On the Flip Side

I am continuing my journey into the Middle East with a book called "Mornings in Jenin" by Susan Abulhawa. I'm about a third of the way through, and can hardly put it down. And I must admit, I was somewhat reluctant to pick up this book to begin with. As an Israeli citizen, and someone with a strong love for Israel and pride in my culture and heritage, I knew it would be hard for me to relate to a book told from the perspective of Palestinian refugees in Jenin. Maybe "relate" is the wrong word. I guess I knew it would be hard for me to swallow. Things would be said that I would definitely have a strong reaction to. You would think in all my time as a Lit major, reading so many books, I'd be exposed to different perspectives and be comfortable with that. And yet that slight hesitation I had in even beginning this book shows me that I have a long way to go. Life is a constant process of learning to deal with discomfort, and deciding what to do with that discomfort. Yes, this book might make me uncomfortable. And yet it is in this discomfort that I'm learning to open up, to truly see through another's perspective and experience, and to question. To try to be on the flip side of a land I love, and understand, without guilt, without judgment,without answers, another's experience of this same land.

And yet I do relate. I relate because of course this book is about Israel but it is also about the core essential humanness that is not bound by any one artificial geographical locale, or culture, or ethnicity, or religion. It is about family and parenting. It is about seeing and witnessing. It is about the secrets we hold and never tell, the sacred and secretive spaces we carve out for ourselves. The private versus the public self. This is a story about the notion of the "enemy", an amorphous term that is often heard but cannot be seen. Or even named. It is about what the brain does when the heart can no longer take it anymore. The way we cope when we feel so much pain our bodies cannot comprehend it. Whether this occurs during war, or peace, in the heart of a young Palestinian girl named Amal or a Jewish woman born in Israel with her own demons to battle, whether it occurs in you or me, is almost of no significance other than the artificiality of plot. Yes, I can relate. And I am so glad this project forced me to pick up this book. There are so many themes I want to explore, as well as comparisons/contrasting with the last book, "A Girl Made of Dust". Next time I hope to address the recurring theme of parenting and the maternal/paternal relationship, and perhaps will touch on some more important themes. Until then...on the flip side...