It’s time for another installment of Voter Literacy, with Traci, where I give you a reading list on a specific topic that is impacting American politics in the lead up to the 2024 election. If there is a topic you want to read about be sure to submit that here.

The events of October 7, 2023 triggered what is now an eight and half month long attack on Gaza from Israel. It has also sparked intense debate and conversation in the United States. Folks are asking themselves what is going on? Who is to blame? Is this really a genocide? How should people protest? What is anti-seministism? What is Zionism? And so much more. I can’t possibly tackle all of that in this month’s column, but I do want to share some books that I think help bring the conflict into perspective. I’ve tried to include a vast array of voices, arguments, and even genres of books, to widen how we read and think about politics, history, and current events.

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall

In 2012, Abed Salama’s five-year-old son Milad Salama was killed in a school bus accident in Jerusalem. In this book about these events, Nathan Thrall, explores not only the day of Milad’s death but the recent history of what life is like for Palestinians in Israel, trying to navigate check points, schools, hospitals, and so much more. This book is both an intimate portrait and a well-reported history of a place and a people. This is an excellent entry point for folks looking to really understand life in Israel for many Palestinians.

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit

From Jewish journalist Ari Shavit, My Promised Land explores the personal and political history of Israel. A perfect blend of individual experiences and geopolitical policies. Shavit asks so many of the difficult questions about the existence of Israel alongside a celebration of a land that means so much to so many.

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi

If you want an incredibly readable and well-written history of Palestine over the last 100 years, this is your book. It offers a critical and expansive look into the decades-long conflict between Palestine and Israel and the ways the United States and Britain have played key roles in the last 100 years of policy and violence. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine offers a broad history that is tied to the author’s family history.

Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick

In this work of cultural criticism, Hill and Plitnick, argue that progressives in the United States have not adopted the same rigorous defense of Palestine as they have with other regressive political policies like immigration, LGBTQIA rights, policing, etc. They explore the relationship between the US and Israel, the attempts to stigmatize any critiques of Israel, the well being of both Israelis and Palestinians, and much more. This is a book about how to engage critically around Israel and Palestine.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn

This collection of essays is not expressly about Israel or Palestine (though there are some essays that touch on Israel), however it is about the psyche and experiences of Jewish people, especially in media portrayals and coverage. The essays explore the way Jews are only centered in their relationship to death. Horn covers topics like Anne Frank, Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Ellis Island, and so much more.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden

Sarah Glidden’s graphic memoir about her time in Israel for a birthright trip is an accessible and visually compelling narrative. This one is for folks who have questions about Israel but who are also okay with the fact that there are no easy answers when it comes to these types of conflicts. It is also great to look at with younger folks (teens and up) in your life who might want a super accessible entry point.

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli translated by Elisabeth Jaquette

A work of fiction that explores the rape and murder of a Palestinian girl in 1949 at the hands of Israeli soliders, and the young woman who becomes obsessed with the crime many years later. This book is the perfect melding of history and creative expression. It is powerful, moving, and a total page turner.

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

The story of one Palestinian family and the wars and conflicts that uproot them over the course of three generations. This is the kind of novel that takes the real world and injects it with details that drive home the personal and emotional costs of war, and the reality that you can never really go home.

The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye

This poetry collection is so unique and inventive. It is written by Palestinian poet Nye, but through the perspective of a Palestinian teenager, Janna Jihad Ayyad. The way Nye draws on language to embody her own experiences alongside those of Janna’s is dynamic, and leads to a collection that enriches the reader’s understanding of what it means to be Palestinian.