Palestine Is Our Home: Voices of Loss, Courage, and Steadfastness - Paperback

by Nahida H. Gordon (Author)

Palestine Is Our Home contains the memories of Palestinians who have suffered loss of home, community, and country at the hands of a people who themselves have suffered greatly. The suffering and loss experienced by the Palestinians, which they call Al Nakba, continues to today and is aided by countries of the West. In spite of a brutal military occupation of their country, Palestinians have kept their identity as Palestinians and through perseverance have kept their culture vibrant and alive. They continue to build their communities in spite of the daily hardships, humiliations, and death inflicted on them by the military occupation. The book contains a brief contemporary history of Palestine, short essays, first hand testimonies from Palestinians who experienced different periods of their country's painful recent history, and chapters on the liberation art of currently occupied Palestine and on the origins of the traditional Palestinian costume. Sixty-one black and white images - maps, photographs, works of art, traditional costumes, and embroidery - serve to illustrate the narratives and chapters of the book. A discussion leader's guide and a series of questions at the end of each section are provided to aid group discussion and reflection.

Author Biography

Nahida Halaby Gordon, Ph. D., Professor Emerita in Probability and Statistics at Case Western Reserve University, has a deep interest in Palestine which motivated her to serve as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Birzeit University, Palestine, where she also engaged in an exchange program with faculty at the Institute of Community and Public Health supported by a grant she received from the US Congress, Fulbright-Hayes Senior Scholar Program. During Professor Gordon's teaching career, she served on many university and departmental committees and mentored students as thesis advisor at the master's and doctoral level in biostatistics. She authored 97 peer reviewed articles both solo and in collaboration with others in the fields of biostatistics, epidemiology, nursing and medicine; and presented research papers at scientific meetings nationally and internationally. In support of her research, she received grants from the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, and Fulbright-Hayes Senior Scholar Program. She also served as scientific reviewer for these organizations as well as the American Institute of Biological Sciences. She served on the editorial board of the Journal of Immigrant Health and editorial reviewer for various journals in biostatistics and epidemiology. For years, Nahida Gordon, has been engaged in advocacy for peace and justice for Palestine. Currently, she is a member of the steering committees of the Israel Palestine Mission Network and the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns both of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is also a member of the Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East and has served as its president in the past and presently serves on its leadership board. A life-long Presbyterian and currently a church Elder, Professor Gordon, is a Palestinian-American who experienced, first hand, the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. This book, Palestine is Our Home: Voices of Loss, Courage, and Steadfastness, is an expression of her passion for peace and justice for the people of Palestine.