A Palestinian bookseller in Jerusalem wins his public relations campaign (article in The Walrus, Good Books)

October 11, 2012

Article by Sarah Treleaven, and Jamie Levin

A few blocks from the Old City of Jerusalem, arguably the most contested ground on earth, stands the American Colony Hotel, where foreign nationals mingle in the jasmine-scented gardens, drinking competently mixed manhattans. Many will find their way to the legendary hotel’s English-language bookshop. At the back of the narrow, vaulted room, the bookseller sits at his desk, pencil in mouth, going through sale inventory.

Munther Fahmi is well dressed, in polished shoes and a tailored shirt rakishly open at the collar, but his weakness is books, and he is always trying to make room for new stock. When asked for a few primers on the Arab-Israeli conflict, he appears exasperated for a moment, looking around the cavernous space, books piled upon books, then offers a short list: The Iron Wall, in which Avi Shlaim documents Israel’s costly emphasis on security at the expense of peacemaking efforts; and Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Walks, which describes the devastation of the West Bank landscape under occupation.

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