Conflicts And Context
As a Jewish Israeli expat, something I found very frustrating is the black-and-white media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both inside and outside of Israel/Palestine. At some point during the last violent cycle, even the word context would send people into a spiral of social media rage.
While nothing justifies the violence that has been raging in my homeland since October 7th (and really for almost a century now), black-and-white, good vs evil thinking is counterproductive to most conflicts. This particular conflict over a piece of land that has been contested for millennia encompasses complex layers of religious, political, and international interests. That said, it is very difficult for our human brains to hold two things that are true at the same time.
So, when Lucy kindly offered me a chance to write a Best of 3 post, I knew immediately what books I wanted to recommend. The three books below do not treat the conflict as black and white but explore the nuances of identity that layer the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
1) The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan
A true story told like a novel. Tolan brings the true story of Bashir, a Palestinian man, and Dalia, an Israeli woman, and their long, unlikely friendship. Bashir came to visit his abandoned home in Lydda after finding himself under Israeli occupation in 1967, and found Dalia living there.
In addition to providing historical context for the conflict, the book brings compelling storytelling. On a personal note, the core premise of my book already existed when I found this book, but The Lemon Tree propelled me forward in confirming that my story could have happened.
2) Salt Houses by Hala Aylan
The beautifully written story of a Palestinian family driven first from their home in Jaffa to Nablus, and then from Nablus to the diaspora: Kuwait, Lebanon, Europe and America.
Aylan weaves a story of searching for identity without concrete roots: when your family is scattered across the globe, where do you really belong? As a third-generation descendant of Holocaust survivors, her words resonated with me deeply.
3) All the Rivers by Dorit Rabinian
The English translation from the Hebrew “Gader Haya”, a living fence. The story is about Liat, an Israeli translator and Hilmi, a Palestinian painter. They meet in New York and embark on an affair they both know to be temporary and complicated.
I read this book in Hebrew several times, and it’s possible that Ali, my Palestinian artist character in my novel When The Walls Come Down, was somewhat inspired by Hilmi.
Have you read any of these books? Share in the comments!
BIO: Gal Podjarny was born and raised in Israel/Palestine and has made homes in Canada and the UK. She draws from these diverse cultural landscapes to examine how social forces shape personal narratives and relationships. Her writing, including the short story collection Human Fragments and contributions to various anthologies, captures these intersections of identity and community. From her home in London, she continues this exploration through her blog at galpod.com and her work with the Disrupt Foundation. Until the Walls Come Down is her first novel.
