Zieva Lynn Dauber Konvisser

My disappointment with this book is that all of the stories focus on Israeli citizens or individuals who lived or worked in Israel. Several times throughout the book, the author directly named Palestinian citizens as the violent aggressors in the stories. It seems clear that she views members of their society as the terrorists in this conflict. I follow this region of the world very closely and mainstream media seems to hold the same perspective as the author; however, alternative media sources, such as Democracy Now, often report the aggression on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians are affected by Israeli terrorism and violence as well. It is certainly not one-way violence and I wish that the author would have been open-minded enough to include stories from Palestinians who have been affected by Israeli violence instead of victimizing Israel without acknowledging their role in the violence.… (meer)

I found this book really hard to read. It's very detailed about the specific attacks and what it's like to live in perpetual fear of terrorism. I appreciated the candid interviews and it definitely showed me a less stereotypical view of Jewish culture. It doesn't discuss much about the source of the conflict and I think a short summary in the preface would have been useful, though I can understand why the author chose to avoid addressing the issue in light of possible bias. I do think I would recommend this in conjunction with other books on the subject, but I probably wouldn't recommend it as a standalone book for the average reader.… (meer)