Defending Hope

In her forward to this book, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mairead Maguire, writes: these essays are voices of conscience which remind us that, in spite of so much suffering, the darkness is often pierced by the light of courageous Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders. We take hope when we hear the voices of these extraordinary people.’
The book seeks ‘to refocus attention on the lives and remarkable work of fourteen Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders.’ All have a first-hand experience of what life is like in the occupied territories.
What is the aim of this book? It is to simply state that despite the inexorable chaos and violence, regardless of the incessant injustice and daily indignity, and in the face of challenges and insurmountable odds, some people have not given up hope. ‘Both Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders walk a thin line between hope and despair.’
The book contains a valuable timeline, from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the establishing of the American Embassy in Jerusalem in 2017, and there is a bibliography at the end for further reading. As well as the contributions, there are two sets of photos and some maps. Many of the photos are heart-breaking, as are the contributions. For me, the profoundest and most moving photo was the last one. A Palestinian woman clings to her olive tree after it had been destroyed by settlers. This acts as a metaphor for all those who cling to hope, and who, despite the unrelenting struggle for peace, are not daunted and cling to even the damaged and scarred remnants of hope.

— Fr John-Paul Sheridan, Annacurra, Co Wicklow – Intercom, March 2019