Reflections from Palestine

Absolutely beautiful story of life as a Palestinian. The Author was educated in the U.S., is a Christian and is a leader in the quest for peace, women's rights and the return of Palestinian land. If you are looking for an inside perspective on what it is like to be a Palestinian, this is a good read.

Enjoyed reading the book. It sheds light on the difficulty of an Arab Christian living in occupied Palestine. How the people were and are still treated today.

It is a wonderful book by a person who writes from years of grim experience. The theme of hope in spite of the hopelessness Palestinians have to live with day by day is a powerful one but it has always been a theme of Samia's life. I have gained much from knowing her and reading her writings. IN spite of the terrible things she recounts, most of which I have heard from her in person, she shows no desperation but hope, hope, hope. Her life inspires all who know her. It has been a privilege to know her and to learn from her example.

This book is a must reading for every American who seeks a clear understanding of the questions "why they hate us", and "why 9/11."

It is a factual record of the living hell under occupation by Israel who needs to "defend its loot" from, and continue with its ravaging and dispossession of the indigenous population under any and all pretenses, until the demise of the last person standing in their way. This is done with the support of our government, financially, media deception, and control of our foreign policy.

To wit the great wall on Arab lands, atomic arsenal, Israelis jails (Stys). "Targeted killings," Peace process, checkpoints, plundering, murders, snipers, tanks, F15s, drones, olive tree uprooting, house demolitions, the list is endless.

We Americans condone all in the name of "democracy for Jews only." Does anyone see a contradiction in terms here.
Our interest in the Arab oil fields is also our top priority. The pain is on all sides. It is a delightful bio told with tranquility.

Two thumbs up.

Among the many stories Samia tells us, the one that may explain why she still can smile after so much misery is the story of Josef Ben Eliezar who had been an Israeli soldier in 1948. Samia tells us of the day Mr. Eliezar spoke to hundreds of international and local Christians attending Sabeel's 7th International Conference "NAKBA: MEMORY, REALITY AND BEYOND". Mr. Eliezar spoke about 1948 and the part he played in the expulsion of the Palestinian population from Lydda and of robbing them of their money and personal possessions.
Samia writes, "Josef could not live with the reality of that day in July 1948. He realized that what he had done to the Palestinians was what the Nazis had done to his people and to his family before he emigrated from Germany to Palestine after the Holocaust. The inhumanity of that war, which as a Jew he had believed was a war of liberation and independence, haunted him until he eventually left the country and settled in Europe.
"I was so moved that I stood up and recognized his courage, thanking him for his testimony and assuring him that we do forgive him... Maybe Samia smiles because she does just that- and she believes in her "dream that could still be realized if the Jewish people would ponder and act in accordance with the words of their great prophet Micah:

 'What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.'"