Israel And Palestinian Paper

The Nimrod Flipout

Etgar Keret's The Nimrod Flipout is a book that focuses on the everyday life of Israeli's rather than focusing on some of the bigger concerns. Not once throughout the book are occupied territories, homeland, or any words in that category. All of the stories are based on an everyday Israeli citizen or citizens, and the more political concerns are left out. Also, I feel that most of the stories can be related to by the reader. They do not talk about concerns specific to Israel and Palestinian, and rather have concerns that focus on everyday people all around the world.

The Ironclad Rules for example is definitely a story that many people can relate to. The first sentence sums it all up. "Usually we don't kiss around other people."(Nimrod Flipout pg. 137) This idea or unspoken rule is felt and followed by many people. Anyone who is reading this story is most likely able to relate to it, which makes the piece interesting to read. The One Kiss on the Mouth in Mombasa is another story along the same lines as Ironclad Rules. Both of these stories talk of relationships and love. Both relationships and love are everyday ordinary concerns, which is what Keret's book is all about. In this particular story, a woman is watched by a man while in Mombasa on an army duty. For three months, this one Dutch man stared at this woman for 3 months and did not say a word. Finally, when she was about to leave, he said he was just imagining their kiss. The story ends with the man who the woman is with now saying that he was not jealous of that Dutch man. I think this man may have realized how much his wife to be meant to him. He was going to marry her, and that Dutch man had just sat there for three months imagining one kiss. Both of these stories appeal to anyone who is interested in everyday love and relationship issues.

In the story The Nimrod Flipout, it focuses on a young group of teens. This is just another aspect of everyday life that is presented in Keret's book. Throughout the time spent in the Israel and Palestinian course, the word Sinai has many meanings. Occupied territory and control are constantly talked about while speaking of Sinai. However, Keret stays away from that route, and sticks with the ordinary one. "If life is one big party, Sinai is definitely the chill-out room"(Nimrod Flipout pg. 9), is a quote that shows how Sinai can have a totally different meaning to Israeli teens. Everyone in their teens had places to hang out and such, and referring to Sinai as a hang out place, allowed me to relate to the story. I never thought of Sinai as a place teens would hang out, but after reading this story, I have a new understanding on what Sinai may mean to those who are close to it.

To completely stay away form the traditional Zionist concerns, instead of using another ordinary life example, Keret talks about some stories that are just plain imaginary. Bottle, A Goodlooking couple and Fatso are all stories that use some form of imagination and fiction. Fatso for example, is a story of a man who dates a girl who turns into a fat man at night. This story, while it is very unbelievable, still has a very insightful meaning. Every couple enjoys being in the others company, but at the same time, both of them like to hang out with their friends. I feel this story shows that idea very well. In the day, the man's girlfriend is there and they will do what couples do. Go out to dinner, a movie, etc, and then at night she disappears leaving a fat man who loves soccer. At first the man is apprehensive about this, but as time goes on he learns to enjoy hanging out with the fat man. They "go to restaurants and bars he never knew existed, dance on the tables together, and break plates like there's no tomorrow."(Nimrod Flipout Pg. 5) The story ends with the statement that "every night you fall asleep with him struggling to stay awake for the Argentinean finals, and in the morning there she is, the beautiful, forgiving woman who you love, too, till it hurts."(Nimrod Flipout Pg.6) This seems to me that this man is now getting the best of both worlds. He spends time with his girlfriend in the day, but at night his buddy is with him. While this story is very entertaining, it really shows a realistic aspect of life and relationships.

Teddy Trunk is a story that reminds people of their childhood. It was not uncommon to have a nickname that the kids called you. This story portrays a man named Teddy or "Teddy Trunk." The story mainly focuses on a man who was called Teddy Trunk by his friends from school. Teddy turned out to be a successful business man, and they run into some old friends who tell his driver why he was called Teddy Trunk. It seemed his friends didn't have much respect for him, since every night he "curled up in the trunk on the way to Tel Aviv." (Nimrod Flipout Pg.86) Time went by and Teddy Trunk became successful, and "no one calls him that anymore"(Pg. 86), shows that they gained respect for him. I think that this type of situation happens a lot, and many of the ones who are made fun of in high-school go on to be very successful. Also this story changes my view on Tel Aviv. Again Tel Aviv was just a place I heard of in the text book and lectures, but in this story it is shown as a social teen drinking spot. This is just another way to divert someone's thoughts of a place due to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, to thoughts of the particular place in everyday life.

Whether Keret tackled issues such as love, sex, childhood, imagination, each of the stories had a subtle meaning behind it, focusing on the common everyday situations everyone goes through. Before reading this book I had knowledge on the factual information of the Israel and Palestinian conflict, but after reading I gained the knowledge of the everyday people who live there. Seeing a little glimpse into their everyday life caused me to relate to them, and gain a better understanding that their lives are not so different from mine.

I Saw Ramallah

I Saw Ramallah is a more personal book that focuses on the serious issues of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Unlike Nimrod Flipout, this book is more of a serious book, and deals with one man's experience with being exiles from his homeland.

Mourid Barghouti is a Palestinian man who left his homeland because his mother wanted him to receive a college education. He leaves and does receive his degree, but on the last day of finals, the Israeli's take over his homeland and he is forced into exile. Then 30 years later he returns to a place he once knew very well, but it is much different than what he saw in his memories. He states that "is