Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books) [Paperback]

Wendy Pearlman (Author), Laura Junka (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Nation Books | Publication Date: May 2003

As the Middle East peace process disintegrates and the second Palestinian Intifada begins, Wendy Pearlman, a young Jewish woman from the American Midwest travels to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a quest to talk to ordinary Palestinians. A remarkable narrative emerges from her conversations with doctors, artists, school kids, and families who have lost loved ones or watched their homes destroyed. Their stories, ranging from the humorous to the tragic, paint a profile of the Palestinians that is as honest as it is uncommon in the Western media: that of ordinary people who simply want to live ordinary lives. As Pearlman writes, "the personal stories and heartfelt reflections that I encountered did not expose a hatred of Jews or a yearning to push Israelis into the sea. Rather, they painted a portrait of a people who longed for precisely that which had inspired the first Israelis: the chance to be citizens in a country of their own."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

After the peace process in the Middle East broke down in 2000, the author, "a Jewish girl from Nebraska," was moved to visit Israel and speak to ordinary Palestinians living in the middle of the second Intifada (mass uprising). She spoke with doctors and educators, journalists and businessmen, homeowners and students, assembling a collage of memory and emotion. Each interview is preceded by a lengthy introduction that supplies historical and social contexts. Pearlman's own perspective, as a young American woman visiting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, sometimes creeps in--at times she hid the fact that she was Jewish, wanting her subjects to know her simply as a person--but the book generally contains little in the way of editorializing. The interviews are presented without questions, giving the book the look and feel of an oral history. These people are speaking directly to us, telling us who they are and where they came from, describing their fears and hopes. This is not a book about politics or war; it's about people who live in the midst of a terrible conflict. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560255307
• ISBN-13: 978-1560255307
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > History > Middle East > Palestine

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voices otherwise unheard, April 14, 2004

By 

w8n4gdo "ah641" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books) (Paperback)

Wendy Pearlman's "Occupied Voices" addresses an often overlooked aspect of the conflict in the Middle East. By recounting the stories of individuals living under conditions that (thankfully) none of us can even imagine, Pearlman sheds light on the crucible that is Palestine. The book helps the Western reader see Palestinians as individuals--something most texts fail to do, and something essential to truly understanding and resolving the conflict.

I found the stories evocative and so moving, the photographs stunning.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle and Firm, July 1, 2003

By 

Dr. Laleh Khalili (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books) (Paperback)

I think the Publisher's Weekly (PW) reviewer must have either had an axe to grind or not read the Pearlman book in which she convincingly outlines the reasons why she has chosen to give voice only to the (vastly under-represented) Palestinians. The funny thing is that the PW review talks about 'sides' where Pearlman's gentle and ruminative introductory essays and the interviewees she has chosen show *human beings* at the end of their tethers. The people she has chosen to interview represent a wide variety of backgrounds, and that she has gotten gripping, sad, and sometimes gently humourous stories from all of them is not only testament to her hands-off approach, but also to the depth of stories that are there to be told.

Pearlman's background as a young Midwestern Jew who was raised with an allegiance to Israel makes the preface -in which she explains how she decided to write this book- as interesting a story as that of the Palestinians in the book itself. Furthermore, she gently, but firmly, deals with any number of arguments one often hears in the media about the Israel-Palestine conflict or about the Palestinians in the preface.

As an Iranian who is interested in the Israel/Palestine conflict, I found her book rich in explanatory material, and rewarding in its attention to the human side of the conflict. I also liked its decidedly un-polemical stance, and its simple, jargon-free humanity.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, May 25, 2005

By 

Ali Dahmash - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books) (Paperback)

This is a great book and serves a great cause. I also recommend the to read Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts and the link for it is
www.AeabVoicesSpeak.com