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Buy
the book for your children or donate it to Everyone's children
program
A Little Piece of Ground Elizabeth Laird Paperback
August 2003 Price: £6.74
Message from Emma Rosenthal
make donations to everyone's children a program of The Writing
Empowerment Project
Copy
of Message sent to the Toronto Star in Response to their article by
Marlene Newesri
Support the Publisher and the Author by sending letters and buying
the book
As all young children have been encouraged to read Anne Frank's
story, they should similarly be encouraged to read Laird's book
which depicts a Palestinian child's life under occupation and
oppression.
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Dear
Editor
In the original article that appeared in the Guardian on August 23, it stated that Jewish pressure groups were calling on the publisher to withdraw "A Little Piece of Ground" as being "anti-Israeli,"
which is about a fictional 12-year-old Palestinian boy named Karim,
growing up during the intifada whose family's olive groves have been
confiscated by settlers, and how he copes when his father is stripped
and humiliated by Israeli troops. The book, written by multi-award
winning author Elizabeth Laird, points out that its contents were
drawn from actual events, most of which were obtained from Israel's
main human rights' website (in all likelihood, the most respected and
well-known "B'tselem").
The events surrounding the character of little Karim are some of
the tragic realities faced by all Palestinian children and their
families living in the West Bank and Gaza, and may not even cover all
the brutalities which exist under the Israeli occupation.
Jewish groups have no right to demand that this publication be
withdrawn on the ground that it is "anti-Israel," as much as any
German groups would equally have had no right to demand that the
Diary of Anne Frank be withdrawn from publication on the ground that
it was anti-German. As all young children have been encouraged to
read Anne Frank's story, so should all children be similarly
encouraged to read Laird's book which depicts a Palestinian child's
life under occupation and oppression.
It is all the more disheartening that this pressure would originate
from groups who have forgotten their own tragic history by trying to
silence others in an attempt to deny the existence of an occupation
which has devastated the lives of every Palestinian man, woman and
child.
The issue should not be whether an account of events is
considered "anti," but whether the events are in fact true. Instead
of pressuring the removal of the publication, Jewish groups would do
a much better deed in the name of humanity by demanding the removal
of the occupation.
Marlene Newesri
New York City
*********************************************************************
Dear everyone,
Please consider writing a letter to the Publishers not to be intimidated by anyone pressuring them about the release of this very
important book.
McMillan Children's Books
25 Eccleston Place
London SW1W 9NF
Tel: 020 7881 8000
Fax: 020 7881 8001
Website: http://www.panmacmillan.com
CONTACT
Publicity: Alyx Price, Publicity Manager
Sales: Emma Hopkin
Editorial: Kate Wilson, Managing Director Children's
If you want to send an email, you can write to Kate Wilson or Elizabeth Liddiard.
K.Wilson@macmillan.co.uk
E.Liddiard@macmillan.co.uk
|
Buy
the book for your children or donate it to Everyone's children
program
A Little Piece of Ground Elizabeth Laird Paperback August
2003 Price: £6.74
Message from Emma Rosenthal
make donations to everyone's children a program of The Writing
Empowerment Project
Copy
of Message sent to the Toronto Star in Response to their article by
Marlene Newesri
Support the Publisher and the Author by sending letters and buying
the book
As all young children have been encouraged to read Anne Frank's
story, they should similarly be encouraged to read Laird's book
which depicts a Palestinian child's life under occupation and
oppression.
|
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