Next Year in Jerusalem: Everyday Life in a Divided Land

By Daphna Golan-Agnon

Daphna Golan-Agnon has gained international recognition as one of the most courageous and eloquent voices for a more just Israeli society. In this moving memoir, she writes of her early years in a right-wing Israeli household as the daughter of a former member of the Stern Gang, her marriage into the family of the country's most eminent novelist, and her efforts to raise children in a society caught up in violence and instability while working simultaneously for political change. Through anecdotes, interviews and letters, Next Year in Jerusalem provides an insider's view of the milestones of the Israeli peace movement, drawing on Golan-Agnon's experience as co-founder of the pioneering human rights organization B'Tselem and the feminist peace group Bat Shalom. From protests against the Ansar III desert prison, where Palestinian political prisoners languish for months in harsh conditions without trial, to the landmark 1999 Israeli High Court victory to abolish torture, to the devastating tensions that arise even among like-minded Palestinian and Israeli activists, Golan-Agnon candidly portrays the growing movement of Israelis who understand that the occupation, beyond persecuting Palestinians, is destroying Israel from within. Confronting the Palestinian-Israeli dilemma in all its complexity, she remains stubbornly optimistic, never entirely losing hope of a brighter future. Next Year in Jerusalem gives readers a unique, personal view of the joint struggle for peace.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565849302
• ISBN13: 9781565849303
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Creating a community of conscience.

Too often diasporas play a critical role in the nature of conflict. Standing on the sidelines, they lend morale and financial support to extremist positions that can only perpetuate the cycle of violence. Yet, they do not bare the slings and arrows of daily existence in the line of fire they so readily perpetuate. This call for peace is a harrowing account of life in a divided society. It is a call for humanity to rise above violence, for sanity to prevail over madness. It is a must read for all in the diaspora who have a vested interest in the Middle East. This mother, activist and intellectual captivates her reader with a vivid narrative that speaks to the essence of her existence in Israel, an existence infused with a love of the land in which she lives but marred by the torment of violence. This is a tale of love for all humanity and a concern for all those in the Middle East. Simply put, it has to be read!!!

A Heartfelt Plea for Israel's Future

Reviewers who dismiss with one star every book and article remotely critical of Israeli policies are too blinded by their own prejudices to understand this complex and beautiful book by a proud and patriotic Israeli who is nevertheless troubled by her own country's actions. Daphna Golan-Agnon, the daughter of a Lehi fighter and the wife of Israeli Nobelist S.Y. Agnon's grandson, stands squarely in a great tradition of critical Zionists, whose love for Israel is matched by high expectations for its conduct. As a founder of B'Tselem, the highly acclaimed Israeli human rights organization, Golan-Agnon has devoted her life to ensuring that Israel uphold standards of international law. Criticism of Israeli actions in the occupied territories, which is a commonplace in Israel's own lively public discourse, has been sharply stigmatized in the United States--Golan-Agnon's touching and personal account is a necessary corrective to the broken American discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those Americans who preach about Israeli politics would be well-served to listen carefully to the heartfelt concerns of Israelis themselves.

if you care for Israel read it

This is an amazing book, once you start it you cannot put it down until you finish it. The book tells the story of leaving in a conflicted society from the eye of a peace activist who tries to change the reality and struggle against human rights violations. Daphna Golan Agnon writes about her activities and others and about her view of the conflict and the violent reality of dprtations, house demolitions, curfews etc from a very personal point of view, she exposes her fears, her desperation and hope for peace. This is a "must" reading for everyone who cares for peace.

Next year in Jerusalem

A terrific book full of insights and humor. I LOVED IT. Couldn't put the book down.

Next year in Jerusalem

Daphna's book entitled "Next year in Jerusalem" is one of the best books ever to catch my eye. It is a wonderfull story of one of the sadest places in our time: the middle east. This book gave me a new prospective, a new way to understand life in the middle east, it gave me hope, and fear at once. Next year in Jerusalem is a work of art. J Robins.