I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
By Izzeldin Abuelaish
Reviewed By Kelly Adams, Biola University, La Mirada, CA
The story of Izzeldin Abuelaish, in I Shall Not Hate, is a humbling account of a Palestinian man who has every reason to hate an unidentifiable enemy, but instead chooses to love all people—regardless of who they are or where they come from. The Forward, written by a Jewish Israeli, is a powerful testament to Abuelaish’s character. In it, Dr. Marek Glezerman tells a story I think is quintessential Izzeldin Abuelaish. The personal anecdote goes that Abuelaish had spent the entire day attempting to travel out of Palestine for a medical conference in Cyprus when the Israeli authorities would not let him board his plane. When explaining this very frustrating experience to his friend, Izzeldin recounted by being “angry only at a specific clerk at the airport, an individual person, not ‘the Israelis.’” Abuelaish went on to say that the clerk “was inconsiderate, he was also misled. He behaved rudely because he did not understand” (xvii.) One of the most impressive qualities about Izzeldin Abuelaish is his ability to separate the individual from the state in which they live. He was able to build friendship across the border because of his willingness to see people as human beings instead of threats or ideologies.
Izzeldin is a Palestinian doctor who worked in an Israeli hospital, which meant crossing the Erez border every week from his home in Palestine to his work in Israel. His message is so profound because he is respected by not only his own people, but by many Israeli friends as well. While reading this book, one trusts the account of Abuelaish because he is beholden to “the light—which is truth,” not political allegiances or national bias. He is a proud Palestinian, to be sure, but he also seems to operate more out of a member of the human family; where peace, security, and freedom are more important than specifics of a new border between two eventual states. What is important that these two people live in peace, side by side.
A large amount of the book is dedicated to recounting his life story and how he came to be a Palestinian working in an Israeli hospital. His childhood was by any measure a hard one, waking up in the early morning hours to make any extra money that he could, while also earning the highest marks in his class at school. Izzeldin Abuelaish’s life is impressive, but I would have liked to hear more about his feelings or ideas on the Israel/Palestine conflict than the intricacies of his life. For instance, he entered politics in 2006, but lost the election to Hamas. I would have liked to hear more about his practical ideas for resolving the conflict diplomatically. The book is an easy read and at times poorly written, but its main purpose is the heart behind his message. In fact, his writing is sometimes endearing in and of itself—there were more than a few times when I could sense him trying very hard not to go on a long tangent, yet not being able to help himself and settling to spew a few somewhat random thoughts on various subjects. All this to say that when reading the book one almost gets the sense that he is telling a story in person instead of writing a well organized book. I found it endearing, some might find it annoying.
The crux of the book really lies in the loss of his three daughters and niece by an “accidental” bombing of his house. His daughters were just as remarkable as he is; also earning the highest marks in school and actively choosing to love peace and abhor hatred. Knowing what Abuelaish recounts about his daughters, it is a truly grievous circumstance that they were the ones to have to die. Abuelaish says more than once in the novel that if his daughters were the last sacrifice on the road to peace, then that will be okay with him. I am amazed that he is able to view this dire situation with such hope. It is people like Abuelaish and his daughters that will tear down the walls of this injustice going on in Israel/Palestine. It is this attitude and posture toward one another that will strengthen the bonds of these two peoples.
While reading this book, I was reminded of Elias Chacour’s novel, Blood Brothers; it is sure to be the next go-to book for a balanced view on the Israel-Palestine conflict. I fully recommend this book to anyone who should desire to understand this conflict from a human perspective.
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