A Rebel in Gaza: A Daughter of Rafah Speaks by Asmaa Alghoul and Selim Nassib

"Gaza has always been rebellious... stubborn, addictive. I'm her daughter, and I look like her."

Born in Rafah, raised in Gaza, subjected both to Israeli bombs and to Islamist tyranny, and in the face of prison, death threats, abuse, misogyny, violence, and repression, Asmaa al-Ghoul has continued to speak her truth. She has continued to live and to love, to laugh and to protest. In this moving memoir of growing up Gaza with a hunger for freedom and a passionate attachment to the places she calls home, journalist, writer, and activist, al-Ghoul recounts her lifelong resistance to religious fanaticism, state sponsored violence, and all forms of repression and subjugation. Al-Ghoul has been called "too strong minded," criticized for not covering her hair, derided for ignoring warnings and speaking out against injustice. Her pure, clarion voice is raised wholly in support of dialogue, peace, love, and honesty.

Nothing, it seems, can stop her.

Offering an intimate look into life, politics, and survival in Gaza in recent years, al-Ghoul's A Rebel in Gaza offers readers a nuanced and singular perspective on the current conflict.

Asmaa Alghoul was born in 1982 in Rafah, in a Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Gaza. She was awarded the prestigious Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women's Media Foundation and is described by The New York Times as a woman "known for her defiant stance against the violations of civil rights in Gaza."

Sélim Nassib was born in Beirut in 1946 and currently lives in Paris. He is a journalist for the French newspaper Libération and the author of the novels I Loved You for Your Voice and The Palestinian Lover (Europa Editions).

Year: 2024

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