A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
Although a work of non-fiction, this is not a history. If you are interested in the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is not the book.
This is a story of the everyday lives of an extended Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank, whose world is shattered by a school bus accident that results in the deaths of (6) kindergarten students and (1) teacher. Abed Salama is the father of Milad, one of the students killed in the crash, and the book follows the search for his son amidst the segregation and separation that defines the occupied West Bank.
The author is an American Jewish writer who lives in Jerusalem, and though definitely not neutral, he does not moralize or present the complexities of the conflict in black and white. While the backstories of Abed and his extended families are a significant focus, the author also includes several Israelis who are part of the accident rescue attempts. All the participants in “A Day in the Life….” are multi-dimensional, and has forced me to reevaluate my assumptions about the conflict.
This is a heart-breaking story. Is it possible to hold sympathies for victims on both sides, and also see the brutality on both sides? Like many conflicts, there are extremists on both sides, but are we able to look at the everyday lives of both Israelis and Palestinians and see commonality and humanity? Between our polarized politics and the culture wars, Americans are often unable to find the commonality and humanity with our fellow citizens. I know, not very uplifting comments, but this book was not written to spin the conflict, or provide comfort.
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