From Publishers Weekly
What sets this book apart from others about the Palestinians are the harsh questions Israeli journalist-novelist Grossman asks and the blunt answers he elicits. Reproducing his conversations with Israeli Arabs from all walks of life, he offers readers a rare opportunity to hear the voices of Palestinians criticizing their own society. Some of the issues addressed: Why is it that the Arabs in Israel have produced little of lasting cultural significance? Why has the Jewish state's attitude of rejection virtually paralyzed the Arab minority? To what extent are the Arabs themselves responsible for the state of affairs in the Arab-Jew interface? Grossman is sympathetic to the Arabs of Israel, to their exclusion from the mainstream and their daily hardships, particularly at the hands of the Israeli Defense Force. At the end of his thought-provoking work, Grossman ( The Yellow Wind ) warns that Israel, by its callous treatment of one-sixth of its population, is "creating for itself the enemy it will run up against after its other enemies have made their peace with it."
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Grossman, a noted Israeli Jewish writer, explores the complex pattern of life that the Arabs who did not flee Israel in 1948 have created for themselves over several generations. With interviews and vignettes, he gives human faces to a group that has been labeled "the quietest minority in the world." Not only must these people navigate through a hostile Jewish society, but they must also contend with under the suspicions of their relatives, the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and those in diaspora. Grossman, as his title suggests, shows how these people have learned the difficult tasks of not only walking the tightrope but also of "sleeping on the wire in midstep." This vivid, insightful account of the Israeli Arab community complements Grossman's earlier exploration of Palestinian life on the West Bank, The Yellow Wind ( LJ 5/15/88). But it also offers insight into the Israeli psyche, showing how easily an oppressed people can become the oppressor. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 8/92.
- James Rhodes, Luther Coll., De corah, Ia.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
