"Palestine" As An Abusive Utilitarian Exploitation

There is a new book out, "A World I Loved" by Wadad Makdisi Cortas.



Edward Said, referred to in the book as "the scholar" was the husband of her only daughter, Mariam. Likewise, her brother-in-law Constantine Zurayk was the historian who coined the term "Nakba," or "catastrophe". She was born in Beirut which at that time was considered a part of Syria.

Here's from a book review which I find quite relevant to my blog:

...For Arabs like Cortas who believed in a united Arab world free of foreign occupation and colonialism, Palestine was, and remains today, a rallying point. Like many at the time, Cortas grew up when Palestine was the "southern part of Syria" (33). While studying in the US she said of herself and the other Arab students that "Palestine was our common denominator, the core of our thoughts and aspirations" (67). [so, "Palestine" was just something that was needed not for itself but how it could help Arabs, a sort of abusive manipulative exploitation]

At age 18, Cortas traveled to Palestine with her school where she witnessed the active Zionist movement and describes their kibbutzim as being "detached from the life of the area" (39) [but of course, did she expect Jews to become Arabs? we Jews do have our own culture]. She was keen in her understanding that this was happening under the auspices of the British mandate in Palestine, and thus her distrust for Western powers deepened. Like many Arabs at the time, Cortas suspected, that the intentions of the Zionist settlers in Palestine were not entirely pure, noting, "Arms were pouring into the land where Jesus had spoken of peace and love" (39). [because Arabs had already killed Jews with weapons stolen from the Ottomans, the British and were also of the homemade variety: knives, swords, scythes]

Cortas emphasizes the distinction between Zionism and Judaism. She met Jews in the US opposed to Zionism, including a prominent Jewish family in Detroit who told her that "'Judaism is a religion and not a nationality'" (63). Cortas also grew up knowing many Jews in cosmopolitan Beirut who opposed Zionism. Prior to 1948, thriving communities of Jews existed throughout the Arab world [thriving or starving also?]...

...The assassination of a UN diplomat mediating in the Palestine conflict, Zionist aggression at the expense of the Palestinian people, and the failure of the UN or Arab League to put an end to the violence led Cortas to sympathize with the armed resistance movements that emerged in the 1960s. She reverted to her culture to make sense of those who had taken up arms: "'Who taught you to be tough?' goes an Arabic proverb. 'My neighbor who died in suffering' is the answer" (160).

As Palestinian guerrillas led cross-border raids from Lebanon into what became Israel, she writes, "More hope filled our hearts as our freedom fighters crossed the wires and aroused the fear among the aggressors. For me, it was the hope that the aggression would stop, that resistance would command the world's attention and force a just solution to the Palestinian crisis" (153).