Congregational Book Discussion: The Lemon Tree

Congregational Book Discussion: The Lemon Tree
Led by Rabbi Jennifer Frenkel
Wednesday, August 27, 7:30-9:00 pm

As we continue to have the situation in Middle East on our minds and in our hearts, and struggle with our feelings as we try to find a way forward, Rabbi Frenkel will lead us in a discussion of The Lemon Tree, first published in 2006 and still relevant today.

The book is available from bookstores and online sellers, and you are encouraged to read it in advance of the discussion.

There is no charge for congregants to attend this in-person only program. Registration required (coming soon).

This congregation-wide event continues the conversation about Israel-Palestine and is sponsored by the Adult Education Committee.

The Lemon Tree: A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST

“Extraordinary … A sweeping history of the Palestinian-Israeli conundrum … Highly readable and evocative.” – The Washington Post

The tale of a simple act of faith between two young people, one Israeli and one Palestinian, that symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East – with an updated afterword by the author.

In 1967, Bashir Khairi, a twenty-five-year-old Palestinian, journeyed to Israel with the goal of seeing the beloved stone house with the lemon tree behind it that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house, he was greeted by Dalia Eshkenazi Landau, a nineteen-year-old Israeli college student, whose family left Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next half century in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, demonstrating that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and transformation.