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New York Sun – May 24, 2007
NY Rabbis protest appearance of Palestinian author
ELIZABETH GREEN
An author scheduled for two local appearances today - including one at a city college - has outraged some members of the city's Jewish community, who say her book misrepresents Israel's treatment of Palestinian Arabs.
Susan Abulhawa, author of "The Scar of David" (Journey Publications, 2006), is scheduled to appear first at a Kingsborough Community College literature class whose professor made the book required reading this semester. Ms. Abulhawa said she has heard that some faculty members are unhappy with her appearance, but she had not heard from any of them. A spokeswoman at Kingsborough confirmed the appearance, but insisted it is not a college-sponsored event. . .
Ms. Abulhawa, who lives in Pennsylvania, contends the complaints led the Bayside Barnes & Noble to downgrade her planned book reading to a book signing. A Barnes & Noble spokeswoman denied the store had many any change, but said the store has received an outpouring of feedback - about 15 phone calls a day, many negative, and one faxed letter from four local rabbis.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations faxed a counter-complaint, asking that Ms. Abulhawa be given a full reading.
Ms. Abulhawa said the uproar demonstrates a troubling pattern of ignoring the truth about Israel's actions. "It's 60 years of basically ethnically cleansing the native people. . .because they're not Jewish," she said. "That's the story that's missing."
http://www.nysun.com/article/55144
NY bookstore pressured to drop
reading by Palestinian author
On May 21, 2007, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today expressed concern about an apparent attempt to block a reading by a Palestinian author at a bookstore in that state.
CAIR-NY has contacted Barnes & Noble about this issue. A news release issued today by the author’s agent stated:
“The previously announced book reading and signing of THE SCAR OF DAVID by Susan Abulhawa originally scheduled for Thursday, May 24, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bayside, N.Y., Barnes & Noble has been reduced to a "book signing" with no reading to occur.
“In explaining its reasoning, Barnes & Noble expressed several concerns including ‘sensitivity’ to the Jewish Community, space limitations of the store and the author's safety. Prior to the event at Barnes & Noble, Ms. Abulhawa is also expected to appear at Kingsboro Community College (Brooklyn - 4:15-5PM) where THE SCAR OF DAVID was required reading in a literature course this semester.
“The Scar of David is a work of historic fiction which reveals the untold brutal history of Israel's Occupation of a nation as also depicted by the recently released PALESTINE, Peace Not Apartheid by former USA President Jimmy Carter. Set in the lap of one of the 20th century’s most intractable political conflicts, through the course of this story, a Palestinian boy grows up as a Jewish Israeli, tangled in a truth he cannot reconcile, a would-be suicide bomber is given a name, a face, and life of a man pushed to grave limits, an Arab girl of pious and humble beginnings lives the 'American Dream,' and a nation of destitute refugees is forced to live under the general label of 'terrorists.'
“A review by Library Journal states: ‘While some readers might see this novel as anti-Semitic, it is not. Indeed, Abulhawa goes to great lengths to highlight the universal desire of all people for a homeland. Furthermore, Abulhawa’s compassion for American victims of 9/11 and for those who suffered in the Holocaust illuminates what it means to be humane and spiritually generous. The Pennsylvania-based Abulhawa, herself Palestinian, has crafted an intensely beautiful fictionalized history that should be read by both politicians and those interested in contemporary politics. Highly recommended.’ More reviews and a synopsis of THE SCAR OF DAVID may be found at www.scarofdavid.com/reviews
“Susan Abulhawa is an activist for human rights and award winning writer. In 2001, she founded Playgrounds for Palestine (www.playgroundsforpalestine.org), an international charity dedicated to building playgrounds in Occupied Territory. Although her essays are widely published, THE SCAR OF DAVID is her first novel.
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