Defy the Stars

Defy the Stars by Jocelyn Hurndall is a very moving and insightful book, if – by definition – a very biased and one-sided book. I stumbled across it when I was doing some background research on our upcoming Middle East seminar. The book tells the story of 21-year-old photojournalism student Tom Hurndall who was shot dead by the Israeli army in 2003 when he was helping Palestinian children in the Gaza strip. The story is told by his mother and covers her and her husband’s quest for justice and the attempt to take to court those responsible for the shooting and the ‘rules of engagement’ policies.

It is a very bitter book at times but - I can imagine - gives a very accurate description of what live must be like for Palestinians living in the Gaza strip (the Hurndalls travel to the site where Tom was shot a few times and meet several of the people who live there). Definitely a worthwhile read.