Resources about the Israeli / Palestinian Conflict

Yesterday, I reviewed Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood, Ibtisam Barakat's gripping account of her childhood growing up on the war-torn West Bank.

As I mentioned in my review, found here, I found myself wishing to know more about the history of the war and of the long, ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. But given the fact that Barakat stayed with the viewpoint of a young child, that kind of information just wouldn't have worked in this particular book. After reading the book, your children and students will be likely to have questions about the war and the continuing conflict that has been ongoing for decades.

Not surprisingly, I had difficulty finding neutral websites that stuck to the facts, but I did manage to find a couple here:

Social Studies for Kids This site gives a basic overview of the conflict.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in a Nutshell A more detailed overview, with lots of links for more information.

In addition, in the back of the book, Barakat gives recommendations for books, websites, and films where you can learn more about the history. I'm most intrigued by these books:

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis
From booklist: " 'They murdered my friend.' Growing up separate and apart in a world of bombs, bullets, removals, checkpoints, and curfews, 20 Israeli and Palestinian young people talk about how the war has affected them. The author of Parvana's Journey (2002) and other novels about children in Afghanistan moves to nonfiction with 20 stirring first-person narratives by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim young people she interviewed in 2002. An accessible historical overview that is fair to all sides leads off, followed by brief individual profiles of the kids, which include a small photo, and the words of kids, who are traumatized, angry, hopeful, hateful, despairing, brave."

The Flag of Childhood: Poems From the Middle East by Naomi Shihab Nye
Book description from Amazon: "In this stirring anthology of sixty poems from the Middle East, honored anthologist Naomi Shihab Nye welcomes us to this lush, vivid world and beckons us to explore. Eloquent pieces from Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, and elsewhere open windows into the hearts and souls of people we usually meet only on the nightly news. What we see when we look through these windows is the love of family, friends, and for the Earth, the daily occurrences of life that touch us forever, the longing for a sense of place. What we learn is that beneath the veil of stereotypes, our human connections are stronger than our cultural differences."


Barakat also mentions the organization, Seeds of Peace. From the site: "Founded in 1993, Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence." It's well worth checking out.

These links, along with Tasting the Sky, will help your child learn more about the conflict between Israeli and Palestine and help put a face to the stories we read about and hear on the news.

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat

Nonfiction Monday!

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (February 20, 2007)
Language: English
Source of Book: Review copy from publisher

Winner of the 2007 Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction book, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood is Ibtisam Barakat's memoir of her childhood growing up on the war-torn West Bank.

The story begins in 1981. 17-year-old Ibtisam is on a bus heading home to Ramallah when Israeli soldiers board the bus and order the driver to take the passengers to a nearby detention center. It is here when we first get a glimpse into the fear that has consumed Ibtisam's life for nearly 15 years since the 6-day war of 1967.

As Ibtisam is released unharmed and safely returns home, she takes us back to that day in 1967 when the war was declared. What was a normal day soon turns to terror as three-and-a-half year old Ibtisam, her family, and neighbors are forced to flee their homes. In the rush to get away, Ibtisam doesn't have time to put on both shoes and somehow loses her family and her other shoe. She miraculously finds her family after walking quite a distance barefoot. Her feet are injured, but they must continue onto Jordan where they've been granted refuge.

We see the next four years of Ibtisam's life through her eyes--the eyes of a child dealing with the realities of war. We see her parents struggle to protect their children, to keep their family together, and try to maintain some semblance of normalcy. They do have happy moments but are often reminded that the life they once led is gone, that Ramallah is occupied by Israeli soldiers, and that they must always be on guard.

A gripping and emotional story, I was drawn in from the beginning and had a difficult time putting the book down. As I was initially reading, I felt I wanted to know a bit more about the history of the war and what was going on politically, but then I realized that Ibtisam Barakat was intentionally leaving this information out because she was telling us the story from a child's point of view. It simply wouldn't have worked if she would have added more historical information aside from the brief note in the beginning. All we see is how a child tries to grip with what's going on around her, and she sticks to this point of view throughout the entire story.

It also helped me put a face to war and to the innocent people and children who live in war-torn countries. It also made me realize that regardless of where you're from or what happens in your life, we all have the same emotions. Kids will be able to relate to this book even though they may not have had the same experiences.

I recommend this book to everyone, not just children, and I hope it's not the last we hear from Ibtisam Barakat.




Check out more nonfiction books at Picture Book of the Day.