Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland

321 Pages·2013·2.71 MB·English

by  Pamela J. Olson

Praise for Fast Times in Palestine
“A moving, inspiring account of life in Palestine that’s enormously
informative yet reads like a novel.”
—REBECCA VILKOMERSON, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
“It’s love in the time of occupation as Pamela Olson… takes us on the emotional
roller-coaster of her very personal experience of life in Ramallah—and in doing
so lays bare the human drama of a people… determined to live free.”
—TONY KARON, Senior Editor, TIME
“Part adventure story, part searing reportage, part love story, and wholly
absorbing.”
—DR. KENNETH RING, Co-author, Letters from Palestine
“Pamela Olson leads the reader on an exciting, funny, at times heart-wrenching
journey, carefully deciphering complex political and historical issues. Olson is a
talented writer, intelligent and exceptional in her ability to convey both tragedy
and hope, remaining morally grounded and refreshingly honest.”
—RAMZY BAROUD, Author, My Father was a Freedom Fighter
“As an Israeli whose life was shaped by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I found
Fast Times in Palestine moving and refreshing. Pamela Olson comes to the
Middle East with a blank slate and is therefore able to hold up an undistorted
mirror to the reality she encounters.”
—MIKO PELED, Author, The General’s Son
Fast Times in Palestine
Pamela J. Olson
Copyright 2011 Pamela J. Olson
This book is available in print at Amazon.com
Visit www.pamolson.org to learn more
Other Books by Pamela J. Olson
Siberian Travels
Camp Golden Shaft
The Fable of Megastan
The Brimming Void
Tribute for Ronan
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: From the Midwest to the Middle East
Border Prologue
Degree of Freedom
The Sinai
Eye of the Storm
CHAPTER 2: Olives, Tea, and Assault Rifles
Galilee
Into the West Bank
Jayyous
The Wall
Olive Rain
Surrounded
Rania’s House
Yusif’s Islam
Qais
Ramadan
CHAPTER 3: Behind the Fence
Nablus
Dan in Israel
Ramadan Daze
Dan in Palestine
Thunderstorm
Helicopters and Hellfire
Settlement
The Eid
The Last Picnic
Home Again
CHAPTER 4: Ramallah—Palestine has its own Beer?
Ben Gurion Airport
Ramallah
The Muqataa
Office Life
Sangria’s
Invasion Party
Yasmine
Ramallah International Film Festival
Cops and Robbers
Cold War and Peace
CHAPTER 5: Suddenly a Journalist
Jayyous Nights
Grapevines and Sea Breezes
Amman Again
Home Sweet Ramallah
Dead Sea Stroll
Arabian Idol
Bethlehem’s Walls
Goons. Hired Goons.
An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse
CHAPTER 6: Bombings, Weddings, and a Kidnapping
Suicide Bomb
Checkpoint Wedding
Disappeared
Osama the Commie
Shoot ’em Up
Zeitoun
Another Bombing
Days of Penitence
CHAPTER 7: Arafat’s Funeral
Ramallah Ramadan
Rest in Peace, Abu Ammar
Holiday in Jayyous
Omar’s Story
My Boss Decides to Run for President
CHAPTER 8: Running for President in a Nation without a Country
Announcement on the Run
Beaten in the Street
Christmas: Dire Straits in Bethlehem
Mass Destruction
New Year’s in a Garden on the Moon
Shifting and Swifting
Election Day
CHAPTER 9: Holy Land Spring
Gunpoint
Winter Living
Eid al Adha
Ceasefire
Suicide Bomber’s Family Shunned
Thuglife
Nablus in April
Passover
Bab al Shams
CHAPTER 10: The Grand Tour
Deep in Enemy Territory
Okies in the Promised Land
Rum Night
Civil Society’s Unified Call
Tel Aviv with Nick
CHAPTER 11: The Gaza Disengagement
Disengagement Thoughts
Sultans of Swank
East Jerusalem Outrage
Hip Hop and a Grenade
Disengagement Fever
Israeli Musicians Discover Ramallah
What Ceasefire?
Drinking by the Sea in Gaza