In March 2002, Cathy Sultan, an American who lived through
eight years of Lebanon’s civil war, traveled to Jerusalem and
the West Bank in an attempt to understand the human aspects of
this tragic conflict. There she encountered the barbed wire
and checkpoints that separate Israelis from Palestinians; the
daily, deadly reality of Apache gunships strafing West Ban k
cities, targeting alleged terrorists, and the incessant fear
of suicide bombers.
In Ramallah, she met Palestinians in the al-Amari refugee
camp. She interviewed teenagers, teachers, a businessman, and
Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity
Movement. She visited the Old City and toured Israeli
settlements. She spoke with Israeli soldiers at the Wailing
Wall and spent an evening discussing politics with an Israeli
Army Major.
She visited with scholars and peace activists. She walked down
Emek Refaim Street, the sight of recent suicide bombings,
understanding, from her years in Beirut, the terror Israelis
deal with on a daily basis.
Her interviews with a wide range of people offer sharply
contrasting opinions. Her quest for the experience and reality
of daily life in this troubled land gives a new, impartial and
clearer understanding to this complicated conflict.
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