so it is very interesting from that perspective. "Day of the Long Night" also compares the Palestinian issue with the author's first-hand experience in Native American Affairs. "Day of the Long Night" is a very well-written, thoughtful, and evocative book, that kept me up for several nights in a row. A friend of mine once reviewed this book and said that the only flaw in this beautiful autobiography is that the author addresses some political issues in the second half of the book. When I read it, though, I found this criticism to miss the point. If anything, this book shows that Palestinian lives cannot be divorced from politics - external politics manipulate ones life and affect their destiny in so many ways that it becomes impossible to write an Palestinian biography without touching on politics. "Day of the Long Night" is recommended reading for anyone curious (and brave) enough to want to see faces behind the headlines. I dare you to read it!

Also recommended: "I saw Ramallah", by Mourid Barghuthi.

"Day of the Long Night" seems a perfect title in reference to experiencing first hand, upon reading the book, the referenced Nakba (catastrophe). We experience this both through the author's teenaged perspective and through the lens of his subsequent 50 years of accumulated wisdom, eloquently expressed with insight and humor.

This book is a "must-read" for those seeking to better understand the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the personal affect of oppression, in general. The author is a Palestinian who shares poignant personal stories of what it means to be Palestinian, while interweaving insightful political and policy comments concerning Israel, Zionism, and U.S. foreign policy. Toubbeh tells his story powerfully, with sensitivity, honesty and at times,scathing humor, and stinging sarcasm. Additionally, this is a well-researched, well-documented informative offering.