-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
by Izzeldin Abuelaish
Book Reviewed by:The extraordinary, riveting story of a Palestinian doctor who, rather than seek revenge after witnessing his three daughters' deaths by Israeli tank shells, continues his humanitarian call for the people of the region to come together in understanding, respect, and peace.
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish - now known simply as the "Gaza doctor" - captured hearts and headlines around the world in the aftermath of horrific tragedy: On January 16, 2009, Israeli shells hit his home in the Gaza Strip, killing three of his daughters and his niece.
By turns inspiring and heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is Izzeldin Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life - as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East.
And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."
I Shall Not Hate is without doubt a book with a powerful message. Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish's thesis is clear and runs through every chapter of the book. Violence is futile, he writes. It is a waste of time, lives, and resources, and has been proven only to beget more violence. It does not work. He emphasizes the need for those in conflict to talk to, listen to, and respect each other, and it is to these themes that the author returns again and again. While his arguments are aimed squarely at the Israelis and Palestinians, their underlying truth is universal...continued
Full Review
(706 words)
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access,
become a member today.
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
The Gaza Strip is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the West Bank being the larger). It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the east, and by Egypt in the southwest, with Israel surrounding it on all other sides. It is just 25 miles long and 7.5 miles across at its widest (map). This narrow strip of land is home to approximately 1.6 million people who are mostly Sunni Muslim. While the population is highly literate (92% of residents can read), over two-thirds are considered refugees, unemployment is approximately 40% (2010), and about 70% live below the poverty line (2009).
The area's present boundaries were formed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but human settlement dates back at least 5000 years.&#...
This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.
If you liked I Shall Not Hate, try these:
Looking at Women Looking at War
by Victoria Amelina
Published 2025
Destined to be a classic, a poet's powerful look at the courage of resistance.
by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
Published 2019
In this lyrical and searing debut novel written by a rising literary star and MacDowell Fellow, a young man is preparing to serve in the Israeli army while also trying to reconcile his close relationship to two Palestinian siblings with his deeply ingrained loyalties to family and country.
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
This story is a necessary lesson against hatred and revenge.
.gif)