Non-violently resisting Israeli military occupation, with a scalpel [Book Review]
“This is a Palestinian story.” ~Book’s opening sentence
222 pp., Archway Publishing (Simon & Schuster) (2022), $14.95
Today’s riddle: What’s the name of the Palestinian who is a heart surgeon, who studied in Germany, specialized in the U.S., met Yasser Arafat twice, Hamas’ founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin once, who saved scores of Palestinian lives, including one deemed a collaborator, saved Israeli soldiers’ lives, was a municipal council member, is married to a German, and now is an author?
Give up?
The name is Dr. Shehadeh “Shawki” Khalil Harb, better known as just Dr. Shawki Harb, from Ramallah. He was born on December 13, 1938, during the Great Revolt between 1936–1939 and, as Dr. Harb recounts, he came on his own, since the midwife could not reach the house in time due to intense shooting in the neighborhood. Born a Christian and breastfed by a Muslim, Dr. Harb embodies the best of both traditions.
If you are from my generation or older in Palestine, you know and respect the person even if you have never crossed paths with him.
I first came across his name during the Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) that started in the year 2000. The Israeli military had decided to directly (since they never stopped occupying in some form) reoccupy all Palestinian population centers…
