Israel and Palestine: Pathways to Peace

Ghayath Almadhoun is a Palestinian poet who has published five volumes of poetry in Arabic, the latest being I Brought You a Severed Hand in 2024, and his poetry has been translated into nearly 30 languages. He has created several poetry films, collaborated extensively with artists and scholars, and curated numerous events, readings, and literary anthologies. In February 2025, his new book I Have Brought You a Severed Hand will be published simultaneously in English translation by Action Books in the United States and Divided Publishing in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Almadhoun was born in Damascus and currently divides his time between Berlin, Germany, and Stockholm, Sweden.

Ghayath Almadhoun adalah penyair asal Palestina yang telah menerbitkan lima buku puisi dalam bahasa Arab, dengan karya terbarunya berjudul I Brought You a Severed Hand yang terbit pada tahun 2024. Karya-karyanya telah diterjemahkan ke hampir 30 bahasa. Selain menulis puisi, ia juga membuat sejumlah film puisi, aktif berkolaborasi dengan seniman dan akademisi, serta mengkurasi berbagai acara sastra, pembacaan karya, dan antologi puisi. Pada Februari 2025, bukunya yang terbaru, I Have Brought You a Severed Hand, akan diterbitkan dalam versi terjemahan bahasa Inggris secara bersamaan oleh Action Books di Amerika Serikat dan Divided Publishing di Inggris dan Belgia. Almadhoun lahir di Damaskus dan kini tinggal bergantian di Berlin, Jerman, dan Stockholm, Swedia.

Omar El Akkad is a US-based Egyptian-Canadian journalist and novelist whose work powerfully reckons with living in a West that, he argues, has betrayed its core values of freedom and justice for all. El Akkad is the author of two acclaimed novels: American War and What Strange Paradise, as well as a nonfiction book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. In the latter book—titled after a phrase he coined in a viral social media post—El Akkad explores the anguish of witnessing injustice, especially in light of the violence in Gaza. He reflects on the deep disillusionment of realizing that many of the West’s promises were never meant to apply equally, and that some lives are consistently valued less than others. As a journalist, El Akkad has reported on the wars in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, the Arab Spring, and the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Omar El Akkad adalah jurnalis dan novelis berkebangsaan Mesir-Kanada yang tinggal di Amerika Serikat. Karyanya mengkaji bagaimana negara-negara Barat sering gagal memenuhi janji mereka tentang kebebasan dan keadilan bagi semua orang. Ia telah menulis dua novel populer, American War dan What Strange Paradise, serta sebuah buku nonfiksi berjudul One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Buku terbarunya, yang mengambil judul dari salah satu unggahan media sosialnya yang viral, membahas betapa menyakitkannya menyaksikan ketidakadilan yang terjadi, khususnya terkait kekerasan di Gaza. El Akkad menulis tentang betapa mengecewakan menyadari bahwa nilai-nilai kesetaraan Barat tidak benar-benar berlaku untuk semua orang, dan bagaimana kehidupan sebagian orang diperlakukan sebagai hal yang kurang penting dibandingkan yang lain. Dalam pekerjaannya sebagai jurnalis, ia telah meliput berbagai peristiwa penting, termasuk perang di Afghanistan, penjara Guantánamo Bay, kebangkitan Arab Spring, dan protes Black Lives Matter di Ferguson, Missouri.