Mornings in Jenin

The physical remnant of that day was a distinctive scar that would mark Ismael’s face forever, and eventually lead him to his truth.

Crush mint and basil in the oil and rub it over your body to keep the skin firm, and on your scalp to put a shine in your hair.”

fourteen-year-old Dalia married Hasan Yehya Abulheja in a grand ceremony.

soiling the bright Bedouin designs of her thobe with mud stains and cactus thorns.

earthen jars, molasses, and assorted oils drifted

For this decision, Hasan would tell his little girl, Amal, many years later, “Habibti, we have nothing but education now. Promise me you’ll take it with all the force you have.” And his little girl would promise the father she adored.

no small measure would contribute to his tenured professorship at Hebrew University decades later.

each, at a young age and in his own world and language, had found refuge in the pages of poets, essayists, and philosophers.

Decades after war had divided the two friends, Hasan told his youngest child, a little girl named Amal, about his boyhood friend. “He was like a brother,” Hasan said, closing a book that had been given to him by Ari in the autumn of their boyhood.

Babel Amond market, where Hasan