Episode Details

For the next few weeks, most of my book events for Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza are outside the US. You’ll find a list of book-related events below.

I’m happy people are reading my book. But I know that many talented Palestinian authors don’t get the same attention. So, I hope people who buy my book also buy one by a Palestinian author. For instance, Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestine Lives and Culture, edited by Mahmoud Muna and Matthew Teller with Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia.

I hope readers also donate to people in Gaza. For instance, Hossam and Mariam Alzweidi, who were severely injured along with their four children by Israeli bombs and have been displaced ten times since October 7th. They’re trying to raise the money to seek medical care in Egypt. Their GoFundMe page is here.

Here is a message from Hossam, sent by his sister Abir, last Wednesday:

Yesterday, I received an invitation from the Palestinian Authority for Development for my children to attend recreational activities and psychological support sessions. My 9-year-old daughter, Malak, and her neighborhood friends were overjoyed—finally, a chance to play and feel like children again after days in shelters.

Tragically, at 11:30 AM, the site was bombed by an F-16. The blast shook our neighborhood. Malak and the other children ran in terror to escape the shrapnel. In the chaos, Malak fell, injuring her arm. She now suffers from a deep bruise and severe joint pain.

Hospitals are overwhelmed, and care is delayed as medical staff attend to the most critical cases. We wait with patience and faith, hoping Malak’s condition will improve soon.

Please keep Malak—and all the wounded children—in your prayers. Your continued support means everything to my family. Even in fear, we hold on to hope. Together, we will survive this war and one day heal and rebuild.

Friday Zoom Call

This Friday’s Zoom call, for paid subscribers, will be at a special time: 12:30 PM Eastern. Our guest will be Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor of law at UCLA and one of America’s preeminent Islamic scholars. He’s also a passionate critic of authoritarianism in the Muslim world who has paid a significant price for challenging tyrannical regimes. I recently had the privilege of appearing alongside him in a discussion about Jewish and Muslim obligations in the wake of Israel’s destruction of Gaza. I felt I was in the presence of a profound religious voice.

After this Friday, we will take a break. There will be no newsletter on Monday, May 19 and no Zoom call on Friday, May 23, as I’ll be travelling in Australia. We will resume on Monday, May 26 and Friday, May 30.

Book Tour

(We’ll update this every week.)

On Monday, May 12, I’ll be speaking at Parkdale Hall in Toronto.

On Tuesday, May 13, I’ll be speaking at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation.

On Sunday, May 25, I’ll be speaking with Debbie Whitmont at the Sydney Writers Festival in Sydney, Australia.

On Tuesday, May 27, I’ll be speaking at the Wheeler Center in Melbourne, Australia.