Israela by Batya Casper

"This perceptive, poignant novel offers a fresh and essential outlook on Israel.  With memorable characters and an abundance of drama, Israela is gripping reading."   
     - Lou Aronica, New York Times bestselling author

Excerpt:
"In my heart, I call to their mothers, 'Take your sons to your houses.  Bind them to your chairs; gag them, blindfold them if necessary until they grow calm.  Then teach them, for they have forgotten, about peace, about the blessed life, about a future—a present—without pain.'  Beneath their prayers, in their morning cups of coffee, beneath their love-making and their child-rearing, and in their sorrow, especially in their sorrow when burying their dead, I hear the simmering of heating souls; I smell the charge of armies, of lives exploding uselessly into smithereens.  I sit in mourning over a disaster still to come."

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With unique insight and moving writing, a new book, Israela, takes us to the land of Israel and the daily battles that are waged in the name of religion and politics. The book moves beyond the headlines of war and takes us into the homes and lives of everyday people. Israela dramatizes the impact of the long-term conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors, showing how ordinary people struggle to live among violence and the fear of terrorism and war.

Become familiar with the human face of the Arab Israel conflict.

Live in Israel for a while. See for yourselves how Jews and Arabs live side by side on a patch of land smaller than New Jersey, a dot on the map surrounded by vast, hostile territories. Become familiar with this place of opposing agendas, of constant warfare, and of a desperate, excruciatingly sincere search for peace. In my novel, Israela, you’ll experience the Arab/Israel conflict from the perspectives and the daily lives of those living under it; struggling, loving and betraying each other under it.

You'll grow to understand, from the inside, the 3,000 year old rift that has existed between these peoples, and the mammoth effort, the fight for good that is going to have to take place in order for them to live at peace with their differences. The question is: What will happen if these people won’t fight the good fight?

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Excerpt:
"He lowers himself into his metal chair, his head in his hands, on his desk.  Then, 'I don't understand her,' he says, looking directly at me, a child's whiny tone in his voice, as though begging me for an answer. 'I thought we had the perfect relationship.  I thought Ratiba was perfect.  Now I find out she's not even Ratiba.'"

Become immersed in lies, secrets and alienation; in hope and heroism; in a historical fiction about Arabs who save Jews from disaster and Jews who heal Arabs; in this tale of everyday people  like you and me, torn and desperately searching for the right path.  Ask yourself how you would act if you were one of these characters in this story?

I used to consider myself lucky.  I never really knew what my values were – beyond, of course, the need not to kill or hurt anyone; because it is only when our values are stretched beyond that line in the sand that we learn what we are willing to fight for. People in Israel are faced with that line in this historical fiction, on a daily basis.

Learn why Israela is a tale as fated and mythical as the Bible; as modern and concrete as the latest explosion in a Jerusalem coffee house.  Discover for yourselves how this is a story of one multifaceted family, of love and violence, of individuals desperately seeking answers, seeking peace under war.

Excerpt:
"Sarima lunged toward me: 'What's the matter with you?' she hissed.  The professor focused his full attention on me and glowered... 'I told you that...until each of us really sees the other, there will never be peace in this region.  Personal relationships are the same as politics, Ratiba, viewed through a narrower lens.'"

Listen to the first two chapters of the historical fiction book Israela and read the Fascinating Authors interview with the author 
click here.

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Israela will entertain you with history, mythology, traditions and the vicissitudes of the human heart.

See how it is individuals, not political factions, who live the tragedy, the hope and the heroism.

Recognize the human face behind the Israel Arab conflict.
    
Reading Israela you'll gain an even-handed view of a polarizing conflict.