Palestine: A Personal History by Karl Sabbagh

From Publishers Weekly

Sabbagh, a writer and television producer of English and Palestinian descent, combines his family history and the political history of Palestine, tracing what he forcefully argues is the much misunderstood story of the resistance and dispossession of 700,000 Arab Palestinians in the face of a European-centered Zionist movement. Sabbagh has a colorful family past to draw on, as the son of Isa Sabbagh, a well-known voice on the BBC's Arab Service in the 1940s and a direct descendant of Ibrahim Sabbagh, unsavory chief minister to Daher al-Omar, a local 18th-century ruler labeled "First King of Palestine." But the personal narrative serves a larger purpose: to underscore the continuity of a predominantly Arab Palestinian presence and culture going back centuries (in contrast to Zionism's biblical claims to the same land). While the narrative also uncovers a century of ill treatment and injustice meted out to Palestinians, Sabbagh emphasizes the long-standing harmony between Arabs (Muslim and Christian) and the small indigenous Jewish population in Palestine, including many acts of solidarity amid growing tensions. Carefully researched and engaging, his memoir offers a vital yet unfamiliar perspective on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a heartfelt, judicious invitation to dialogue. (Mar.)

This account tells two intertwined stories: a political history of ancient and modern Palestine, and a genealogical narrative about the author's ancestors and their connectedness to their land. Vacillating between the two, veteran television journalist Sabbagh presents a uniquely intimate portrait of a vibrant land that has always known conflict but, for its people (including both Jews and Muslims), has nevertheless provided continuity, pride, and especially identity. Sabbagh's ancestors play a prominent role in this history: his distant ancestor Ibrahim was a court counselor (albeit a miserly one) to influential eighteenth-century ruler Daher al-Omar al-Zaydani; Sabbagh's father, Isa, was a prominent BBC broadcaster on Palestinian affairs. Although Sabbagh's account closes in 1948, much of this book directly challenges Israeli action since then, and in this regard the author pulls no punches. As politically assertive as it is personal, Sabbagh's effort is clearly inspired by Edward Said, who also recognized the importance of personal and political narrative in his advocacy for Palestinian rights. Brendan Driscoll