““Any book on Palestine-Israel that you think has ever [been] written, there’s a good chance that we have it.” ”
Mahmoud Muna is part of the family that runs the Educational Bookshop: the only English language bookstore in East Jerusalem. The current iteration of the Bookshop was opened in the 1980s by Mahmoud’s father, Ahmed. Today, the shop has multiple locations and thousands of titles on its shelves.
When Unsettled producer Max Freedman visited Jerusalem at the start of 2020, he stopped by the Educational Bookshop and sat down with Mahmoud. In this episode of Unsettled, they talk about the history of the bookshop and what it means — to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and people around the world.
Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Asaf Calderon, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson. This episode was reported by Max Freedman and produced by Emily Bell. Original music by Nat Rosenzweig. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.
MAHMOUD’S PICKS: NON-FICTION
Jerusalem in History by Kamil Asali
I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti
Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen by Joudi Kalla
In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story by Ghada Karmi
The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis
Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari Nusseibeh
The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine—A Tale of Two Narratives by Padraig O’Malley
The Peace Process: From Breakthrough to Breakdown by Afif Safieh
Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh
The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World by Avi Shlaim
Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation by Eyal Weizman
MAHMOUD’S PICKS: FICTION
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
Out of It by Selma Dabbagh
The Parisian by Isabella Hammad
The Children of the Ghetto: My Name is Adam by Elias Khoury