In This Place Together: A Palestinian's Journey to Collective Liberation

Conflict in the Middle East has been ongoing for decades and at the center of this conflict is the dispute between Palestinians and Israelis over the latter’s occupied territories. There have been disagreements, frustrations, and violence on both sides and one man who is fighting toward a two- state, peaceful solution is activist Sulaiman Khatib. His journey toward peace is detailed in the pages of this book, In This Place Together.Khatib’s story is told by Penina Eilberg- Schwartz, an American- born writer who herself is also an advocate for a peaceful solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. She includes personal details and through her storytelling, you get to learn more about Khatib on an individual level. You get to know more about his family and their struggles with the occupation. You also get to learn about things you would rather forget, like the beatings and intimidation that Khatib faced while he spent more than a decade of his young life in prison, the result of an attack on Israeli soldiers.The personal growth and transformation of Sulaiman Khatib from a practitioner of violence to a staunch advocate for peace is easily the book’s strongest point. After his stint in prison and eventual release, Khatib embarks on a quest to learn more about the people he was once convinced were his enemies. He learns about their history, their religion, their hopes, and their dreams. Like many who take the time to educate themselves, he discovers that many of the stereotypes he once held, the biases he once felt, and the other obstacles toward understanding are not as true as he thought. These other people, once deemed hopelessly incorrigible are, in fact, not much different from the people in his own group. They share similar hopes and dreams. They want peace and prosperity. They want to live day- to- day lives free from violence and uncertainty.Once transformed, Khatib sets out to involve himself in the peace process. He co- founded Combatants for Peace, an organization that brings together people from both sides of the conflict who share a common goal: A peaceful, two- nation solution to the Israeli occupation. These closing sections of the book present some of the partners in the organization and their efforts to work toward peace. The change process, as everyone knows, is quite slow and more than once Khatib is forced to deal not just with Israelis who feel the land belongs to them, but also with fellow Palestinians who are skeptical of his partnership with people whom they feel are still the enemy. There are extremists on both sides, and Khatib is tested more than once on his ability to remain calm and determined under pressure as he meets with different activists and travels the world on a quest for peace.This book gives you a feeling of hope. There will always be middle east naysayers who confidently predict that peace will never come to this region. But after reading In This Place Together, even the most stringently rigid pessimist will come away with a change of heart, however small the change may be. People can make a difference and good things can happen, as Sulaiman Khatib has proven again and again.

This book! How incredible to be reading it while bombs and rockets are flying in the latest iteration of the Is-Pal conflict. While we wring our hands and exhale for the ceasefire, we all know that the roots are still there ready to re-sprout the next season. Souli and Penina's book, through the arc of his unusual story of emerging from violence, jail, and torture, to yearning for a different path, to be the one to breathe cycle, gives us a window into a "journey to collective liberation." Seriously. If we could only have the courage and love and openness to forgive and connect and see people beyond their religion, nationality, government, history, or even their actions.I've known Souli for many years and the qualities that strike me each time I encounter him are his huge heart and his authenticity. He feels so deeply and he wants to get to the root of things, to what works, to what is effective--even if it means he has to confront the Other, himself, his own community, and entrenched notions on all sides. For this reason, he stands out to me as both a pioneer and a peacemaker.Penina is a master storyteller and one can only imagine the deep understanding and connection to this story and its themes she had to embody in order to tell this story. What a labor of love.This book is a gift to each person who picks it up--and to our world. It will move you and inspire you and open your eyes to the hope of how to move forward in this conflict (and any conflict!) and also the courage and deep love it will require to do so.Deep bows of gratitude to all those who had a hand in bringing this story to light.

This book should be required reading for every Israeli and Palestinian high school student. It cuts through all of the politics to present a narrative that shows the consequences of a conflict whose root causes are so contentious. The book focuses on the story of Sulaiman (Suli) who at 14 starts feeling the pangs of his nationalism. His only outlet for those feelings lands him as the youngest political prisoner in an Israeli military jail. He is robbed of his childhood, but not of his humanity.The book delves deeply into Suli's tranformation in jail. How he turns the humiliation of jail into a triumph of on-violence. How he spends his time in jail learning English, Hebrew, philosophy, and becomes an enlightened and inspiring man.The book is also a great chronology of the creation and evolution of Combatants for Peace, an amazing bi-national group of former Israeli soldiers and Palestinian prisoners working on-the-ground to change hearts and minds.Incredibly well written, poetic, and inspiring.

I've known Souli (Sulaiman's affectionate nickname) for more than a decade thanks to our overlapping peace and justice work in Israel/Palestine. I've long admired his commitment to his people, his commitment to nonviolence, and his commitment to a vision awaiting us. When I read the introductory notes from the two authors, it was like I was sitting in my living room with them over a delightful conversation, hearing them describe the journey they took together as co-authors of this book. This is a book I've eagerly awaited, one I definitely recommend picking up.

What a powerful, moving and compelling book! In This Place Together should be required reading for anyone who cares about the intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is the story of transformation of a young, angry, and violent Palestinian into a mature former prisoner locking arms with former Israeli soldiers to embrace a peaceful resolution and a shared positive future for all who inhabit what we call the Holy Land.

This profound and poetic book charts Sulemain's journey from childhood through prison, through his years in service of peace and reconciliation. Most importantly, it charts how he gradually wakes up to the many dimensions of the situation, and the inner process and challenge of holding so many perspectives.