Where the Line Is Drawn by Raja Shehadeh

fragile bonds of friendship, he asks us to consider whether, in the bleakest of circumstances, it is possible for these ties to transcend political divisions and bring those who are considered bitter enemies together to find friendship and to work together for peace.

pRAISE foR WHERE THE LINE IS DRAWN “Shehadeh brilliantly evokes the Palestinian tragedy by way of a complex friendship. This is a fiercely intelligent and honest account.” —IAN McEWAN

“A great inquiring spirit with a tone that is vivid, ironic, melancholy, and wise.” —ColM TóIbÍN

“A courageous and timely meditation on the fragility of friendship in dark times, illuminating how affiliation and love—without pretense or concealment, in defiance of occupation and estrangement—can have a profound political power.” —MAdElEINE ThIEN

Raja Shehadeh is a writer, lawyer, and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists. He is the author of several books, including Strangers in the House; Occupation Diaries; and Language of War, Language of Peace, and the winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize for Palestinian Walks. He has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Granta, and other publications. He lives in Ramallah, Palestine.

THE NEW PRESS

“Anguished and somewhat fragile, he is a man who, in spite of his understandable bitterness, has continued to dream of a future beyond the occupation.” —AdAM ShATz, ThE NATIoN

“This is that rarest of books—a powerful chronicle told with tenderness.” —lorrAINE AdAMS

WHERE THE LINE IS DRAWN RAJA SHEHADEH

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“Raja Shehadeh is a buoy in a sea of bleakness.” —rAChEl KUShNEr

RAJA SHEHADEH

THE NEW PRESS

“In the dark agony of the PalestineIsrael conflict, Raja Shehadeh offers a rare gift: a lucid, honest, unsparing voice. His humanity and wisdom are invaluable. It’s a beautiful book.”

—Claire Messud

www.thenewpress.com Jacket photograph by Bassam Almohor Author photograph © Mariana Cook 2010 Jacket design by Carrie Hamilton

$25.95 U.S.

HISTORY

A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and Fifty Years of occupation in Israel-Palestine

As a young boy in Ramallah in the West Bank, Raja Shehadeh, the author of the widely acclaimed Palestinian Walks, was intrigued by a forbidden Israeli postage stamp in his uncle’s album, and by the tales of the land beyond the border. Little could he foresee then what Israel would come to mean to him when, as a young lawyer and human rights activist living and working under the Israeli occupation, he would fight tirelessly for an end to the land seizures, for peace and justice in the region, and for a country for his people. Over the years Raja became close friends with young Israelis, among them a Canadian Jew named Henry who immigrated to Israel at around the same time that Raja returned from studying law in London. But as the political tension between Israel and Palestine grew, horizons inevitably shrank. It proved impossible to escape politics and history and friendships were increasingly put to the test. Brave, intelligent, and deeply thoughtprovoking, Where the Line Is Drawn chronicles the various crossings Shehadeh has made into Israel over a period of forty years. Plumbing the devastating effect of occupation on even the most intimate aspects of life, Shehadeh offers an unforgettably poignant exploration of Palestinian-Israeli relationships. As Shehadeh traces the impact of the occupation on the (continued on back flap)