The book "The Separation Wall" deals with the wall that exists between the Jewish and Palestinian diaspora communities, where mistrust, hostility and hatred are common.
When the first edition was published on October 3, 2023, none of us could have imagined the massive torrent of events that would explode four days later. No one expected that Israeli-Palestinian discourse, so polarized and divisive, was about to become even more toxic and dangerous. It seemed that no one in our society was immune from this: universities, councilsSchools, workplaces, places of worship, family dinners, and among friends.
The wall that was in place before October 7, 2023, is now deeper, bigger and wider. For many diaspora Jews and their supporters, the need for and defense of Israel is greater than ever after the atrocities of October 7. For many Palestinians in the diaspora and their supporters, the need to expose and end decades of oppression and displacement against Palestinians has become more acute than ever.Ever since the devastation of Gaza.
This new edition of The Wall explores the many shifts in narratives, loyalties and political priorities that have occurred in Western societies. The authors explain the importance of the growing awareness of the Palestinian narrative they encountered while traveling across North America; The pros and cons of the left’s embrace of the Palestinian cause; How Jewish communities struggled to maintain their Judaism and Zionism together, and how many young Jews united around the cause of justiceFor the Palestinians in a way we have never seen before.
The book “The Separation Wall” encourages all of us who care about Israelis and Palestinians to resist retreating deeper into their tribal isolation, but rather to get out “behind the wall” and resist together in a new direction, guided by shared values of justice, equal rights and dignity for all.
