Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
    I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
    I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
    Audiobook8 hours

    I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity

    Written by Izzeldin Abuelaish

    Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish-now known simply as the "Gaza doctor"-captured hearts and headlines around the world in the aftermath of horrific tragedy: On January 16, 2009, Israeli shells hit his home in the Gaza Strip, killing three of his daughters and his niece.

    By turns inspiring and heartbreaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Palestinian doctor with a degree from Harvard who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (The New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life-as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line; as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East; and, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 19, 2011
    ISBN9781452670423
    Author

    Izzeldin Abuelaish

    Izzeldin Abulaish, MD, PhD, is a Palestinian doctor and infertility expert who was born and raised in Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He received a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, and then received a diploma from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of London. He completed a residency in the same discipline at Soroka Hospital in Israel, followed by a specialty in foetal medicine in Italy and Belgium. He then undertook a Masters in public health (health policy and management) at Harvard University. Before his three daughters were killed in January 2009 during the Israeli incursion into Gaza, Dr Abulaish worked as a senior researcher at Gertner Institute at the Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. He now lives with his family in Toronto, where is associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. His website and foundation can be found at www.daughtersforlife.com

    Related to I Shall Not Hate

    Related audiobooks

    Biography & Memoir For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for I Shall Not Hate

    4/5

    161 ratings47 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Amazing story and very informative on what is going on between Israel and Gaza. Tear jerker and inspirational.
    • 4/5
      A very personal and inspiring tale of perseverance, love, loss and forgiveness. Dr. Abuelaish, who was born and raised in Gaza, tells the story of his childhood and how he came to believe that education and forgiveness were the way out of the poverty and despair prevalent in his community. He reiterates that there is no difference that cannot be overcome by Israeli's and Palestinian's simply getting to know each other one on one and having respect for each other as human beings. It may seem simplistic, but I believe it is absolutely true. It made me think more about elected officials and leaders of countries and political parties. How they seem to have lost sight of the people they are supposed to lead. How pride and power have corrupted most to the point that they are incapable of making decisions that will be for the good of their people, and in fact are very often making decisions to the great detriment of their people. A very thought provoking book and well worth the reading.
    • 4/5
      Dr. Abuelaish's memoir of growing up and living in the Gaza Strip is both a heartwarming and heartbreaking story. Abuelaish overcomes many obstacles to become doctor of obstetrics and gynecology and then marry and start a family. Difficulties living in poverty as a Palestinian are challenged and many times surmounted. Rather than hating Israelis as a group, he builds relationships one-by-one. While making strides in his professional life, he realizes that his beloved family often absorbs the brunt of his frustration and anger. He can not allow himself to get angry with a border guard, however he can fume at his family members. After many successes, three of his daughters are killed in his home by Israelis. Despite this tragedy, Abuelaish will not allow himself or others to blindly hate others.
    • 4/5
      If all people in the Middle East adopted the mutual respect philosophy of Dr. Abuelaish, it would become a land of peace rather than a hotbed of festering hatred. The author writes about life in Gaza, a 25-mile strip of land controlled by Israel where "promises are broken and opportunities are lost." It is also a place where lives are claimed by war and disease. He grew up in a Palestine refugee camp there, a time where he was always hungry and tired from working long hours. But this didn't deter him from excelling in school. That was the only way to escape unrelenting poverty. Through his hard work and determination, the title of Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology was earned and gave him the chance to live in Cairo and London until strong family ties pulled him back to the danger and humiliation of life in Gaza.The book starts out with a picnic on a Mediterranean beach to help heal a broken family after they lost their mother to lukemia. This was followed by the senseless killing of three of the daughters and a niece. Even as Dr. Abuelaish is reeling after the carnage in his home from Israeli shelling, he doesn't seek revenge but asks: "Which Israelis am I supposed to hate? The doctors and nurses I work with? The ones who are trying to save Ghaida's life and Shatha's eyesight? The babies I have delivered? Families like the one who gave me work and shelter when I was a kid?" (206)The author is a man of medicine who makes the conscious choice of spreading his message of healing. This story of his family's tragedy is a way to make people aware of the innocent casualties of distrust and violence and should be must reading for those who share his dream of freedom from hatred.
    • 5/5
      This is a unique autobiography and thoughtful expose of life in the Gaza Strip, written by a Nobel-nominated, Palestinian doctor who is convinced that peace in the Middle East is possible. Some will read this book and decide the author, Dr. Abuelaish, is a dreamer. But then, we have had dreamers all through history who have made an enormous impact on our thinking.Dr Abuelaish shares his personal story of a hardscrabble existence and lifelong perseverance which inspires and lifts up the human spirit. This is truly a book that leads us deep into a searching heart and a soul of wisdom striving to benefit all humanity. Seeking freedom and justice is the infrastructure in the life committment of this remarkable man.Even as an internationally trained doctor working in an Israeli hospital with the great respect of his patients and co-workers, Abuelaish (like all Gazans) is subjected to unnecessary anguish, humiliation and harsh limitations beyond his control. "Fruits such as apricots, plums, grapes, and avocados, even diary products, are suddenly declared nonessential and forbidden to us... The stiffening embargo, the incursions, attacks, and arrests are playing on the psyches of the people. What's worse is that we Gazans don't see the outside world caring much about our plight. That adds to the angst... All this while babies die from malnutrition, mothers bleed to death in childbirth, and an old lady with cancer is held up at the Erez Crossing because someone is trying to teach someone else a lesson."There is unbelievable sadness and violence continuously assaulting this man of peace and his family. It's not pretty. Through it all he practices amazing patience and tolerance. Abuelaish lives his belief that:"Hate is blindness and leads to irrational thinking...Hatred may be reversible if we allow it." This is an alarming and eye-opening book proposing important steps toward peace and human dignity... everywhere. It's worth thinking about. It's worth a try. War, terrorism and extreme hatred/fear is not working. We are compelled to take a hard look at what we can start doing - NOW.Recommended for those who are truly interested in recognizing our human similarities and working towards peaceful co-existence.
    • 3/5
      Average writing. Abuelaish wrote the book with an obvious agenda, an admirable one—but probably because I was already 100% sympathetic with it, I didn't find it challenging or particularly interesting. I also have a hard time identifying with the author. He's a politician and sometimes he writes like one. (And how can he have eight children, and leave them for six months at a time?)
    • 4/5
      What an incredible story. I'd like to thank the author so much for sharing it. I'd also like to thank him for not giving up on humanity as he lived through it.

      I won't provide a complete summary of the book, you can read that elsewhere, but this is the true-life story of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish who tells of his life in Gaza. His life of love and loss from his struggle to educate himself as a child, to gaining his degree in medicine, into fatherhood, to where his life is now. All of this while calling home a country whose borders are controlled by a government who hates him, just because he was born on the wrong side of that border.

      Whether or not you share his faith, or agree with his lifestyle, I hope we can all learn a lesson or two from Dr. Abuelaish, and perhaps also put into perspective some of our own struggles, frustrations, and anxieties.

      This is a First-Reads review of an ARC edition.
    • 3/5
      The author of this book has an amazing story. He grew up in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and against all odds and eventually graduates from medical school. He then works at a hospital in Israel, while continuing to live in Gaza and go through the checkpoints regularly. He loses his wife to leukemia and just over a month later three of his daughters and his niece are killed when Israeli tanks target their home. The author has so much tragedy in his life, but he retains hope through it all and never resorts to hate.
    • 4/5
      Heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.
    • 5/5
      This is an important book. It is inspiring and heartbreaking, true and unbelievable. Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Gaza Doctor , a brilliant ,educated doctor and father of 8, who travels between the Gaza strip and Israel during war. He details what daily life is like He is a one man task force for change for dialogue for peace between the Palestinian people and the Israeli people. Not even the death by a bomb of 3 of his children will he allow hate to enter his conciousness. He holds a lifelong belief that "out of bad comes something good". He sees their death as a foundation for change, a chance to open dialogue between two peoples who are fundamentally more alike then different. His book is a call to all of us to care ,to be aware ,and to affect change. Very powerfull reading.
    • 5/5
      Whether or not you have a particular interest in Palestine and Israel, I beg you, read this book. Dr. Abuelaish is a true inspiration in the struggle for peace in the area, a believer in education and health care and the value of women in society. I am devastated by his loss and amazed by his compassion.
    • 5/5
      I Shall Not Hate smashed away my preconceptions about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I give it a clear five stars, not for its perfunctory three star delivery but for the powerhouse impact that it delivers in the final chapters when describing the death of the author's daughters. I Shall Not Hate opens a window into the world of Gaza that most of us probably don't even realize exists. With patient, matter of fact style, Abuelaish explains the extent to which Palestinians are deprived from the most basic human liberties like freedom to travel to a hospital. He has seen and suffered enough to warrant understandable hatred, yet as a doctor Abuelaish refuses to see monsters. "My core values, which are essentially medical, tell me that people are people."After three of his children and a niece are killed by the senseless shelling of his home by Israel, he writes: "We struggled together, my children and I, and I tried to respond to the chorus of people calling for Israeli blood to atone for the deaths of my girls. One said, 'Don’t you hate the Israelis?' Which Israelis am I supposed to hate? I replied. The doctors and nurses I work with? The ones who are tryng to save Ghaida’s life and Shatha’s eyesight? The babies I have delivered? Families like the Madmoonys who gave me work and shelter when I was a kid?"He backs up this attitude with practical and ground level solutions, including a liberal approach (for Palestinians) to empowering women, who he regards as essential for a peaceful future. Abuelaish was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. I’d vote for him.
    • 3/5
      Quick read, powerful (true) story. Highly recommended. I second what all the reviewers before me have said.But... the cover's got me thinking: photos of the three girls on the beach by their names spelled out in the sand. He relates the incident in the book, it was about a month before they died, they really did write their names in the sand and posed for photographs by the signatures. But... in the Latin alphabet? I would have thought they'd have written their names in Arabic. It's a minor point, but I do feel a bit manipulated.And, a day after finishing the book, I find myself wondering: his account of the Gaza war makes no mention of caring for any injured, other than his children and niece after the shelling. He mentions going for food, but never going to the hospital to help, or to the neighbours to help, or of welcoming anyone into his home for assistance or safety except for family. And frankly, given the rest of his autobiography, that level of modesty would seem out of character. Giving radio interviews, telling what he saw from his windows, this was essential work for peace. But he was trained as a doctor, and people were dying all around him. Was worrying about his fertility patients really the extent of his medical involvement, prior to his own home being shelled?
    • 4/5
      In this heartbreaking (yet strangely uplifting) memoir, Abuelaish relates his life—growing up in poverty in a Palestinian refugee camp, slaving so that he could raise enough money to go to medical school, and his rising career coincident with his growing family. Despite losing 3 daughters and a niece to an Israeli military action, Abuelaish preaches that love, not hate, is required to bring peace. Abuelaish’s story is engrossing and tragic, yet I couldn’t help but think about all of the suffering Palestinians who don’t have a voice. If life is so hard for someone who has powerful connections, what must it be like for those who have no one to help them? This is a must-read for people who think Palestinians are all about terrorism and throwing rocks—people who likely wouldn’t touch the book with a 10-foot pole. It’s also a fantastic read for someone who is sympathetic to both sides of the conflict, but who wants to hear a personal story. I DO wish I could read the story of someone who isn’t highly connected, but this is a fantastic start. And Abuelaish’s enduring message of love make a monumental memoir.
    • 5/5
      An inspirational book. The story of one man's journey from extreme poverty in a refugee camp in Gaza, and proceeding through determination and education and inconceivable family tragedy to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.He now travels the world to spread a message of love which may one day lead to peace between Israel and Palestine.That his experience has made him say "I shall not hate" is a lesson to us all.I particularly like his idea that it is through the empowering and education of womwn in the Middle East that peace will come.
    • 5/5
      It’s not often that we read first hand accounts from a Gazan or Palestinian point of view. Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish was born and raised in Gaza, an area where the occupants have been ruled by three different countries since his birth, none of which have treated them well. I think one of the more powerful scenes was when he was a boy during the Six Day War. He watched Israeli tanks roll in and saw his house bulldozed. In an interesting contrast, he worked in the home of an Israeli family who cared for him and treated him with respect. This duality formed a key aspect of the conflict for him and provided Izzeldin with a possible key to peace. He doesn’t sugar coat either side, but exposes the conditions of the Gazans under the Israeli military. He also discusses at length the stupidity of the Gazan government and how their own squabble cost lives. Even in a violent state, there are a majority who want peace and don’t take any part in the actions of the state or their leaders. He also criticizes a male dominated culture where women are blamed for everything, even infertility. This is one of the reason he gives for his specialty in infertility as an OB, to demonstrate that it isn’t the woman’s fault.It’s that experience as a doctor that furthers his strength for peace. The hospital is a place where humanity can be discovered. He continues to practice in Gaze and in Israel after winning over the doctors with his ability and passion. The doctors embrace him despite the violence, the Intifada, and the discrimination of patients he sees. Most compelling is his personal loss. Three daughters and a niece are killed in a horrific shelling of his house by the Israeli military. He turns that loss into hope and doesn’t allow it to change his heart from peace to revenge. So many do and that fact drives him moreso towards peace, a need to end the violence. It is his hope that his daughters will be the last sacrifice towards peace. A heartbreaking story strengthened by the unwavering desire for peace. He doesn’t hate those that have wronged him. The discrimination, the endless waits at checkpoints, the insults, and even the tragic loss of his daughters doesn’t drive him away from peace. An essential lesson to learn that goes beyond the conflict in the region.
    • 4/5
      Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a man who we all should look up to. Despite the horrific and devastating loss of his daughters, he chooses not to hate. This story will shatter your heart and soul and put it back together again.
    • 4/5
      It has taken me a long time to actually sit down and read this book. Part of the reason was when it first arrived, I realized that I had heard the NPR stories and interviews with the author's oldest daughter when she participated in the Creativity for Peace Camp in the U.S. in 2005. How very sad to learn that her voice is no more.I cannot imagine how incredibly painful it must have been for the author to write this book. Shortly after losing his wife to leukemia, while contemplating the best way to continue to raise his 8 children, suddenly 3 of them are killed by a shell from an Israeli tank while they were in their home.The author describes life in Gaza, from growing up in a refugee camp, leaving as a young adult for his education, then returning with his wife in order to raise their children near their extended family. He communicates the importance of family in a community that is hemmed in on all sides. He describes the routine hassle of commuting to work twice a week through the Gaza border to work as a physician in an Israeli hospital. His writing expresses an unwavering faith that medicine and the language of healing can do more than heal physical illness, but can help to heal the spiritual illness of hatred. And such healing will bring justice for the young women that have been lost to him.
    • 4/5
      When you learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict you learn the facts and the two different peoples involved all seem to be the same on each side and have the same opinion about the other side. This is not the case and this book about a personal journey through life in Gaza really does help to understand that may people want to stop the violence and connect with each other an it is only a few extremists in power who are to blame for the deadlock. Full of positivity in the face of personal calamities, Izzeldin is definitely an inspiration. Sure a few points are repeated and laboured a little here but the message gets through and it is impressive that Izzeldin keeps believing that one day there will be a breakthrough. Important stuff here - if you want to know about the Middle East and the Arab - Israeli conflict then supplement your historical reading with this book.
    • 3/5
      I'd never heard of Dr. Abuelaish, a Palestinian, he recently became well known in Israel after his daughters were killed by Israeli forces. He has a heroic temperament and life story, seemingly able to forgive and accept no matter what abuse comes his way, something the Middle East needs more of. It's outrageous to read of how Palestinians are treated by the Israelis, yet these things can go both ways. Abuelaish message is simple and classic, to just get along because we are all people, brothers, sisters and so on. The book gets a little caught up in politics and preaching a message of peace, but the story of his youth and rise out of the Gaza Strip ghetto is interesting.
    • 4/5
      Dr. Abuelaish is a Palestinian infertility doctor who works in an Israeli hospital. Through hard work and education, he has come a long way from his poverty-stricken childhood in a refugee camp in Gaza. When Israelis attacked the Gaza strip in 2009, a tank shot rounds into his daughters' bedroom, killing three of his daughters and a niece, and gravely injuring more family members. But as Dr. Abuelaish insists, he will not take revenge; instead, he hopes that this will pave the way to true peace, built on mutual respect and understanding of similarities between Palestinians and Israelis.It's impossible not to have respect for this man, who lost three children, yet continues to hold tight to the belief that there can be a better way, that good comes from bad, and that there can be peace if people would come together and begin a dialogue. I was a little more mixed in my reaction to his book, primarily because I know so little of the history of the conflict that I was reluctant to take Dr. Abuelaish's interpretation at face value. His wording is sometimes stilted or repetitive, but this was a much smaller quibble in the face of a passionate cry for change. His description of the events that changed his life and his family's lives forever was absolutely heartbreaking. I admire him for continuing to campaign for peace in the face of personal tragedy.
    • 4/5
      I Shall Not Hate is truly a book worth reading. The raw emotional passion that Abuelaish feels throughout the book is self-evident in this unapologetic, unpolished work about one man's hope for a new way forward for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician, is an advocate that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel need to come together in mutual respect and put the past in the past if there is ever going to be peace between the two countries. The military option has clearly not worked, and the conditions in which the Palestinians are forced to live is beyond harsh, some might even go as far as to say in humane, could make anybody want to seek vengeance. But Abuelaish doesn't see the endless cycle of revenge as an answer even after all the humiliation, and everyday hardships that comes with the tight border controls; even after the tragic deaths of his wife (cancer) and the deaths of his daughters and niece and the hands of the Israeli army, Abuelaish is a fervent believer that the only way forward is through forgiveness and respect. I Shall Not Hate is book that needs to be read by those wanting a deeper understanding of what is at stake in this war and why the world's current solutions won't be enough to bring peace to such a troubled people. Abuelaish's hope for a better future is truly inspiring.
    • 5/5
      Simply, a great book. Izeldin Abuelaish's 'I Shall Not Hate' should be required reading for every young American - truly for young and old everywhere. Beside providing a clear and (I think) fair explanation of the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, it paints a vivid and heartbreaking portrait of life inside Gaza. As a Palestinian doctor working in Israel Dr. Abuelaish became convinced that health and medicine are common concerns for all, regardless of race or religion. His dedication and spirit influenced his coworkers and patients. When the doctor's home in Gaza was bombed, three of his daughters and a niece were killed. His reaction was anger but not hate. Dr. Abuelaish has devoted his life to teaching peace and honoring his daughters' memories. His story is simply told yet immensely powerful.
    • 4/5
      The "Gaza doctor" touched my heart. Not really knowing much about the Gaza Strip, I found this book to be educational and gut wrenching. If you want to read a book about a world we know little about, then read this book. You will see the world differently.
    • 4/5
      Although it did take me longer than usual to feel completely engaged in this book, the last half of the book I found was very good reading. I did feel that it would probably be a goodf idea to read something written by an Israeli to balance this account of oppression and aggresion by the Israeli's targeting the Palestinians. Dr. Abuelaish makes a convincing case for dropping the retaliations and hate that have made this area of the world a war-zone for so many years. He presents a voice of reason and lays a groundwork for peace and co-existance which is so desparately needed there. His own personal losses are so huge they are beyond measure and yet his campaign towards peace continues unwavering. The world needs more people like this man and more books like "I shall not hate".
    • 5/5
      I shall not hate by Izzeldin AbuelaishReviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.By turns inspiring and heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is Izzeldin Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life - as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East. And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis." (Synopsis provided by goodreads)I became interested in this book after I participated in the Holocaust remembrance week, a week that reflected on the tragic time and had an ending message of a much needed peace.This book was written by a man who lost everything even with his daughters being killed in an attack, he vowed to himself not to hate. That says so much about him, to be able to go through that and not hate the person or persons that carried out the attack is amazing.Abuelaish credits his Muslim faith with his ability to not hate, he is calling for an end to the violance and the hatred on both sides of the conflict.His story is both sad and moving, there were many times in this book I cried. The description he paints of the attack is truly one of the saddest things I have ever read. Abuelaish writes in a way that reader feels like they are there with him in his memories seeing what he is describing. I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is a book that should be taught in schools all over the world. I shall not hate is truly one of the best books I have ever read.Overall rating ***** 5 out of 5 starsCover art I liked the cover art.Obtained I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review thank you Michelle.
    • 5/5
      The story is so very tragic and even more inspiring than I could have imagined. Dr Abuelaish is a shining beacon of hope and reason in a very dark world of deprivation, war, and hate. Every person who has any part of the Israeli/Palestinian peace process (or the destruction of it) should commit this book to memory. That goes for other regions plagued by violence too. As for the actual writing, I would have actually given the book a five, but I felt some parts of the text were written while the author was still numb/shell-shocked so the descriptions of the emotional conflicts were not as complete as the reporting of the actual incidents. That could understandably be a coping mechanism when dealing with such a terrible and personal loss, but it detracted just a bit from the power of the story. Overall, I think is a very important story and I would recommend it to anyone. Thank you again Early Reviewers for a great read!
    • 4/5
      Every once in a while you read a book that really sticks with you. I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish is one of those books.Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish has survived more heartbreak and suffering than any one man should ever have to endure. A Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Abuelaish has devoted his life to treating all patients on both sides of the Palestinian/Israeli border. Following the sudden death of his wife from cancer in late 2008, Dr. Abuelaish and his eight children were still trying to piece their lives back together when another tragedy struck. On January 16, 2009, Israeli shells hit his home, killing three daughters and a niece. Yet through it all, Dr. Abuelaish still holds to his beliefs and steadfastly maintains that he will not hate.It's hard to read this book and not think of recent headlines covering the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. When I heard of the latest clashes, I did notice myself truly paying attention to the number of people injured and killed on both sides. For me, this book has forever put a human voice to those casualty numbers we sometimes hear and always quickly forget.This book was difficult to read on many levels, but that should not deter others from reading it. First, as a person who has never traveled to Middle East and has not be raised in the Muslim faith, this book was complicated when it came to names of places and events as well as when trying to understand distances and historical references. I would have liked to have seen many more maps and translation guides to explain the culture and the region. Secondly, this book was obviously very tragic, sometimes beyond words. On sheer human heartbreaking terms, this is a family that lost a mother, three sisters and a niece all within the span of a few short months. However, for all of the difficulties I had reading this book, I would still recommend I Shall Not Hate. As the title indicates, Dr. Abuelaish chooses to live his life as a model for all citizens of this planet. And for that reason, his story transcends politics and religion. His is a human story of what can happen and how each of us has a choice in how we respond.
    • 5/5
      I received a free copy of this book from the LT Early Reviewer program, in return for my willingness to review it. Once I began reading this book, I found it difficult to put down. This is a remarkable book by and about a remarkable man. Dr. Abuelaish has overcome great obstacles, growing up with grinding poverty and oppression in Gaza, and achieved great things. The everyday indiginities he has endured to pursue his education and profession are immense, and his patience in the face of it all is remarkable. Most remarkable is his willingness to forgive even the most grievous of wrongs; his ability to see the good and bad on both sides of a deep divide; his determination to meet each person he encounters as an individual without pre-judging, and his drive to look forward toward the future, rather than lingering helplessly in the grip of past wrongs.I learned a lot from this book about life in Gaza, and about what it means to be a peacemaker in a world filled with too much violence and hate. I hope that someday his dream of peace and reconcilliation between Palestinians and Jews will be fulfilled. An excellent book!
    • 5/5
      What an inspiring and emotional story of this man who lost his 3 daughters in a Gaza attack on his Palestinian home! I have started reading this book not knowing much about the long term conflict in the Gaza strip, and I am glad I did so with a beginner's mind; Dr. Abuelaish' recount and amazingly neutral position in this history of conflict only helped me look at this sad and long overdue political argument through his eyes, free of preconceived ideas, stereotyping and generalizations. As a health care professional, I agree with his view on seeing medicine as a link between people, a bridge that can unite us all. Although his loss is inconceivably sad and unnecessary, it brought to life a book that should be read by anyone. This book reminds us all that truth is always in the middle, and that humanity is about what we all have in common, and not what sets us apart. A brilliant lesson in how to live and love despite all challenges.