A Land Twice Promised (Baum) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
The following questions have been graciously submitted to LitLovers by Maggie Bailey from Bull Valley, Illinois. Thank you Maggie!

1. Are there parallels you can draw between the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the current political situation in the US?

2. How has the press contributed to the divisiveness in both the US and Israel?

3. Have you ever experienced a friendship like the one between Noa and Jumana, where your perceived differences were so immense that a friendship was unlikely?

4. What role has storytelling played in your life? Are you a storyteller?  Who are the storytellers in your life?

5. The book seems to serve different listed purposes. It is the story of history told from different perspectives.

• It is the story of an incredible friendship between two women
• It is the story of a seemingly unending, unresolvable conflict
• It is the story of how Noa became a storyteller
• It is the story of one woman’s attempt to begin to bring peace to a troubled land
• It is the story of the evolution of Noa’s perception of and relationship with her mother

   —How successful was Noa in achieving each of these purposes?

6. Are there traumatic events from your childhood that you believe shaped your political and worldviews?

7. Yaakov, who was killed when he was only twenty-two, is sanctified and idolized my Noa’s mother. How have you reacted when a deceased (from your life) is portrayed as nothing short of perfection? Examples both personal and political, perhaps?

8. “We were never taught to hate them. It is only that they hate us, and what can we do? We have no choice but to defend ourselves.” How has this common attitude affected efforts toward building peace over the last few thousand years?

9. Give some examples from the story of the juxtaposition of the mundane and the elaborate ritual. (e.g. Noa worrying about getting an itch during the 120 seconds of standing during the yearly Holocaust Memorial Day.)

10. Noa began her storytelling career early with the saga of her imaginary brother Yigal, the heroic soldier. Have you (or your kids) ever woven such an elaborate story about an imaginary person?

11. (LitLovers Generic Questions): What are some specific passages that struck you as significant… What was memorable?
 
12.  Has this book changed your attitude toward Israel? Palestine? In what ways?

13. Can learning each other’s stories actually solve seemingly unsolvable conflicts? How? Consider the following quotations:

• "An enemy is one whose story we have not heard." —Gene Knudsen-Hoffman
• "People become the stories they hear and the stories they tell.” —Elie Wiesel
• “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” —Gandhi.

From Noa Baum: Hard questions remain:

• Who will control the important town of East Jerusalem, including the old city, which is home to ancient religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims?
  
  
• Will the Palestinians ever be permitted to establish a free state, independent of Israel? What will be its borders?
  
  
• What will happen to Palestinian refugee families, some of whom have now lived in camps for generations? Will they be allowed to return to a Palestinian State? Will any be allowed back into Israel, or will they be compensated economically?
  
  
• What will happen to the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories?

Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority insist that they have offered reasonable compromises, but that the other side will not accept them. Meanwhile, the violence continues. But citizen to citizen exchanges also continues, and the hope for reconciliation and peace is still alive in the hearts of many Israelis and Palestinians.

(Questions developed by Maggie Bailey and offered to LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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