Another way than revenge ...

Colum McCann’s novel “Apeirogon”¹, published in 2020, is a moving portrayal of the Palestinian conflict. The novel is divided into 1001 sections and is thus reminiscent of Scheherazade, who tells her story in 1001 chapters. A new one every night to keep her alive.² Colum McCann’s novel calls for reconciliation between the warring parties.

Palestinian Bassam Aramin and Israeli Rami Elhanan meet for the first time in the ‘‘Combatants for Peace’’³ group. Bassam’s daughter was killed in 2007 by a rubber bullet fired at her by an Israeli soldier. She could not be helped in the hospital to which she had been taken. She died without regaining consciousness: ‘There was a commotion outside. A child on the pavement. Blue dress. White cotton blouse. A missing shoe. Niesha knelt down. She knew the girl’s name. She bent down and felt her pulse. – Wake up Abir, wake up. Cries rang out. A crowd of people crowded around Abir. She was unconscious.’’ (p. 296f.)
  Smadar, the Israeli girl, had died in a suicide bomb attack by a Palestinian. Smadar had wanted to become a doctor. Her parents had been convinced that a happy future lay ahead of her: ‘‘On that day in 1997, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the middle of Ben Jehuda Street in the centre of Jerusalem. They killed eight people – themselves and five others, including three girls. One of these girls was our Smadar. It happened on a Thursday at three o’clock in the afternoon. She wanted to buy school books and later enrol in a jazz dance class.’’ (p. 285)
  Bassam’s everyday life is described in the form of a first-person narrative. He was arrested as a teenager for throwing stones. His experiences in prison are described to the reader in detail, as are the daily humiliations and indignities suffered by the Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis: ‘‘They destroy our houses. Accepted. They drive us through the checkpoints like cattle. Accepted. They tell us that we need special permits for things they get for free. Accepted. But in prison I started to think about our lives, about our identity, what it means to be Arab, and that made me think about the Jews as well. By then I knew that the Holocaust was real – it had happened. I initially thought hesitantly about the fact that Israeli thinking and behaviour was probably largely due to the Holocaust, and I decided to find out who these people really were and what they had suffered.’’ (p. 305) In a flashback, the story of the Nakba, the violent expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948, is described and it is also told about peace activists who were killed by their own side.
  Instead of taking the path of revenge, the two men have dedicated themselves to peace and reconciliation. They give lectures in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in Europe, the USA and Australia about the story of their daughters, thus keeping their memory alive and at the same time showing a way out of the spiral of violence. Based on his experiences, Rami Elhanan is also convinced that there is only security for Israel if it grants the Palestinians freedom and treats them with respect: ‘But I am Jewish. I love my culture and my people very much, and I know that it is not Jewish to occupy countries, to dominate and oppress others. Being Jewish means respecting justice and decency. No people should oppress another and live in security and peace itself. The occupation is neither just nor sustainable. And being against the occupation has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.” (p. 296f.)
  Bassam initiates a trial in which Abir’s murderer is accused. He wins the case and receives compensation, but he knows that this will not bring Abir back to him. Her death accompanies him like a dark shadow.
  The novel has an open ending, it ends with Bassam working in his garden and watering the clementines and bitter orange trees. Bassam is convinced that if Germans and Jews have found a way to reconcile, so too can Palestinians and Israelis, if only they want to.
  For anyone interested in the background to the Middle East conflict, this is a worthwhile read.  •

¹ McCann, Colum. Apeirogon, Hamburg 2023. In ancient Greek, apeirogon refers to a polygon with an infinite number of sides. This term is representative of the many sides of the conflict, which are vividly described in the book.
² ‘‘Will it bring my daughter back if I kill someone? No’’. In: Aargauer Zeitung from 21 October 2023
³ Combatants for Peace is a grassroots movement that campaigns for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories in the form of non-violent resistance.