Resistance: My Life for Lebanon by Soha Bechara

In 1988, at the age of twenty, Souha Béchara attempted to assassinate General Lahad, chief of militia in charge of Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon. Immediately apprehended, interrogated, and tortured for weeks, she was sent to Khiam, a prison and death camp regularly condemned by humanitarian organizations. After an intense Lebanese, European, and even Israeli campaign in her favor, she was released in 1998.

In a time when special attention is paid to the violent conflicts in the Middle East, and Americans despair of understanding what motivates Palestinian suicide bombers, the story of a secular Orthodox Christian left rebel risking her life to rid her country of occupying forces will resonate with Americans looking to understand why young Palestinian girls blow themselves up in crowded Jerusalem markets.

Finally a book appears which clarifies, in the most personal terms, why the conflict in Insrael and Palestine continues unabated. Coming directly from the voice of a practitioner of armed struggle who was labeled a "terrorist," Resistant
1. Humanizes the most misunderstood side of the situation,
2. Offers an insight into the roots of a complex social problem and
3. Provides a personal memoir of resistance and oppression.

Souha Fawaz Béchara is a Lebanese national. At the age of twenty, Souha Béchara attempted to assassinate General Lahad, chief of militia in charge of Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon. Immediately apprehended, she was sent to Khiam, a notorious prison and work camp. After an intense multi-national campaign in her favor, she was released in 1998. The author of Résistante and I Dream of a Cell of Cherries, she lives in Switzerland.

Gabriel Levin is a poet, translator, and essayist.

Year: 2003

Paperback