David Pratt’s “Intifada: a long day of rage” – a book review

My few previous posts have been quoting this particular book for a reason. And that is because I find it excellent.

The only immediate negative point that comes to mind about this book is that if you are not interested in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, then you would probably find this book quite boring. It is essential that you not only have a basic political know-how, but also a geographical one since he mentions the various locations he visits without much description of their relation to one another.

The most enjoyable part of the book is about the first half. The author, being a photo journalist, was in the thick of the second Intifada so it is very much like a first person narrative in a war film. But another less superficial quality is his ability to put human faces to everyone, be they Israeli or Palestinian. This doesn’t necessarily give a non-bias view, but rather a humanitarian one. He had the luck of being able to go to the West Bank and make friends there but also stay in Jerusalem where he got to know Israelis.

The second half is the one that will really test your interests, since it is more concerned with history and historical facts. At times, I can imagine it being quite dry for someone who has just gotten into this issue. It is mainly concerned with the development of the Israeli separation wall, a quick history of Yasser Arafat and the post Intifada period with the rise of Hamas in Gaza.

Overall, the book left me with a message that was not blindly pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. Instead felt like a rational argument for why peace between the two is essential. It also points out the rights and wrongs of the Palestinians and Israelis in general, which should provoke anyone who has “made their mind up and chosen a side” so to speak to think reflectively.

If you want to know the cost of conflict, then this is one of the books to get.

(David Pratt, Intifada: a long day of rage) ISBN – 1-904684-16-5
Sunday Herald Books.