Israela by Batya Casper

Dr. Casper has written a unique, epic work, spanning many generations and world events. She has somehow managed to compress historical and political issues that could span volumes into one very readable novel. Dr. Casper's approach to her narrative is daring and engaging. She writes from the perspectives of three very different women, as well as from the personification of Israel herself. Somehow, these narratives coalesce into a most readable whole that is thought-provoking and memorable. Her language is poetic, descriptive and evocative of time and place. Dr. Casper offers no easy answers or solutions, but the basis for intelligent, informed dialogue. Her love for Israel and its peoples is apparent. So is her feeling of sadness at the distance and hostility between nations whose histories and destinies are destined to be linked. At its core, this is a book about both family alienation and the transformative power of love--Paula Van Gelder -


"Israela... is a mesmerizing read that gives audiences a glimpse into the complexities of life in Israel. Using an intriguing three-person narrative format that revolves around the central characters, the author allows the reader to step into each character's predicament, thereby fully grasping the emotion and conflict surging within. More importantly, Casper's well-researched and thorough revelations about Israel portray the constant turmoil that its residents, both Arab and Jew, face on a daily basis. Beyond race and ethnicity, Israela is Israel's story--the story of humanity." - Mihir Shah


"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 into the homes and lives of everyday people. Israela dramatizes the devastating impact that the long-term tension in the Middle East has on Israel and its neighbors, showing how ordinary people struggle to live among violence and the fear of terrorism and war.

Excerpt:
"In the corner, slumped between the walls, half hidden beneath the filthy bedclothes, shrouded in the still pervasive moan, the awful smell, was a woman, dead, her eyes open like glass, bubbles of spittle and blood congealing from her mouth across her clothes to the floor. Beneath her hand--what looked like the hacked off handle of a broom."


Become familiar---if only vicariously---with the more human face of the Israel Arab conflict.

Israel: her hope, history, conflicting cultures, wars and intifadas

Israel and intifada

people living under threat


 

Feel, for a while, that you are  living in Israel. 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, betraying--and loving each other under it.

 
love, betrayal, and hope--a family fragmented by war and by Intifada

In this novel about Israel, I hope
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: 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.'"

In Israela, I invite you to 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, torn and desperately searching for the right path.  How would act if you were one of the 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 on a daily basis.

Learn why Israela is a tale as fated and mythical as the Bible; as modern and concrete as the last mortar attack.  Discover yourselves in 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 Israela and read the Fascinating Authors interview with the author 
click here.

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Immerse yourselves, for a while, in the  history, mythology,and traditions of Israel, 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.