A story of people, not politics…
Summary - Blood Brothers illustrates Elias Chacour’s own incredible life in Palestine as a refugee. The book describes the hardships Elias and his family had to go through. The story opens in the 1940s in the village of Biram, where Chacour spent his early childhood.
I had attempted to read The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine last month but its level of nonfiction was just too dense for me to absorb anything. Blood Brothers read like a memoir but with history mixed in, which allowed me to absorb the history in a much more accessible way. Chacour looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a Christian lens and his journey was one that taught me a lot.
Because this was written back in the 1980s, I wish I could say how outdated it is but sadly, I can’t. Reading about Chacour’s life felt eerily similiar to the lives of many currently.
Present day update on Elias Chacour: Now Father Chacour regularly tours the United States, inspiring American Jews and American Palestinians with hope that there will someday be peace with justice in the troubled Holy Land.
If you are looking for an accessible way to learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I highly recommend this book. Also, @hoop has the audio and I primarily used that format and it worked extremely well.
Find Blood Brothers at the publisher →
Toni Rocchetti is a copy editor helping authors strengthen their narratives, deepen character arcs, and find the story that is already in the draft. She reads 80+ books a year across literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction — and writes about what she is learning along the way. Work with Toni →
