Everything We Thought Was Beautiful: Interviews with Radical Palestinian Women

Shoal Collective, a cooperative of writers and researchers that focuses on social justice, gathers interviews with 13 Palestinian women in this illuminating compendium. “The stories of Palestinian women showcase a vibrant tapestry of resilience, defiance, and radical thought,” writes International Solidarity Movement cofounder Huwaida Arraf in her introduction. Diana Khwaelid describes her work as a photojournalist in Tulkarem’s refugee camps, facing tear gas and rubber bullets, while Samah Fadil outlines her experience as an Afro-Palestinian and Lina Nabulsy raises criticisms of the Palestinian Authority: “If people want to end injustice, then we must also end the injustice of the PA.” Ghada Hamdan, who lives on a permaculture farm in “Area C,” which is under full Israeli control, reflects on farming as a form of activism and on the effect of NGOs in Palestine: “If we accept funds even from governments that condemn us and our right to resist, and consider us terrorists, how can we change the reality and the power equation we are suffering from?” Though there are commonalities across the interviews (reflections on becoming politicized under occupation and on the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement abound), the wealth of varied perspectives makes for an enlightening window into the feminist fight for Palestinian freedom. Readers interested in Palestinian liberation shouldn’t miss this. (Oct.)