"A city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land."
Geographer Shamsaddin al-Dimashqi (12561327)

'[I remember seeing] trees all about the city, olives and almond groves.'
Historian Ibrahim Skeik (19202004)

This was Gaza. Not the Gaza devastated by Israel"s onslaught, reducing this vibrant place to rubble, displacing its entire population. While Palestinian lives, culture and heritage are being destroyed, Gazans preserve their culture and heritage through literature, music, recipes, histories and memories.
Daybreak in Gaza interweaves four thousand years of this extraordinary place and people, showcasing the illustrious achievements of the past with insights from Gazans today. Vignettes of artists, acrobats, chefs, shopkeepers and medics offer stories of life, love, displacement and survival, rubbing shoulders with vivid accounts of the warriors and travellers of old.

Daybreak in Gaza humanises the people dismissed as mere statistics and "collateral damage", showing Gazans as artists and storytellers living lives full of culture and meaning. The book in your hands seeks to preserve the heritage that has been lost, and that which can never be lost, revealing the wealth of Gaza"s cultural landscape and the depth of its history.

Autorentext

Matthew Teller is a writer and broadcaster with decades of experience reporting on Israel, Palestine and the wider Middle East, with bylines in a wide range of global media outlets. His most recent book Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City* was named a Book of the Year by the Daily Telegraph. He frequently lectures and hosts discussions on Israel, Palestine and Gaza.

Mahmoud Muna** is a writer, publisher and bookseller from Jerusalem. He runs Jerusalem's well known Educational Bookshop and the Bookshop at the American Colony Hotel, centres of the literary scene in the city. He most recently was commissioned by Granta to publish the first ever edition of the magazine in Arabic.

Juliette Touma** is Director of Communications at UNRWA following decades of experience as part of humanitarian missions in the Middle East. Touma lives in Amman and travels frequently to the Palestinian territories, including Gaza.

Jayyab Abusafia is a London-based journalist from Jabalia refugee camp in the north of Gaza. He was formerly Sky News Arabia's senior reporter in London and a senior news presenter at Alghad TV. In Gaza, Abusafia worked as a radio presenter and a fixer/producer for global media including BBC, Channel 4 UK, Radio Canada and the Chicago Tribune. He was a nominee for Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Awards.

Zusammenfassung
Daybreak in Gaza captures the resilience of Gaza's people and culture amidst devastation. Through the stories of artists, doctors, students, and more, it showcases the vibrant cultural landscape of a place often reduced to statistics. This poignant record stands as a testament to Gaza's enduring spirit and resistance.