Fugitive Dreams Now Banned, and My New Book


Dear Reader,

… and February has run into March … where is the newsletter? In the interest of getting my upcoming book on Gaza ready for launch (soon), I’ve been taking a hiatus.

Further, when I returned from Palestine in Oct. 2023, I emptied miscellaneous items in my suitcase into a laundry basket that has remained untouched since. The hiatus is also giving me time to unpack that figurative laundry basket and resume everything I have suspended for the last 16 months, including my grief (see the piece “Embrace Your Grief, and Resist” below).

Fugitive Dreams readers ought to know that the book is now banned in Israel. My novel about one individual’s lifelong search for peace was among the books Israeli forces confiscated from the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem in a raid in February, repeated more recently. Such attacks affect more than the bookstore and its owners, and is clearly meant to intimidate and silence intellectual activity in occupied Palestine. I enclose a short piece about that raid.

Finally, I often get asked what I think about Trump’s “Riviera” plan. Here’s what I told the Egyptian daily al-Dostor:

As ridiculous as it is, Trump’s proposal is offensive and dangerous. Gaza is hallowed ground. With the remains of their loved ones under the rubble, the people of Gaza are the ones to decide what to do with their homes and lands, and where to rebuild.
The future of Palestine must rest in the hands of its people.
I wrote on Oct. 8. 2023, “We are not going anywhere – sumoud is the Palestinian signature.” The only places Palestinians will move to are the homes from which our parents and grandparents were evicted in 1948.

Following you find links to the interview and my elaboration in an essay (“Trump: Globalize Gentrification”).

With love,
Ramsey Hanhan


FEATURED

Please support the Educational Bookshop

Israeli Raid on the iconic Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem


INTERVIEWS

Interview With Amina Zaki of al-Dostor, Egypt

“The future of Palestine must rest in the hands of its people.”


ESSAYS

Embrace Your Grief, and Resist!

Trump: Globalize Gentrification

American Empire parading in the raw



Ramsey Hanhan is the author of two books on Palestine: an autobiographical novel, Fugitive Dreams, and a book of poetry and essays on Gaza (coming soon). His short stories and poetry appear in The Harvard Advocate, Fikra magazine, and elsewhere. He also speaks publicly about Palestine, literature, nature, spirituality, and healing. Ramsey was formerly a physics professor noted for his computer models that describe and predict complexity in nature. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and resides near Baltimore, Maryland.

Fugitive Dreams. “Tell me more about the Israelis,” whispers five-year-old Ksenya to her dad on a visit to her grandparents in Palestine. Sameer immediately feels a weight descend upon his shoulders. How to tell her the truth without “its bloodied shadow staining the course of her life?” Join Sameer on a personal journey through the last five decades of the Palestinian experience.

https://fugitivedreams.us

Available to talk about Palestine and books.

PO Box 374, Simpsonville, MD 21150
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Ramsey Hanhan

Ramsey Hanhan (رمزي حنحن) is the author of two books on Palestine: an autobiographical novel, Fugitive Dreams, and a book of poetry and essays on Gaza (coming soon). His short stories and poetry appear in The Harvard Advocate, Fikra magazine, and elsewhere. He also speaks publicly about Palestine, literature, nature, spirituality, and healing. Ramsey was formerly a physics professor noted for his computer models that describe and predict complexity in nature. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and resides near Baltimore, Maryland.

Read more from Ramsey Hanhan
Ramsey Hanhan speaking at a panel discussion on Palestine

Dear Reader, It is a blessing to have a voice at times like these. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I recognize, with deep gratitude, all those who hear and enable this voice, including you, dear readers. You may have noticed my retreat from social media. I am now on chapter 25 of my romantic novel, which has morphed into a dystopian sci-fi set in the digital age. Thankfully, I have also participated in many Palestine-related events, the recordings and photos from some of which I share below....

Ramsey Hanhan in front of the WYPR station in Baltimore

Dear Reader, How does it feel to be a Palestinian American at this time? What are the implications of the ceasefire for Palestinians here and in the Middle East? Join me tomorrow at noon on Midday with Tom Hall, WYPR-Baltimore, 88.1 FM or online. You can also catch me in person Saturday at the Palestine Youth Movement’s fundraiser picnic, ‘Gaza is the Compass’ (Arlington, VA). I will be tabling, so it’s a good opportunity to pick up your signed copy of Fugitive Dreams. In this newsletter, I...

video preview or Ramsey Hanhan reading a poem at the Al-Bireh Society Convention

Dear Reader, “Palestine lives!” I write in an 800-word essay published in Scene48 magazine in Haifa earlier this month. “Our brightest light in this enveloping darkness is our own century-long history of struggle; to keep Palestine alive, to unite, to forge our collective dream.” In this issue of my newsletter, while the genocide continues, I celebrate Palestinian culture and its ceaseless resistance to erasure, and affirmation of life. In that spirit, I share highlights from the Al-Bireh...