A Zionist among Palestinians offers the perspective of an ordinary Israeli citizen who became concerned about the Israeli military’s treatment of Palestinians and was moved to work for peace. Hillel Bardin, a confirmed Zionist, was a reservist in the Israeli army during the first intifada when he met Palestinians arrested by his unit. He learned that they supported peace with Israel and the then-taboo proposal for a two-state solution, and that they understood the intifada as a struggle to achieve these goals. Bardin began to organize dialogues between Arabs and Israelis in West Bank villages, towns, and refugee camps. In 1988, he was jailed for meeting with Palestinians while on active duty in Ramallah. Over the next two decades, he participated in a variety of peace organizations and actions, from arranging for Israelis to visit Palestinian communities and homes, to the joint jogging group “Runners for Peace,” to marches, political organizing, and demonstrations supporting peace, security, and freedom. In this very personal account, Bardin tries to come to grips with the conflict in a way that takes account of both Israeli-Zionist and Palestinian aims.
Editorial Reviews
Review
A compelling, thoughtful, and honest examination of a complex situation from a powerfully conscientious peace activist.
― ForeWord Reviews
[A]s a panoramic view of . . . peace efforts by citizens on the ground during this turbulent period, Bardin’s book allows the reader some wonderful insights.
― National Catholic Reporter
A Zionist Among Palestinians is a testimony to the effort to bring about change, to educate Palestinians and Israelis about one another, and to touch them one at a time.
― Jewish Book Council
Review
Will have special resonance for many Jews, Muslims, Arabs, and others, both inside and outside the Middle East, who have been exposed to efforts at dialogue, discussion, and rapprochement between everyday people, but whose efforts and voices are lost in the din of ongoing violence, brainwashing of fear and hatred, and media-loving political grandstanding. [Bardin] provides a rare first-hand account of dialogue and joint-action efforts on the ground between Israelis and Palestinians [and] brings to light unknown grassroots episodes that illustrate both the hopeful potential for coexistence and the huge obstacles that continue to plague these well-intentioned efforts.
— Neil Caplan ― author (with Laura Zittrain Eisenberg) of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace
Book Description
One man’s odyssey as an activist for peace and justice
About the Author
Born in Mandatory Palestine, Hillel Bardin is a founder and former board member of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Rapprochement Dialogue Center, and the Jerusalem Information Center, and he has served on the board of Defense for Children International. A founder of the Shlom Yerushalayim Party, he was its authorized representative in the Jerusalem Municipal Council.
Hillel Bardin has been a well-known and pioneering figure among the advocates of nonviolence in Jerusalem, advocating dialogue and bottom-up peacebuilding. His effort to work for nonviolence while wearing the Israel Defense Force uniform has been truly unique. . . . Looking around the region at present and seeing the empowerment of civil society in popular demands for regime change, it is difficult to predict their impact on Israel. . . . A one-person enterprise, like that of Hillel Bardin, cannot provide a full answer, but it remains a strong source of inspiration.
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