The Optimist: A Social Biography of Tawfiq Zayyad (Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Cultures)

By: Tamir Sorek

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Synopsis: Tawfiq Zayyad (1929–94) was a renowned Palestinian poet and a committed communist activist. For four decades, he was a dominant figure in political life in Israel, as a local council member, mayor of Nazareth, and member of the Israeli parliament. Zayyad personified the collective struggle of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, challenging the military government following the creation of the state of Israel, leading the 1976 nationwide strike against land confiscation, and tirelessly protesting Israeli military occupation after 1967. With this book, Tamir Sorek offers the first biography of this charismatic figure. Zayyad's life was one of balance and contradiction—between his revolutionary writings as Palestinian patriotic poet and his pragmatic political work in the Israeli public sphere. He was uncompromising in his protest of injustices against the Palestinian people, but always committed to a universalist vision of Arab-Jewish brotherhood. It was this combination of traits that made Zayyad an exceptional leader—and makes his biography larger than the man himself to offer a compelling story about Palestinians and the state of Israel.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781503612747
Related ISBNs:: 9780804797474, 9781503612730
Publisher:: Stanford University Press
Date of Addition:: 07/14/20
Copyrighted By:: Stanford University Press
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts, Politics and Government
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.