Book Review: I Shall Not Hate

Justin Dalrymple

Muslim/Jewish/Christian Relations

Professor Judith Rood

Book Review #3: I Shall Not Hate

Word Count: 877

I Shall Not Hate

Izzeldin Abuelaish is my hero. I read I Shall Not Hate a few weeks ago and a bit more than 24 hours after I had picked it up, I had finished it. However, I needed time to process its contents and decided to wait a short time before writing my review. This book has had a tremendous and profound effect upon me. Now, whenever anybody mentions the Israeli/Palestinian conflict or the Arab/Israeli conflict, Izzeldin Abuelaish comes immediately to mind. His story sticks out in the midst of these conflicts like salt in an open wound. I cannot imagine how any man could go through so much pain and turmoil, and yet, though he would have the right more than any other man, he cannot hate. Or maybe more precisely, will not hate. A modern day Job, as he refers to himself, this man has denied his rights to hate for the benefits of him, his family, his people, and Israelis. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian refugee from the Gaza Strip, a doctor, and a Muslim should be a model for anyone who wishes to overcome severe adversity and who wishes to co-exist peacefully with their enemies.

As I mentioned above, Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip with an incredible story. He was born among a Muslim family in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. His family, the Abuelaish’s, left their homes during the 1948 war with Israel to avoid the fighting, expecting to return a few weeks, or at the latest, months. However, the weeks became months, and months became years, but they were still unable to return. Izzeldin remarks that he still has the deed to their land.

This was just one of the numerous hardships that affected Izzeldin and his family. Growing up Izzeldin tells of the difficulties that he faced living in the Jabalia refugee camp. He, his many siblings, and parents lived in a small single room house. They were extremely poor, and while Izzeldin was just a child, his mother would wake him up very early in the morning to take food to the market to sell just to earn a little money. This meant that he was extremely tired when it came time to go to school. The lack of adequate rest and the stress of waking up early to work and still do well in school took its toll on his body. A few years later, he said, he developed severe arthritis in his knees.

It would’ve been easy for Izzeldin to give up and allow these difficulties to overcome him. Yet, he saw a way to overcome his hardships through education. He was a brilliant student and his parents pushed him very hard to earn good grades. Despite the lack of sleep, he put in a lot of hard work and ultimately managed to get top grades in class. This was often the result of staying up until late hours of night doing homework in a corner by firelight with a blanket up to prevent the light from flooding on his sleeping siblings and parents.

As a result of his good grades he earned scholarships to study medicine in Cairo. He was the first in his family to attend university, and after a few years, the first to become a doctor. Immediately afterward he began searching for jobs and ended up accepting a job working in an Israeli hospital. This meant traveling and crossing the checkpoints between Gaza and Israel. These were always a painful process since they were sometimes closed with no warning which left him stuck on one side or the other. He, also, often had to spend a whole day just to get through.

As you can see Izzeldin had a rough life and things began to get a lot worse for him when his wife, Nadia, died suddenly from acute leukemia. His tribulations climaxed on the evening of January 16, 2008. During the Israeli invasion of Gaza tanks came down the road that their house was on. While he, his children, and his niece were inside, one of the tanks parked outside and aimed at his house. Frightened, Izzeldin called one of his media contacts in Israel and warned him what was happening. His friend called the IDF and told them who was inside the house that they were targeting. The IDF assured Izzeldin’s friend that they would leave. They did not, however, and a little while later they opened fire. The three blasts struck one of the rooms of his house where his three daughters and niece were hiding. None of them survived.

Yet, Izzeldin Abuelaish stands by his resolution to never hate. I’m not sure I could ever say I could do the same. I hope and pray that I would be able to, but I’m not sure I could. This is why I admire Izzeldin so much—the strength that he shows in his will not to hate is greater than I could ever imagine. I admire his strength, courage, and bravery, and I pray that God would give others in similar situations the ability to do the same.