Nathan Thrall

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Nathan Thrall
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Website nathanthrall.com

Nathan Thrall is an American author, essayist, and journalist based in Jerusalem. Thrall is known for his 2023 nonfiction work A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, and is a contributor to several literary magazines. As of 2023 he is a professor at Bard College in New York state.

Contents

Thrall is the former director of the Arab-Israeli Project at the International Crisis Group, where from 2010 until 2020 he covered Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel's relations with its neighbors.

Early life and education

Thrall is Jewish, and his mother is a Jewish émigrée from the Soviet Union. [1]

Thrall received a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies and an M.A. in politics from Columbia University. [2]

Career

Thrall was a member of the editorial staff of The New York Review of Books , before being hired at the International Crisis Group by Robert Malley. [2] At the start of his tenure at the International Crisis Group, Thrall lived in Gaza. [3] He was director of the Arab-Israeli Project at the group, where from 2010 to 2020 he covered Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel's relations with its neighbors. [4]

As of 2021 he is a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, [5] the London Review of Books, [6] and The New York Review of Books. [7]

As of November 2023 Thrall is a professor at Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Red Hook. [8]

Books

The Only Language They Understand

Thrall's first published book was an essay collection, The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine (Metropolitan/Henry Holt, 2017; Picador, 2018). It received positive reviews in The New York Times, [9] Foreign Affairs, [10] Time, [11] and The New York Review of Books. [12] The Jewish Book Council's Bob Goldfarb wrote that his book, The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine, "brings unparalleled clarity to the dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian relations, and is an essential guide to the history, personalities, and ideas behind the conflict." [13] Mosaic selected the book as one of the best of the year, writing, "A knowledgeable and bold retelling of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that forces readers to take a serious and fresh look at their assumptions. Throughout its counterintuitive retelling of this history, it offers an unusually provocative and sometimes startling contribution to the genre." [14]

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy (2023) is a work of non-fiction that tells the story of interwoven lives of several Palestinian inhabitants of a part of Jerusalem occupied by Israel, centred around a man called Abed Salama. It was named a best book of 2023 by over ten publications, including The New Yorker , [15] The Economist , [16] Time , [17] The Financial Times , [18] The New Republic , [19] The Millions, [20] Mother Jones, [21] The Forward, [22] Booklist, [23] The New Statesman , [24] and The Irish Times , [25] and was selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. [26] The Financial Times named it a best book of 2023 in two categories, Literary Nonfiction [18] and Politics, [27] stating, "This quietly heartbreaking work of non-fiction reads like a novel. At its centre is a tragic road accident outside Jerusalem in the West Bank from which Thrall, a Jewish American journalist, carefully traces the labyrinthine lives of those involved and the tangled web of politics, history and culture that ensnare them all." [18]

This book also won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction [28] and was shortlisted for the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Writing. [29]

Journalism

"The Separate Regimes Delusion"

In January 2021, the London Review of Books published Thrall's article, "The Separate Regimes Delusion," which argued, "The premise that Israel is a democracy, maintained by Peace Now, Meretz, the editorial board of Haaretz and other critics of occupation, rests on the belief that one can separate the pre-1967 state from the rest of the territory under its control. A conceptual wall must be maintained between two regimes: (good) democratic Israel and its (bad) provisional occupation." [30] Thrall's article was praised in Haaretz by Gideon Levy, who wrote, "the American writer Nathan Thrall, who lives in Jerusalem, published an eye-opening and mind-expanding piece in The London Review of Books .... Thrall doesn't hesitate to criticize the supposedly liberal-Zionist and leftist organizations, from Meretz and Peace Now to Yesh Din and Haaretz. All of them believe that Israel is a democracy and oppose annexation because it could undermine their false belief that the occupation is happening somewhere else, outside of Israel, and is only temporary." [31]

"A Day in the Life of Abed Salama"

In March 2021, The New York Review of Books published Thrall's piece, "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: One man's quest to find his son lays bare the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli rule," [32] together with an animated trailer. [33] The article was covered in The Washington Post, [34] Foreign Policy, [35] The American Prospect, [36] Jewish Currents, [37] European publications, [38] [39] the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, [40] a podcast episode hosted by New York Times columnist Peter Beinart, [41] and a two-part, forty-minute segment on Democracy Now! [42] [43] Longreads called it "an astonishing feat of reporting" and named it a Best Feature of 2021. [44] [45] [46]

Thrall went on to write a non-fiction book based on the article, completing the work with the help of New York Bard College, which awarded Thrall a writing fellowship. The college invited him to teach a course and Thrall proposed one on Israeli apartheid which he gave for Spring 2023. [47] [48] A Day in the Life of Abed Salama-Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy was published on October 3, 2023 by Metropolitan Books.

Bibliography

Books

Book chapters

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A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy is a 2023 book by journalist Nathan Thrall, published by Macmillan. The book details a 2012 road accident involving a school bus in which several Palestinian children and a teacher were killed. The book explores how a myriad of security measures including a separation wall and military checkpoints, forced segregation in the West Bank between Israeli Settlements and Palestinians, and bureaucratic limits on Palestinian citizens' freedom of movement led to long delays in emergency care for the children, obstacles which the author argues are entirely manmade. The book follows a father of one of the boys hurt the accident as he searches for his son (Milad).

References

  1. ↑ Rachel Cooke (October 15, 2023). "'It's lonely being a Jewish critic of Israel' – Nathan Thrall on his book about a Palestinian father's tragedy". The Guardian.
  2. 1 2 Seaton, Matt; Thrall, Nathan (March 20, 2021). "The Endless Occupation, a New Understanding". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ Thrall, Nathan (May 16, 2017). The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine. Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company. ISBN   978-1-62779-710-8.
  4. ↑ "Nathan Thrall". Crisis Group. July 14, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  5. ↑ Thrall, Nathan (March 28, 2019). "How the Battle Over Israel and Anti-Semitism Is Fracturing American Politics". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ Thrall, Nathan. "Nathan Thrall · LRB". London Review of Books. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Nathan Thrall". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  8. ↑ McGreal, Chris (November 8, 2023). "Israeli diplomat pressured US college to drop course on 'apartheid' debate". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ Beckerman, Gal (May 22, 2017). "50 Years On, Stories of the Six Day War and What Came After". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ Koplow, Michael J. (August 14, 2019). "Language Lessons". Foreign Affairs. ISSN   0015-7120 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Is Force the Solution to Peace in the Middle East?". Time. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  12. ↑ Shulman, David. "Israel's Irrational Rationality". New York Review of Books. ISSN   0028-7504 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "The Only Language They Understand | Jewish Book Council". 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Best Books of 2018, Chosen by Mosaic Authors » Mosaic". Mosaic. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  15. ↑ "The Best Books of 2023". The New Yorker. January 25, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ "The best books of 2023, as chosen by The Economist". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  17. ↑ "The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023". TIME. December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 Wilkinson, Carl (November 16, 2023). "Best books of 2023 — Literary non-fiction". Financial Times. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  19. ↑ Republic, The New; Marsh, Laura; Marsh, Laura; Alam, Rumaan; Alam, Rumaan; Nwanevu, Osita; Nwanevu, Osita; Kindley, Evan; Kindley, Evan (December 18, 2023). "The New Republic's Books of the Year". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ Schwartz, Madeleine (December 19, 2023). "A Year in Reading: Madeleine Schwartz". The Millions. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  21. ↑ Jones, Mother. "The 29 books we couldn't stop thinking about in 2023". Mother Jones. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  22. ↑ Connelly, Irene Katz (December 18, 2023). "The best Jewish books of 2023". The Forward. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2023, by | Booklist Online.
  24. ↑ Statesman, New (November 24, 2023). "Books of the year 2023". New Statesman. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  25. ↑ "The best books of 2023: Writers and critics choose". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  26. ↑ "9 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. November 30, 2023. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  27. ↑ Rachman, Gideon (November 17, 2023). "Best books of 2023 — Politics". Financial Times. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  28. ↑ "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, by Nathan Thrall (Metropolitan Books)". pulitzer.org. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Orwell Prizes 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  30. ↑ Thrall, Nathan (January 21, 2021). "The Separate Regimes Delusion". London Review of Books. Vol. 43, no. 2. ISSN   0260-9592 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  31. ↑ Levy, Gideon (January 17, 2021). "Not 'Apartheid in the West Bank.' Apartheid". Haaretz. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  32. ↑ Thrall, Nathan (March 19, 2021). "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  33. ↑ The New York Review of Books (March 18, 2021). "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama [video]". Vimeo.
  34. ↑ "Analysis | As Israel votes again, Palestinians still wait their turn". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  35. ↑ Walt, Stephen M. (May 27, 2021). "It's Time to End the 'Special Relationship' With Israel". Foreign Policy. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  36. ↑ Alterman, Eric (April 2, 2021). "Altercation: An Anti-Semite Who's Anything But". The American Prospect. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Shabbat Reading List". Jewish Currents. March 19, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  38. ↑ Schipper, Jannie (April 27, 2021). "'Apartheidsstaat Israël stevent af op compleet succes voor de kolonisten'". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  39. ↑ "" Pourquoi maintenant ? " : sur les origines de la guerre des onze jours". Le Grand Continent (in French). May 29, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  40. ↑ "J Street Conference Marks 'A New Day in Washington' for U.S.-Israel Relations". Haaretz. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  41. ↑ ""Occupied Thoughts": Nathan Thrall, Peter Beinart, and "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama"". Foundation for Middle East Peace. March 31, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Nathan Thrall on the Historic Palestinian Uprising Against Israeli Control from the River to the Sea". Democracy Now!. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Nathan Thrall on "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama" & Reality of Palestinian Life Under Israeli Rule". Democracy Now!. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  44. ↑ "What Happened to Milad? A Palestinian Father Searches for His Son". Longreads. May 24, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  45. ↑ "The Top 5 Longreads of the Week". Longreads. May 21, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  46. ↑ "Best of 2021: Features". Longreads. December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  47. ↑ McGreal, Chris (November 8, 2023). "Israeli diplomat pressured US college to drop course on 'apartheid' debate". The Guardian.
  48. ↑ "Coursicle – Chat with classmates". www.coursicle.com.
  49. ↑ Thrall, Nathan (2023). A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy. New York, NY: Metropolitan/Henry Holt. ISBN   9781250854971.
  50. ↑ "Moment of Truth: Tackling Israel–Palestine's Toughest Questions − Edited by Jamie Stern-Weiner". OR Books . February 20, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
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