Our April Selection

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy

We hope you enjoyed our first foray into fiction as we read Jesmyn Ward’s brilliant Let Us Descend over February and March. Yet as we read, and as some of our posts reflected, we could not remove ourselves or our thoughts from the ongoing tragedy that continues in Gaza and to the Palestinian people.

This week, I have been haunted by the video of Israeli soldiers targeting and dropping missiles on four Palestinian men (possibly boys) who were simply walking among the rubble that used to be their homes, completely unaware of what was to come. The brutality of this, as two of the men who were not instantly killed tried to run only to be targeted and destroyed, is like nothing I’ve ever seen and nothing I will ever be able to forget. There is simply no rationale that can be applied to this level of cruelty - there is no “But Hamas…” excuse that can justify this.

As we continue to witness the tragedy unfurling around us, we want to continue to grow in our understanding of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and the recognition that our abolitionist dreams will never be realized until the liberation of Palestine is a reality. This month’s selection is A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, by Nathan Thrall. In this investigative account of a tragic school bus crash that occurred just outside of Jerusalem in February 2012, Thrall follows one Palestinian father as he searches for his 5-year old son who was on the bus, while also weaving in the historical context necessary to understand why this search is so difficult given the physical and legal boundaries that constrain the movement and shape the lives of every Palestinian.

As we read over the course of this month, we also plan to integrate some of the brilliant new pieces from Hammer and Hope’s Spring 2024 special edition on Palestine into our weekly posts. We hope you’ll read these pieces along with us as well, as we highlight some of the brilliant thinking and writing reflecting on the current tragedy and the need for us all to continue to move forward in solidarity.

We know that the works we’re focusing on, and will likely continue to focus on, do not serve as a distraction as some book clubs might, but we also know that distraction is what the forces inflicting this genocide hope for and depend on. We appreciate each of you who continue to read and grow with us, and we look forward to sharing all we’ve learned this month when we meet as a collective on Tuesday, April 30. For now, save the date, pick up your copy of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, and take a look at the new issue of Hammer and Hope. We look forward to hearing your thoughts throughout the month.

In solidarity,

Alan & connease

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