Greater than the Sum of Our Parts
Feminism, Inter/Nationalism, and Palestine
An inspiring and intersectional re-imagining of the path to liberation in Palestine
How is the struggle for Palestinian freedom bound up in other freedom struggles, and how are activists coming together globally to achieve justice and liberation for all?
In this bold book, Palestinian activist Nada Elia unpacks Zionism, from its hypermilitarism to incarceration, its environmental devastation and gendered violence. She insists that Palestine's fate is linked through bonds of solidarity to other communities crossing racial and gender lines, weaving an intersectional feminist understanding of Israeli apartheid throughout her analysis. She also looks deeper into the interconnectedness of Palestine with Black, migrant, and queer movements, and with other indigenous struggles against settler colonialism, including that of Native Americans.
Greater than the Sum of Our Parts is a powerful and hopeful account, highlighting the role of the Palestinian diaspora, youth, and women, and inspired by activists across the world.
Nada Elia is a diaspora Palestinian writer, grassroots organizer, and university professor. She is the author of Trances, Dances, and Vociferations: Agency and Resistance in Africana Women’s Narratives, and has contributed chapters to Palestine: A Socialist Introduction and The Case for Sanctions on Israel. She is a core member of the Palestinian Feminist Collective and has been the plenary presenter at major conferences such as the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Her articles have been published in Mondoweiss, Middle East Eye and Electronic Intifada amongst many other places.
'An inspiring call to action that deconstructs the many oppressive systems we currently find ourselves struggling against, and shows us the way forward'
- Adam Horowitz, Executive Editor at Mondoweiss'The book our movements deserve. Crafted from decades of transnational activism, Nada Elia brilliantly weaves together the challenges of our time and the political frameworks necessary to overcome them'
- Noura Erakat, Associate Professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick in Africana Studies and the Program in Criminal Justice'I am so grateful that a book such as Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts finally exists! Reading it felt like drinking cold water on a parched day. The writing is bold and brave, the analysis clear-sighted and unflinching. And yet somehow, on top of all this, the book is full of heart, fierce love and radical empathy. A must read'
- Jen Marlowe, author of 'I Am Troy Davis' and 'The Hour of Sunlight''Offers a new map altogether: a map of survival, possibility, and hope. Like the Palestinian struggle for freedom itself, this map is collective, collaborative, built on and for radical love'
- Sherene Seikaly, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara'A compelling, even irresistible case for moving beyond rights and statehood for Palestine to a truly decolonial future. Grounded in the analysis of actual struggles, the book is informed by Elia's commitment to abolitionist feminist practice, which reorients the vision of what a post-Zionist Palestine could look like in crucial ways. Defined by solidarity rather than exceptionalism, this is a truly necessary book'
- David Lloyd, Department of English, University of California, US‘A book about community, resistance, and hope … heart-wrenching, inspirational’
- ‘Mondoweiss’‘Provides a unique view into the problems of Palestine and the resourcefulness of indigenous people, feminists, and the LGBTQ community globally’
- ‘Palestine Chronicle’‘Probes us to ask: where do we believe knowledge lies? What does it mean to practise solidarity across differences? How can we work to build a liberated future? Read the book, ask yourself these questions, and then organise to answer them – our liberation depends on it.’
- ‘Red Pepper’‘A book of hope and purpose … an important contribution to the Palestinian fight for self-determination’
- ‘Bella Caledonia’Introduction
Part One: Unsettling Indigeneity
1. From Cowboys to Indians: Zionism’s Opportunistic Discourse
2. On this Land: Indigenous Struggles from Turtle Island to Palestine
Part Two: Overcoming State-Sanctioned Settler Supremacy
3. Déjà Vu: The Apartheid Analogy
4. Lessons Learned: Looking Forward
Part Three: We Teach Life, Sir
5. Social and Political Liberation
6. Conclusion: Beyond Boundaries: Greater than the Sum of Our Parts
eBook ISBN: 9780745347493
140mm x 216mm