Feb 18, 2023– Good news for folks in Canada and the US having trouble finding a copy of Refusing to be Enemies. You can now access a PDF of the book from my profile on Academia.edu after joining Academia (including the free version).
Also, the book once again has a North American distributor. So far, though, this seems only to include Kindle and Kobo ebook firmats in addition to an exorbitantly priced hard cover edition. No affordable paperbacks that I could find, but I hope to soon be able to update the out-of-date information below regarding availability. Stay tuned.
January 2024 introduction to Eduardo Carli de Moraes 2014 interview as translated from the Portuguese by Google Translate:
In 2014, Gisele Toassa and I were living in Canada and the Netanyahu regime was already a monstrosity of genocidal fury against Gaza. I went to the People’s Social Forum in Ottawa and there I interviewed Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta. I now recover, for the A Casa de Vidro website, the text and video made for that occasion while, a decade later, entering 2024, we witness the exacerbation of the Zionists’ genocidal rage. This post at least makes an attempt to think about paths towards peace, which would require what today seems almost impossible to us: people who refuse to be enemies and are willing to live together peacefully for the sake of mutual flourishing.
Jan 2014 Interview about Refusing to be Enemies on Northern Spirit Radio
Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation is an interview-based study that prese
nts the voices of over 100 practitioners and theorists of nonviolence, the vast majority either Palestinian or Israeli, as they reflect on their own involvement in nonviolent resistance and speak about the nonviolent strategies and tactics employed by Palestinian and Israeli organizations, both separately and in joint initiatives. In their own words, these activists share examples of effective nonviolent campaigns and discuss obstacles encountered in their pursuit of a just peace, as well as the changes required for their organizations—and the nonviolent movement as a whole—to more successfully pursue this goal. Attention is also devoted to the special challenges of joint struggle and to hopes and visions for a shared future in the region.
Author and contributors are:
Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta (author), a Quaker Jew, lived in Jerusalem for seven years and has written widely on
Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activism and related topics.
Ursula Franklin (Foreword) is a Canadian Quaker thinker and writer, pacifist, feminist, social activist, and research scientist—a long-time member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW)—best known for her extensive writings on the political and social effects of technology.
Ghassan Andoni (editorial partner and essay contributor) is a cofounder of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Jeff Halper (editorial partner and essay contributor) is an anthropologist, author, lecturer, political activist, and co-founder and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).
Starhawk (essay contributor) is a Jewish-American peace, justice, and environmental activist and author, with broad experience in nonviolent activism, including in Palestine.
Jonathan Kuttab (essay contributor) is a pacifist Palestinian lawyer, writer, human rights advocate, and co-author of The West Bank and the Rule of Law.
Please have a look at the Reviews page of this blog.
Refus
ing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation should be available in hardcover (original 2010 edition)*, as well as the 2011 paperback and e-book edition pictured above.
Copies of the book can be found in many libraries (or you can request your local library to order a copy).
– The publisher’s website (from anywhere outside of the US and Canada)
– Amazon.co.uk (Paperback, hardcover, and Kindle e-book editions)
– Amazon.ca (Paperback, 2010 hardcover, and e-books)
– Quaker Book Service of Canadian Yearly Meeting (Paperback only)
– MiddleEastBooks.com (WRMEA’s store in Washington, DC – paperback only – now $24 + shipping; worthwhile if you’re in Mid-West or Eastern US and don’t plan to spend >$35 total on Amazon.com)
– Amazon.com (Paperback, 2010 hardcover, and Kindle e-book)
– Chapters.Indigo.ca (Kobo e-book only)
Research for Maxine’s book was supported in part by grants from the Canadian Friends Service Committee – CFSC. CFSC is a cosponsor of her presentations.
_______________________
* Please note: If you own a copy of the 2010 edition of Refusing to be Enemies or have read a borrowed copy, please go to the “Afterword” page of this blog to access a PDF of the Afterword written for the 2011 edition or, alternatively, you may request the PDF from the author, free of charge, of course..
refusingtobeenemiesthebook 
Please send us new posts
Hi,
I think I subscribed you to “follow” the blog. If I didn’t, please let me know.
Cheers from Nablus,
Maxine
Hi Friend — I’m in Nablus now — I will send you a link to my blog which will explain what I’m doing . Peace . Mel
One can now also follow Maxine’s blog via Networked Blogs on Facebook:
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/refusing-to-be-enemies-the-book
Maxine, I set that up as we discussed, and you’ll want to claim the blog there are the owner, the next time you log into Facebook.
Cheers!
One can now follow this blog via Networked Blogs on Facebook:
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/refusing-to-be-enemies-the-book
Maxine, I set that up as we discussed; you’ll want to claim that as the blog owner the next time you log into Facebook.
Cheers!
Hi Stasa,
Thanks for doing that. I’m on the ferry to Ireland, so I’ll take a look and see what I need to do. But I’m a real “technopeasant” when it comes to Facebook and the like.
All the best from the good ship Ulysses,
Maxine
Hi again, Stasa,
I’m ashamed to admit that today, for the first time, I took a look at the networked blog page you set up. WOW! I’m really impressed and will let folks know they can follow it in this way. Many, many thanks!
Best,
Maxine (back in Canada and planning some short book-related forays into Washington State, Alberta, and the BC interior in coming months)
p.s. I can’t figure out how to “claim” the blog. Is it important to do so?
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
I’m sorry to hear that. I have no control over subscriptions, etc. So I suggest that you contact the folks at WordPress via email.
I read REFUSING TO BE ENEMIES years ago and it is still a source of vitality for the spirit. I hope that it becomes possible for all Palestinian Arabs and all Israelis including Settlers to find ways to link with #SDG17 and become active in the UfM and make the Middle East the most accomplished part of the world for climate solutions by 2030.
So glad to hear that, Alan. I’d love to know more about #SDG17 and UfM, neither of which I’m familiar with.
Great to hear from you, Maxine. I met you at that Amnesty AGM in Kelowna BC back around 2012. I was the Amnesty Rep at an orientation on Nov 23, 2016 that the BC Council for International Co-operation was holding at the Kelowna Forum on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, and I was blown away by the potential.
#SDG4 has been tasked with the goal of reviving the UNESCO Culture of Peace program, from International Year 2000 for the Culture of Peace. NATO and the US did not co-operate in implementing the action program that would have given the world the tools to make choosing peace easier than the resort to war.
Wow Maxine you are a celebrity not only in the way you act, and think and now your gift of writing. Always comforting to know when you are at a talk, rally or protest. Thank you for keeping the fire burning.
Likewise, Tara!