"The Lemon Tree": Neutral Perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, is a book that explains the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in precise detail. It gives two points of view, one from a Palestinian, Bashir, that used to live in the town of al Ramla in present day Israel before the expulsions, and a Bulgarian Jew, Dalia, that emigrated to Israel and now lives in the house the Bashir and his family were forced to flee. I went to Borders two days ago to pick up a copy of this book and it took me about half an hour to find it after the employee said it was misplaced. But in the end I was determined to read it as it caught my interest when I was browsing for books online. This is a neutral book, until now at least.. I am on page 142, about halfway into it. All the facts are there and the author is following the story of these two individuals. This book is totally and completely nonfiction. I love the amount of detail the author uses, and that I am glad that he depicts everything that happened and the sad events of all the innocent Palestinian families’ expulsions from their homes, and their forcing of living as refugees in their own land. When I am finished with the book, I will put up my own review and a summary. So far, it is highly recommended by me. This is the exact description on the back cover of the book:

In 1967 Bashir Khairi, a twenty-five-year-old Palestinian, journeyed to Israel with the goal of seeing the beloved stone house with the lemon tree behind it that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house he was greeted by Dalia Eshkanazi Landau, a nineteen year old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, suggesting that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and reconciliation.

Akon and Melissa in Damascus

It was an extremely surprising piece of news to hear. Akon, a famous American singer, and Melissa, an "ok" Lebanese singer in the Middle East, made a duet together. I was shocked, not just surprised, and I didn't believe it at first at all. There was a link to youtube to listen to the song, and there it was. Melissa and Akon singing together. They will also make this song a music video, directed by Oliver Ojeil. Apart from these pieces of information, they will also be performing together in the Middle East in cities like Cairo and Damascus,, yes Damascus! I was thrilled when I heard it, because I believe this could be a step for the Western World to be in contact with this marvelous country, Syria. We already saw the success of Enrique Iglesias when he came to Damascus, and how big his concert was. Akon and Melissa will be performing in the Opera House in Damascus, another surprising piece of information. Melissa will also go on to Lattakia, which is a city in northern Syria on the Mediteranean Coast, and sing in Le Meridien Hotel. I hope this is the first step for Damascus to edge closer to the Western world.