Raja Shehadeh

Palestine

About

Raja Shehadeh is a Palestinian lawyer, writer, and human rights activist born in Ramallah in 1951. He is the founder of Al-Haq, one of the first human rights organizations established in the Arab world, and has spent decades documenting the legal and social consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Shehadeh is best known for his reflective nonfiction, which combines personal memoir, landscape writing, and political observation to explore Palestinian identity, displacement, and the relationship between people and their land. His acclaimed book Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape (2007) recounts his walks through the hills surrounding Ramallah, examining how settlement expansion and political change have transformed the Palestinian landscape. The book won the Orwell Prize in 2008. Other notable works include Strangers in the House (2002), a family memoir, and Going Home (2019). Through precise, contemplative prose, Shehadeh explores the meaning of home, the erosion of cultural landscapes, and the persistence of everyday life under occupation.

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All genres Non-Fiction Memoir History Political Writing

All themes Identity & Belonging Family & Heritage Nature & Landscape

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We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I

In We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I, Palestinian writer and human rights lawyer Raja Shehadeh reflects on his complex relationship with his father, Aziz Shehadeh, a prominent lawyer and advocate for Palestinian rights. Through personal memories, family history, and historical research, Raja reconstructs his father’s life and examines the political convictions that shaped their relationship. Aziz believed in pursuing justice through legal means and sought peaceful solutions to the Palestinian struggle, while his son developed his own understanding of resistance, identity, and belonging. Their differences often created emotional distance, leaving unspoken feelings and misunderstandings between them. Against the backdrop of British rule, the creation of Israel, and the continuing transformation of Palestinian society, Shehadeh explores how political conflict enters even the most intimate family relationships. The memoir is both a tribute to his father and an attempt to understand him more fully, asking whether shared experiences and renewed understanding can bridge the distance between generations. It offers a deeply personal meditation on family, history, reconciliation, and the possibility of connection despite profound differences.

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