ABOUT THIS BOOK

A memoir that combines political and economic commentary with personal and national history.

Mohammad Tarbush was born in British Mandate Palestine. As an infant, he and his family were forced to evacuate their village together with its entire population, after the Zionist victory that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. Then as landless refugees in the West Bank, the family sank into poverty. When, as a teenager, Tarbush left home one day under the pretext of visiting relatives in Jordan, he in fact set off on a year-long hitchhiking journey to Europe, where he would eventually become a highly successful international banker and a key behind-the-scenes promoter of the Palestinian cause. In My Palestine, Mohammad Tarbush combines poignant personal memoir with incisive political and economic commentary on the tumultuous events that shaped the history of Israel, Palestine, and the modern Middle East.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Mohammad Tarbush (1948–2022) was born Beit Nattif, near Jerusalem. In 1988, he became managing director at Deutsche Bank and then at UBS. He is the author of several books including Reflections of a Palestinian. His writings on Palestine have appeared in the Guardian and Financial Times, among others. Nada Tarbush represents Palestine as a diplomat at the United Nations in Geneva. She holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, and Master’s degrees from Columbia University, Sciences Po Paris, and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

REVIEWS

"As impressive a man as the Arab world has to show."

— Edward Said on Mohammad Tarbush

"My Palestine portrays, with profound sympathy and knowledge, the courage of the long-suffering Palestinian people as they cope with the catastrophe that has befallen them. It is, above all, an intimate and moving account of the resourcefulness of the human spirit to endure."

— Abdulrazak Gurnah

"This autobiography offers a gripping account of the trajectory – from destitute refugee to writer, scholar, banker and public advocate – of an extraordinary individual, while at the same time illustrating the story of the Palestinian people. Politically astute and sensitive to the nuances of the Western societies where he was educated and worked, Mohammad Tarbush describes living in a world where Palestinians did not exist, or existed only as the nemesis of Israelis, and his efforts to remedy this erasure and this bias."

— Rashid Khalidi

"Far more than a memoir, Mohammad Tarbush’s remarkable and courageous life, which he narrates with great lyricism, offers readers a keyhole through which to see the immense forces that created one nation by stealing another. While insisting on justice for the crimes of the ongoing Nakba, Tarbush’s vision for a shared future – rooted in true equality for all people from the river to the sea - feels at once inevitable and irresistible."

— Naomi Klein

"With righteous indignation, his heart thumping, but a fair mind, his reasoning untainted by hate, Mohammad Tarbush delineates the catastrophe that has befallen his people, starting with his own family, and articulates how there can be no way forward in the Middle East but through truth-telling, good faith, justice, and co-existence. This book is a work of necessity and hope. Read it and be wiser."

— Yann Martel

"A fascinating story about a boy who follows his dreams against all odds. About good people along the way. About help, compassion and friendship. And about the power of belonging to a landscape, to one’s family and to the family of man. This autobiography teaches us that nothing can destroy human spirit and there are no weapons that can kill hope."

— Nurit Peled-Elhanan

"A poignant account of one Palestinian’s life journey, from the dispossession of the Nakba to international recognition in exile and a life of activism in pursuit of Palestinian national rights. An unforgettable book."

— Eugene Rogan

"Here is a book with a big heart. A personal as well as political history of Palestine. Poignantly written and closely argued. It’s impossible to read this and continue to argue for the status quo."

— Arundhati Roy

"The interplay of optimism and sorrow in this memoir is extraordinary. The story of Mohammad Tarbush is a story of Palestine, but also the story of a singular, remarkable Palestinian."

— Kamila Shamsie

"This is a tale of resilience and perseverance of an extraordinary man beautifully rendered and replete with joy and hope."

— Raja Shehadeh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

"Preface xiii
Introduction 1
Part I
Leaving Home: From Palestine to Europe 7
Part II
Studying, Working and Identity in Exile 83
Part III
Writing, Activism and Historical Perspectives 171
Epilogue
A Call for a One-State Solution 291
Notes 317
Acknowledgements 334"