Home 5 News 5 Refaat Alareer: Palestinian Literary Voice Silenced in Attack

Refaat Alareer: Palestinian Literary Voice Silenced in Attack

by | Dec 12, 2023 | News

 

The Gaza-based Palestinian poet and writer Refaat Alareer has been killed along with his brother, sister and her three children in an Israeli airstrike.  The writer was a professor at the Islamic University of Gaza and chose not to leave his home but to stay on and report what he saw which he said was far worse than what could be seen on social media.

 

His death has led to an outpouring of sorrow.  Fellow Gaza poet Mosab Abu Toha said “My heart is broken”.

 

Born in Gaz city, the 44-year-old writer He taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza and co-founded the organization We Are Not Numbers, which matched experienced authors with young writers in Gaza, and promoted the power of storytelling as a means of resistance.

 

Alareer edited two volumes of Palestinian short stories, Gaza Writes Back (2014) and Gaza Unsilenced (2015).  Euro-Med Monitor released a statement saying that it appeared that Alareer was deliberately targeted, saying that the apartment Alareer was in with his family was “surgically bombed out of the entire building where it’s located”, according to corroborated eyewitness and family accounts.

 

Tragedy has followed the family.  His brother, Hamada, as well as his wife Nusayba’s grandfather, brother, sister, and three nieces were killed during the 2014 Gaza war in an Israeli bombing campaign.  In total, it is reported Israel killed more than 30 relatives of Alareer and his wife.[

 

Recent News

27Mar
PublisHer Lounge to get international debut at Bologna Children’s Book Fair

PublisHer Lounge to get international debut at Bologna Children’s Book Fair

Bologna, Italy  PublisHer, the dynamic global initiative founded by Bodour Al Qasimi to empower women in publishing, will host its first international PublisHer Lounge, at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair from 31 March to 3 April 2025. Following successful editions at the Sharjah Booksellers Conference and Sharjah International Book Fair, the Bologna event marks PublisHer’s […]

26Mar
Paul Lynch Shortlisted for Dublin Literary Award

Paul Lynch Shortlisted for Dublin Literary Award

Irish Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch has been shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award for his highly acclaimed novel Prophet Song. Seventy-one books were nominated by 83 libraries around the world for the Dublin Literary Award. All 71 books were read by the five judges who chose the shortlist of six books. Worth €100,000 to […]

26Mar
PEN America Criticizes Trump’s Free Speech Orders

PEN America Criticizes Trump’s Free Speech Orders

PEN America is accusing President Trump of gross hypocrisy in his statements on freedom of speech.  The campaign body says:  “After President Donald Trump’s recent executive order ‘Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship’, in which he declared government censorship of speech “intolerable in a free society,” he immediately set about doing just that. […]

Related Posts

Paul Lynch Shortlisted for Dublin Literary Award

Paul Lynch Shortlisted for Dublin Literary Award

Irish Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch has been shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award for his highly acclaimed novel Prophet Song. Seventy-one books were nominated by 83 libraries around the world for the Dublin Literary Award. All 71 books were read by the five...

PEN America Criticizes Trump’s Free Speech Orders

PEN America Criticizes Trump’s Free Speech Orders

PEN America is accusing President Trump of gross hypocrisy in his statements on freedom of speech.  The campaign body says:  “After President Donald Trump's recent executive order ‘Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship’, in which he declared...

Sharjah Animation Conference Kicks Off on May 1st

Sharjah Animation Conference Kicks Off on May 1st

With the global animation industry set to surpass USD 500 billion by 2030, the demand for fresh ideas, innovative technology, and visionary storytelling has never been greater. Keeping pace with this momentum, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) is gearing up for the...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this

Pin It on Pinterest