Raja Shehadeh is the most celebrated Palestinian writer working today. To his surprise, when researching his family history, he discovered a great uncle who had also been a writer entangled with the authorities, and who, like Raja, had dedicated his life to the freedom of the Palestinian people. Najib was a journalist and romantic living in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire. When he voiced his opposition to Ottoman participation in the First World War, a death sentence was put on his head. So he fled, living on the run and off the land for nearly three years. The quest for Najib, the details of his life, and the route of his great escape consumed Raja for two years. As he traces Najib's footsteps, he discovers that today it would be impossible to flee the cage that Palestine has become. A Rift in Time is a family memoir, but it is also a reflection on how Palestine - in particular the disputed Jordan Rift Valley - has been transformed. Most of Palestine's history and that of its people is buried deep in the ground: whole villages have disappeared and names have been erased from the map. Yet by seeing the bigger picture of the landscape and the unending struggle for freedom as Raja does, it is still possible to look towards a better future, free from Israeli or Ottoman oppression.
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Book Description
From the Orwell Prize winning author of Palestinian Walks comes the poignant and revealing true story of his remarkable great uncle's political struggles.
About the Author
Raja Shehadeh is a Palestinian lawyer and writer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights Al-Haq. He is the author of several acclaimed books including Strangers in the House and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing and the winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize for Palestinian Walks (all Profile).
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By loubnani
Format:Paperback
R.Shehadeh's book is a 'must' read for everyone who wants to know what sort of life the Palestinians are enduring under Israeli Occupation. Their life is similar to the life of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghettos.Raja had to travel days and suffer humiliation and harrassment from the Israeli occupier in order to follow the steps taken by Najib Nassar (his great-uncle) who during the Ottoman rule had no problem travelling in the area.A fascinating saga depicting the life of a man who sacrificed his life for the Palestinian cause through his newspaper Al Carmel.He was the first Arab who warned the Arab leaders at the time of the danger of Zionism.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By lakhpath
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A well-written travelogue that goes back in time to the dawn of the Middle East conflict. Draws the reader very gently into the heart and soul of the conflict, without judgement or anger.
An honest and searching account that paints a far more accurate and balanced picture of the situation in Palestine than any of the mass media that we in the West are sadly forced to rely on for our 'news'.
Its a pity this book is not readily available in bookshops.
An honest and searching account that paints a far more accurate and balanced picture of the situation in Palestine than any of the mass media that we in the West are sadly forced to rely on for our 'news'.
Its a pity this book is not readily available in bookshops.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't do politics....perhaps a lifetime in Northern Ireland has been partly responsible for that! My faint knowledge of the Middle East conflict is restricted to vague images of Yasser Arafat and the 80s trend of wearing that little tassled scarf - oh and I can also recognise the Palestinian and Israeli flags as they are frequently flown in Nationalist and Loyalist areas, dare I say, in order to wind each other up...
So, it was with slight trepidation that I picked up A Rift in Time, Raj Shehadeh's memoir of his great-uncle Najib Nassar. Raj is a prominent Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist. He lives in Ramallah on the West Bank, currently under military occupation by Israel. In this book, he retraces his uncle's footsteps during his time on the run from the Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1918. Najib came under suspicion of espionage and treasonable activities as he voiced opposition to the Ottoman participation in World War I and spent three years in hiding in different locations, depending on the generosity of friends and foes alike.
Raj's present day journey, following in his uncle's footsteps, lacks the fluidity of Najib's adventures, given that he is faced with border restrictions, army checkpoints and other physical obstructions. He finds the landscape ravaged by the intensive farming favoured by the Israeli settlers. Villages which welcomed and sheltered Najib back in the 1900s are now wiped off the map, having been razed to the ground in 1948.
I found it useful to have a map of the area at my side especially when Shehadeh was moving through different areas, Haifa, Ramallah, Jericho, Tyre, Beirut, the Jordan Valley as it made it easier to follow his journey and that of Najib. As a result I had a better understanding of the shifting borders and how the political landscape has changed although I remain bewildered as to how around 750,000 Palestinians became refugees and were not allowed to return to their homes. Admittedly, Shehadeh's account has a habit of jumping from one century to another, from one country to another and it can be difficult to keep track of things but then we are dealing with a very complicated situation.
Here is a man who yearns for political agreement achieved by peaceful means and he recognises that the past is important and we can draw lessons from it, but we must also put the past behind us and strive for an egalitarian society.
So, it was with slight trepidation that I picked up A Rift in Time, Raj Shehadeh's memoir of his great-uncle Najib Nassar. Raj is a prominent Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist. He lives in Ramallah on the West Bank, currently under military occupation by Israel. In this book, he retraces his uncle's footsteps during his time on the run from the Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1918. Najib came under suspicion of espionage and treasonable activities as he voiced opposition to the Ottoman participation in World War I and spent three years in hiding in different locations, depending on the generosity of friends and foes alike.
Raj's present day journey, following in his uncle's footsteps, lacks the fluidity of Najib's adventures, given that he is faced with border restrictions, army checkpoints and other physical obstructions. He finds the landscape ravaged by the intensive farming favoured by the Israeli settlers. Villages which welcomed and sheltered Najib back in the 1900s are now wiped off the map, having been razed to the ground in 1948.
I found it useful to have a map of the area at my side especially when Shehadeh was moving through different areas, Haifa, Ramallah, Jericho, Tyre, Beirut, the Jordan Valley as it made it easier to follow his journey and that of Najib. As a result I had a better understanding of the shifting borders and how the political landscape has changed although I remain bewildered as to how around 750,000 Palestinians became refugees and were not allowed to return to their homes. Admittedly, Shehadeh's account has a habit of jumping from one century to another, from one country to another and it can be difficult to keep track of things but then we are dealing with a very complicated situation.
Here is a man who yearns for political agreement achieved by peaceful means and he recognises that the past is important and we can draw lessons from it, but we must also put the past behind us and strive for an egalitarian society.
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