I’m proud to announce that my book, Maqluba: Upside-Down Love, is now available for sale (in Hebrew, Asia Press) in bookstores in Israel, for online order  (shipping abroad available) and as an e-book. Early reviews have been favorable. You can read an English-language feature story about the book or listen to an interview with me about it (Hebrew, from 17:00) here. Stay tuned for an English translation!

This is a brief description:

Maqluba (“Upside-down” in Arabic) is a Palestinian-Arab dish of rice, chicken and vegetables, cooked in a pot. To serve the dish, you turn the pot upside down on a wide serving platter, and from that point, there is no going back.

Maqluba – Upside-Down Love is a love story and memoir written in two voices, about a man and a woman whom the world tries to separate, but who can’t let go of each other.

Osama is a Palestinian professor, curious, critical and devoted to his students, who lives and works in Ramallah but is essentially trapped in the city – unable to leave it for fear of not being allowed to return.

“… I closed the window. I asked her not to speak Hebrew in the street. No to dress in a certain way. Not to run in remote areas. And then I hated myself…”

Sari is an Israeli-American lawyer and ultra-marathon runner. Her longing for freedom of movement motivates her to challenge the Israeli authorities in court and to cross the scarred and beautiful landscape of the West Bank in her morning runs.

“You’re not allowed to go there!” one of the taxi drivers shouted at me –and when the revolving gate ejected him and his suitcase, I hugged him.

We had until seven in the evening, the hour at which his entry permit to Israel would expire. I took his hand and led him to the car.”

An English translation is planned for 2022.