The Haj (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Haj is a novel published in 1984 by American
author Leon Uris
about a Palestinian
Arab family caught up in the area’s historic events of the 1920s-1950s as witnessed by Ishmael, the youngest son. The story begins in 1922 when Ibrahim, Ishmael's father, takes over the position of muktar from his dying father in the relatively isolated village of Tabah in the Ajalon Valley
, just off the main road
leading to Jerusalem from Jaffa
. The book then goes on to show how the family is affected by the proximity of nearby kibbutz
Shemesh, by the political struggles exhibited and the pressures exerted by the region’s Arab
leaders during the course of 35 years, and by the disruptive effect being a refugee had on them.
Haj
in the novel's title refers to the pilgrimage
to Mecca
which every able-bodied Muslim
who can afford to do so is obliged to make at least once in his or her lifetime. Literally, it refers to the pilgrimage which the head of the family, Ibrahim al Soukori al Wahhabi, made to Mecca in his young adulthood, and which gave him the honorific Hajji
used throughout the book. Figuratively it refers to both the transforming physical journey that the family makes from its home in Tabah to the refugee camp
s near Jericho
, and to the psychic transformations that the family endures as it is ripped away from its traditional life and sees, one-by-one its values being eroded.
: Ibrahim al Soukori al Wahhabi asserts his inherited position as leader of the town, takes the pilgrimage to Mecca, and starts a family, but suffers humiliation in that his wife does not bear him a son before his third child. The family had settled in the area about 100 years previously, still maintains contact with their Beduin relatives, and sets great value in their traditions and values.
In 1936 their youngest son, Ishmael, is born. As youngest son his expected lot in life is to become the family shepherd, but his mother Hagar protects him and helps give him opportunities to develop his skills. He seeks out continued opportunities through use of his natural resourcefulness and drive, two qualities generally lacking in his brothers. Only his sister Nada seems to share these traits with him, and they have a close bond.
Traditional life is altered permanently with the establishment of a kibbutz
nearby on land sold to Jewish farmers by Effendi Fawzi Kabir, a rich Palestinian "absentee landlord" who owns a great deal of land in the region, including the town of Tabah, but lives in Damascus. One of the settlers is Gideon Asch, who helps establish a tenuous but workable co-existence with the residents of Tabah through the leadership of Haj Ibrahim. Their struggles lead to reciprocal trust and eventually friendship, but these continue to be tested throughout the novel.
The villagers feel compelled by the history of brave warriors in Arabic culture to destroy Kibbutz Shemesh. The villagers attack the kibbutz on its first night but are repelled. Haj Ibrahim secretly acknowledges this failure, which he expected. But his defeated villagers come back to Tabah proudly proclaiming that they killed many Jews, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.
Haj Ibrahim gradually develops a personal friendship with Gideon Asch, and he even visits the kibbutz from time to time. But Ibrahim's tolerance of and even friendship with Jews does not fit in with the general mood during the 1930s and 1940s. The Grand Mufti
of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
whips up emotions against the Jews with his fiery speeches. The Egypt-supported Muslim Brotherhood
, as represented by Mr. Salmi, Ishmael’s school teacher, infuses their classrooms with hatred of Jews. Radio broadcasts in the village coffeehouse
heard on the radio given to the villagers by the kibbutz (along with the electricity to run it) promise the Arab locals revenge against the Jews. And Transjordan
’s well-trained Arab Legion
stands ready to move in and claim the land in the name of a Greater Syria
for King Abdullah I
.
Against the background of the United Nations
General Assembly passage of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
(United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) on 29 November 1947, Haj Ibrahim is summoned to Damascus to talk with Effendi Fawzi Kabir at his luxurious home. Also at the meeting are Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
and General Fawzi Al-Qawuqji
, who Haj Ibrahim has made an enemy of when he repulsed his attempt to overtake the village of Tabah as a strategic military position. The three try to convince Ibrahim that as leader of his people, he should evacuate Tabah, and they give him promise of financial support. He is wary of their offer, and makes no firm promise. Al-Qawuqji expresses his lust for revenge against Ibrahim after the Haj has left the meeting.
Tensions in the village rise to fever pitch as a result of the Battle of Deir Yassin
, and Haj Ibrahim can no longer keep his followers from abandoning Tabah; he leads them to Jaffa, where he plans to hire a boat to take them to the Gaza Strip
. They find themselves in the Manshiya neightborhood with little money, caught between Al-Qawuqji’s troops and the rival Jewish forces, Haganah
and Irgun
. Haj Ibrahim and a business contact in Jaffa, Bassam el Bassam, manage to strike a deal with a Greek Cypriot ship owner, but Ibrahim and family are unable to meet the boat on account of pursuit by Al-Qawuqji, and hide in St. Peter’s Church. Ishmael is able to reach Gideon Asch, who had offered the family help in a crisis, if ever they need it. Asch helps them escape to Tulkarm
in Samaria
on the West Bank
, in the triangle which includes Jenin
and Nablus
.
While in Jaffa, al-Qawuqji's men search for and discover the family's women, whom they summarily gang-rape. Ishmael witnesses the rape of his mother, stepmother, and sister-in-law, but does not tell his father until the book's climax.
The family continues on to Nablus
where they are able to live more reasonably, and eventually Ibrahim contacts Clovis Bakshir, the city’s mayor. Bakshir introduces Ibrahim to Farid Zyyad, who is undercover at the meeting, but who is actually a colonel in Abdullah’s Arab Legion. The two try to persuade Ibrahim to give his support to their political aims, but Ibrahim maintains his distance. While accepting the gifts they offer him, Ibrahim plans an escape for the family from Nablus to a cave in the desert around Qumran
by the Dead Sea
. They enlarge their family group with teenager Sabri Salama, a clever auto mechanic who helps keep their stolen truck in operating condition for the journey, and sees to it that it can be sold afterwards.
Life in the desert is difficult at times, but also satisfying to the family as it gave them a chance to find strength in their isolation and in their desert traditions. However as the weather worsens during early 1949 they abandon their cave in Qumran and wander further to Jericho
where they settle into refugee camp Aqabat Jaber
at the foot of the supposed Mount of Temptation
. In Jericho they make contact with a disfigured archeologist, Dr. Nuri Mudhil, in the hope of using him to make contact with their old friend Gideon Asch. They guess correctly that he has contact with Jews in Jerusalem, and they are able not only to contact Asch but also to arrange a sale of some valuable artifacts they had found in Qumran.
Asch encourages Ibrahim to become involved as a moderating representative of the refugees in the conferences being arranged to discuss the Palestinian situation. He travels to Amman where he meets like-minded moderates, Charles Maan, a Palestinian Christian, and Sheik Ahmed Taji, who like Ibrahim are willing to negotiate with the new State of Israel for the return of Palestinians to their homes. They arrange an alternative conference in Bethlehem, where they manage to pass a resolution whereby they would represent the plight of the Palestinians at an international commission in Zurich later that year. The conference ends in disaster when Zyyad’s Arab Legion makes a mass arrest of the three ringleaders and the youth gang members they brought to protect the conference building, one of these being Ibrahim’s son, Jamil.
In spite of threats against his son by Arab leaders threatened by his moderate pragmatism, Ibrahim travels to Zurich along with Maan and Taji. Their participation credentials are constantly challenged by the rest of the Arabs at the conference, and the commission’s committee work is stifling and unproductive. Charles Maan negotiates with the Vatican for a modest low-key solution that would return many Christian Palestinians to their homes, and Sheik Taji is bought off by the opulent Fawzi Kabir, who represents a Saudi Arabian prince in Zurich.
Ibrahim gives up hope for a solution at the Zurich conference, revenges himself on Kabir, and returns to the refugee camp to face the dissolution of his life, traditions and values, the murder of his son Jamil, continued disappointment by Arab national leaders, his family’s loss of respect for him, his community’s passivity and inability to face reality. He brutally takes the life of his daughter
, Nada, after she dishonors him by cursing him and telling him that she is no longer a virgin, the biggest possible disgrace to an Arab father. Ishmael becomes crazy after this, and "talks his father to death." (Ibrahim dies of a heart attack after his son graphically informs him of the gang rape in Jaffa.) The novel ends with Ishmael going insane and becoming delusional.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Leon Uris
Leon Uris
Leon Marcus Uris was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976.-Life:...
about a Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Arab family caught up in the area’s historic events of the 1920s-1950s as witnessed by Ishmael, the youngest son. The story begins in 1922 when Ibrahim, Ishmael's father, takes over the position of muktar from his dying father in the relatively isolated village of Tabah in the Ajalon Valley
Ajalon
Ajalon was a place in the lowland of Shephelah in the ancient Land of Israel, identified today as Yalo at the foot of the Bethoron pass, a Palestinian Arab village located southeast of Ramla in the West Bank. Its name is Hebrew for "place of gazelles".The place may have been the site of several...
, just off the main road
Highway 1 (Israel)
Highway 1 , is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.-History:The section between Latrun and Jerusalem roughly follows an ancient path connecting Jaffa and Jerusalem...
leading to Jerusalem from Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. The book then goes on to show how the family is affected by the proximity of nearby kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Shemesh, by the political struggles exhibited and the pressures exerted by the region’s Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
leaders during the course of 35 years, and by the disruptive effect being a refugee had on them.
Haj
Háj
Háj may refer to:* Háj in Turčianske Teplice District, Slovakia* Háj in Košice-okolie District, Slovakia...
in the novel's title refers to the pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
which every able-bodied Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
who can afford to do so is obliged to make at least once in his or her lifetime. Literally, it refers to the pilgrimage which the head of the family, Ibrahim al Soukori al Wahhabi, made to Mecca in his young adulthood, and which gave him the honorific Hajji
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
used throughout the book. Figuratively it refers to both the transforming physical journey that the family makes from its home in Tabah to the refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
s near Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, and to the psychic transformations that the family endures as it is ripped away from its traditional life and sees, one-by-one its values being eroded.
Plot summary
The novel begins in 1922 with a depiction of traditional life in the Arabic village during the British Mandate of PalestinePalestine (mandate)
The British Mandate for Palestine, also known as the Palestine Mandate, The British Mandate of Palestine and the Mandate for Palestine, was a legal commission for the administration of Palestine, the draft of which was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922 and...
: Ibrahim al Soukori al Wahhabi asserts his inherited position as leader of the town, takes the pilgrimage to Mecca, and starts a family, but suffers humiliation in that his wife does not bear him a son before his third child. The family had settled in the area about 100 years previously, still maintains contact with their Beduin relatives, and sets great value in their traditions and values.
In 1936 their youngest son, Ishmael, is born. As youngest son his expected lot in life is to become the family shepherd, but his mother Hagar protects him and helps give him opportunities to develop his skills. He seeks out continued opportunities through use of his natural resourcefulness and drive, two qualities generally lacking in his brothers. Only his sister Nada seems to share these traits with him, and they have a close bond.
Traditional life is altered permanently with the establishment of a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
nearby on land sold to Jewish farmers by Effendi Fawzi Kabir, a rich Palestinian "absentee landlord" who owns a great deal of land in the region, including the town of Tabah, but lives in Damascus. One of the settlers is Gideon Asch, who helps establish a tenuous but workable co-existence with the residents of Tabah through the leadership of Haj Ibrahim. Their struggles lead to reciprocal trust and eventually friendship, but these continue to be tested throughout the novel.
The villagers feel compelled by the history of brave warriors in Arabic culture to destroy Kibbutz Shemesh. The villagers attack the kibbutz on its first night but are repelled. Haj Ibrahim secretly acknowledges this failure, which he expected. But his defeated villagers come back to Tabah proudly proclaiming that they killed many Jews, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.
Haj Ibrahim gradually develops a personal friendship with Gideon Asch, and he even visits the kibbutz from time to time. But Ibrahim's tolerance of and even friendship with Jews does not fit in with the general mood during the 1930s and 1940s. The Grand Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...
whips up emotions against the Jews with his fiery speeches. The Egypt-supported Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
, as represented by Mr. Salmi, Ishmael’s school teacher, infuses their classrooms with hatred of Jews. Radio broadcasts in the village coffeehouse
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
heard on the radio given to the villagers by the kibbutz (along with the electricity to run it) promise the Arab locals revenge against the Jews. And Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
’s well-trained Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
stands ready to move in and claim the land in the name of a Greater Syria
Greater Syria
Greater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
for King Abdullah I
Abdullah I of Jordan
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah...
.
Against the background of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
General Assembly passage of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
(United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) on 29 November 1947, Haj Ibrahim is summoned to Damascus to talk with Effendi Fawzi Kabir at his luxurious home. Also at the meeting are Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and during the 1948...
and General Fawzi Al-Qawuqji
Fawzi Al-Qawuqji
Fawzi al-Qawuqji was the field commander of the Arab Liberation Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in Palestine, and a rival of the principal Palestinian Arab leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.-Biography:...
, who Haj Ibrahim has made an enemy of when he repulsed his attempt to overtake the village of Tabah as a strategic military position. The three try to convince Ibrahim that as leader of his people, he should evacuate Tabah, and they give him promise of financial support. He is wary of their offer, and makes no firm promise. Al-Qawuqji expresses his lust for revenge against Ibrahim after the Haj has left the meeting.
Tensions in the village rise to fever pitch as a result of the Battle of Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, and Haj Ibrahim can no longer keep his followers from abandoning Tabah; he leads them to Jaffa, where he plans to hire a boat to take them to the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. They find themselves in the Manshiya neightborhood with little money, caught between Al-Qawuqji’s troops and the rival Jewish forces, Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
and Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
. Haj Ibrahim and a business contact in Jaffa, Bassam el Bassam, manage to strike a deal with a Greek Cypriot ship owner, but Ibrahim and family are unable to meet the boat on account of pursuit by Al-Qawuqji, and hide in St. Peter’s Church. Ishmael is able to reach Gideon Asch, who had offered the family help in a crisis, if ever they need it. Asch helps them escape to Tulkarm
Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm is a Palestinian city in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate in the extreme northwestern West Bank adjacent to the Netanya and Haifa districts to the west, the Nablus and Jenin Districts to the east...
in Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
on the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, in the triangle which includes Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
and Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
While in Jaffa, al-Qawuqji's men search for and discover the family's women, whom they summarily gang-rape. Ishmael witnesses the rape of his mother, stepmother, and sister-in-law, but does not tell his father until the book's climax.
The family continues on to Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
where they are able to live more reasonably, and eventually Ibrahim contacts Clovis Bakshir, the city’s mayor. Bakshir introduces Ibrahim to Farid Zyyad, who is undercover at the meeting, but who is actually a colonel in Abdullah’s Arab Legion. The two try to persuade Ibrahim to give his support to their political aims, but Ibrahim maintains his distance. While accepting the gifts they offer him, Ibrahim plans an escape for the family from Nablus to a cave in the desert around Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
by the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. They enlarge their family group with teenager Sabri Salama, a clever auto mechanic who helps keep their stolen truck in operating condition for the journey, and sees to it that it can be sold afterwards.
Life in the desert is difficult at times, but also satisfying to the family as it gave them a chance to find strength in their isolation and in their desert traditions. However as the weather worsens during early 1949 they abandon their cave in Qumran and wander further to Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
where they settle into refugee camp Aqabat Jaber
Aqabat Jaber
Aqabat Jaber is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Jericho Governorate of the eastern West Bank, situated in the Jordan Valley, three kilometers southwest of Jericho.-History:...
at the foot of the supposed Mount of Temptation
Mount of Temptation
The Mount of Temptation was the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil . The exact location is unknown, and impossible to determine. It is generally identified with Mount Quarantania, a mountain approximately 366 m high, located about north-west of the West Bank town of...
. In Jericho they make contact with a disfigured archeologist, Dr. Nuri Mudhil, in the hope of using him to make contact with their old friend Gideon Asch. They guess correctly that he has contact with Jews in Jerusalem, and they are able not only to contact Asch but also to arrange a sale of some valuable artifacts they had found in Qumran.
Asch encourages Ibrahim to become involved as a moderating representative of the refugees in the conferences being arranged to discuss the Palestinian situation. He travels to Amman where he meets like-minded moderates, Charles Maan, a Palestinian Christian, and Sheik Ahmed Taji, who like Ibrahim are willing to negotiate with the new State of Israel for the return of Palestinians to their homes. They arrange an alternative conference in Bethlehem, where they manage to pass a resolution whereby they would represent the plight of the Palestinians at an international commission in Zurich later that year. The conference ends in disaster when Zyyad’s Arab Legion makes a mass arrest of the three ringleaders and the youth gang members they brought to protect the conference building, one of these being Ibrahim’s son, Jamil.
In spite of threats against his son by Arab leaders threatened by his moderate pragmatism, Ibrahim travels to Zurich along with Maan and Taji. Their participation credentials are constantly challenged by the rest of the Arabs at the conference, and the commission’s committee work is stifling and unproductive. Charles Maan negotiates with the Vatican for a modest low-key solution that would return many Christian Palestinians to their homes, and Sheik Taji is bought off by the opulent Fawzi Kabir, who represents a Saudi Arabian prince in Zurich.
Ibrahim gives up hope for a solution at the Zurich conference, revenges himself on Kabir, and returns to the refugee camp to face the dissolution of his life, traditions and values, the murder of his son Jamil, continued disappointment by Arab national leaders, his family’s loss of respect for him, his community’s passivity and inability to face reality. He brutally takes the life of his daughter
Honor killing
An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community...
, Nada, after she dishonors him by cursing him and telling him that she is no longer a virgin, the biggest possible disgrace to an Arab father. Ishmael becomes crazy after this, and "talks his father to death." (Ibrahim dies of a heart attack after his son graphically informs him of the gang rape in Jaffa.) The novel ends with Ishmael going insane and becoming delusional.