About the Author
Batya Casper, Ph.D.
II was born in Britain, moved to Israel, like Israela's character Elisheva, just before the Israeli '56 war, and grew to adulthood in Jerusalem. I have a BA in English literature, and a Masters and Ph.D. in theater Arts from UCLA. My first published book was a work of theater criticism: Electra: A Gender Sensitive Study of the Myth Based on the Plays (Mcfarland & Co. Publishers, 1995). In Israela, you will go beyond race and ethnicity, to the story of a land in conflict, I'm a director and teacher of theater, trained to manipulate conflict for dramatic effect. What a glib endeavor that is, I tell myself, compared to the blood and tears of real life. I've lived in Israel intermittently since early childhood, have watched friends and family struggle, question, sacrifice their children to the Israel Arab conflict.
Enter into the lives of these people of passion, I moved to Israel in 1956 – just eight years after the State of Israel was formed, and have lived there intermittently since early childhood. I taught Hebrew literature and biblical studies at an adult education center in St. Louis and taught Hebrew to adults in Boston. I also worked as an Assistant to the Cultural Attache of Israel in Boston, as the coordinator of educational programs for exchange students between U.S. and Israel. Experience the loves, the betrayals, the hopes and the many acts of heroism, |
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I wrote Israela in an effort to counteract what I considered the black/white media coverage of the Israel Arab conflict. More than anything, my intent was to portray the human face of Israel. A plethora of historical treatises and political works has been written about Israel. It seems to me that they’re written for those who are already familiar with and invested in the area. There are also many powerful Israeli novelists whose stories provide us with background to the region's conflicts, glimpses into Israeli/Arab tensions.
Love and struggle with a family fragmented by war... The aim of Israela is to describe life in Israel from the inside, to portray this country at war and its social complexity for people who, despite frequent news coverage, know little or nothing about what Israel, or Israelis - Jews and Arabs - |
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are like, much the way so many of us remained ignorant of Ireland’s centuries’ old war between Catholics and Protestants. What physical and ethical struggles do these people combat on a daily, often hourly basis? What is it like to live with insoluble conflicts? To continue living like that? To sacrifice your children to a never-ending drama?
Experience the human face of conflict. I started writing this book for my children. Originally, I wanted to trace the trajectory of modern Israeli history in order to see how we’d arrived at our present reality. I also wrote it for the many people I meet who are ignorant of the complexity and the richness of Israeli life; ignorant of the temerity that all of its citizens demonstrate, and of the excruciating concerns that tear them apart on a constant basis. I am aware that this is only a perspective, my perspective, perhaps the perspective of many like myself; that it is one side of a conflict that originated way back in prehistorical times. Perhaps this is a prayer for understanding, for dialogue. In fact, it is mostly a work of fiction, of fantasy, ultimately – of hope. |
The Human Face of Conflict
Interview Questions & Answers
Why did you write this book? I wanted to portray the excruciating ethical and existential dilemmas that torment Israelis on a daily, hourly, basis. In the Middle East, people wage wars over perspectives. I want my readers to sit in Arab back yards and hear the dialogue, to sit on Jewish balconies and hear the dialogue. I wanted to bring my readers into Israeli homes, to experience for themselves the hope, the joy, and the pain. What are you working on now? I am at the beginning phases of my next novel. Can you tell us something about it? Not really. Only, perhaps, that it is a spin-off of one of the characters. Why are your three main characters women? Israel is surrounded by enemy countries, forced for its survival to rely on its necessary male reaction, the military. My book reflects an equally necessary, female, nurturing response, one that accompanies and challenges the all too often, but essential, hard line. In my mind, only with a fusion of healthy masculine and feminine energies, will Israel maintain stability in the area. Do you think your book is one-sided? I can only write what I know. My experience, and the extension of my knowledge, is all I have. Israela might well have been titled, Israela: A Perspective. As I say in the novel, “Wars are fought over perspectives.” Israela is an invitation to openhearted dialogue. Mostly, it is a story of passionate people under the constant threat of war. What, in your mind, is the major question raised by your book? How can these two peoples overcome hostility while remaining loyal to their cultures? What political solutions does the book come up with? None. Israela is a work of fiction. It paints a picture. It raises questions. I am neither a politician, nor a historian. However, my previous book (Electra: A Gender Sensitive Study of the Plays Based on the Myth, South Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 1995) develops the same Jungian fusion of male and female principles that I emphasize here. |
Previous Publications
Electra: A Gender Sensitive Study of the Plays Based on the Myth
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1995. In Electra, I analyzed plays from as far back as Aeschylus’ Oresteia to our modern day Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class. There, as with Israela, I emphasize the Jungian theory that a healthy society is dependent on a fusion of its male and female principles. I believe that my women characters in Israela, are informed by that same impulse. Passion Play: A poem written during, and about, the Israeli Intifada. Published in Psychological Perspectives, 2000 |
