New book: Palestine sixty years later

Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU) has published Palestine sixty years later, by Thomas Suarez. Because this book is so photo-driven, I recommend it for gifts and church libraries.

While the website might change, right now you can see samples of the beautiful pages at this link: http://palestine.org.il/

AMEU: http://www.ameu.org

Palestine sixty years later combines 171 photographs and commentary into a vivid glimpse of modern-day Palestine. An Introduction summarizes the origins of partition, compares the methods of Zionist expropriation used in 1948 to those employed today, and analyzes how Israel has exploited Judaism and the collective Western subconscious. The main part of the book is divided into three section: Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Although its focus, inevitably, is on the realities of life under siege and Occupation, the author depicts side-by-side the "other" Palestine, people living their own lives as best they can under that reality, refusing to be defined by it. A concluding commentary addresses the reasons the conflict has remained unresolved, and argues for immediate action to end the injustice.

A violinist, Thomas Suarez has written about Palestine both online and in print, and is the author of three major works on the history of cartography, and a novella. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of Gaza Mental Health Foundation.

Palestine sixty years later
Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank 2008-2009
Photographs & Observations
Thomas Suárez
Price $18
112 Pages. Softcover. 8.5 x 9.5 inches. Published by Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU), 475 Riverside Drive, Room 245, New York, NY, 10115-0245. Photographs and text © 2010 by Thomas Suárez. ISBN 978-0-578-051

From Middle East Books Reads - http://www.middleeastreads.com/?p=255 -
"Palestine: Sixty Years Later [is] a full bore assault against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, rejecting assumptions of symmetry between Israel and Palestine or presumptions that Israel acts in self-defense.

"Suarez’s... photographs of contemporary Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank are incontestable. They offer an unnerving portrait of a people and a land under an inconsolable occupation... The value of this photo essay lay in its capability to remind its readers that Palestinians are people like themselves,wishing the best for their families, but living under extremely harsh conditions... Suarez’s narrative accompanying the photos provides a powerful indictment against Israel’s practices and ultimategoal of erasing the Palestinian presence."


"A beautiful, evocative book. Suarez’s marvellous photographs capture more eloquently than any words the essence of what it means to live under Israeli occupation. The accompanying text is authoritative and to the point. An aesthetic and educational experience not to be missed." — Ghada Karmi, author of Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine

"[This] extraordinary book of photos and text ... should be read by every American citizen."— U.S. Senator James G. Abourezk

"A moving, fact-filled and insightful portrait of a people under relentless siege."— Norman Finkelstein, author of Beyond Chutzpah and "This Time We Went Too Far"

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