They Called Me a Lioness

THEY CALLED ME A LIONESS by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri describes “A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom.” From Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank, Tamimi is a student activist compared at times to Malala Yousafzai and Takuri is an award-winning journalist who has worked at HuffPost Live and Al Jazeera Arabic. Together, these women craft a story of resistance to Israeli soldiers which will certainly get our students’ attention. The introduction begins with Tamimi in an Israeli jail, thinking, “I’m only sixteen years old and in my senior year of high school. … I’m supposed to be studying right now, not sitting here under house arrest. I’m supposed to graduate in a few months, not be locked up in prison.” They have a firm position and write vividly about “Israel’s campaign to ethnically cleanse the land of its native Palestinian population” beginning in 1948, about the 1967 war, and about “growing up under a foreign military occupation.” Tamimi shares horrific stories of her aunt’s death and her father’s imprisonment and torture. Although difficult to read at times,THEY CALLED ME A LIONESS received a starred review from Kirkus. Sadly, the sacrifice and turmoil in this area still needs to be brought to the world’s attention. An older work worth investigating is Fast Times in Palestine by Pamela J. Olson.