Condition Critical

Life and Death in Israel/Palestine
by Alice Rothchild

In Condition Critical Alice Rothchild grabs for the truth behind the lies, writing with extraordinary moral clarity and a sharp eye for the injustices, absurdities, and cruel historical ironies that define Palestinian life on both sides of the Green Line.Ben Ehrenreich, Author of The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine

Condition Critical

Since 2003, obstetrician Alice Rothchild has traveled annually to Israel/Palestine with other concerned Americans, to learn about health and human rights situation of politically marginalized communities, especially Palestinians. Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine presents key blog posts and analytical essays that explore everyday life in Israel, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza up close and with searing honesty. These eyewitness reports and intimate stories depict the critical condition of a region suffering from decades-old wounds of colonization and occupation. Condition Critical dares (and inspires) its readers to examine the painful consequences of Zionism and Israeli expansion and to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.

Prepare to enter the world of contemporary Israel/Palestine through the unsparing eyes of an informed and passionate observer—a respected US physician struggling to understand the lived realities of Jews and Palestinians caught up in a trap unlike any other on earth.Jennifer Leaning, Director, Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
Never – I repeat, never – have I encountered such a wondrous amalgam of innumerable personal stories, a wealth of information and data, systematic historic explanation, and perfectly articulated ethical-political thought. Alice Rothchild is one of those Jews who is in a “special kind of exile,” criticizing Israel from a singular, insider, activist place. The three visits to Israel that she chronicles, ranging from June 2013 to March 2015, provide the narrative context for a literary trip that engages facts and ideology, individuals and organizations, towns, villages, cities, and refugee camps, the sweep of history and the present, current critical condition. And what about the future? Rothchild hints that we do not have the “privilege of despair.” Still, read the book… and weep!Anat Biletzki, Albert Schweitzer Professor of Philosophy, Quinnipiac University, and Professor of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University. Chair of the Board (2001-2006) of B’Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
[Rothchild] is committed to speaking truth to zionist power. But at some level she is also reaching out and speaking to the world at large. As one reads those lines of discourse one is struck by the ferocity of her intellectual honesty and moral outrage… I cannot salute Alice Rothchild enough for daring to speak her (and my) truth so boldly and unambiguously to her American Jewish audience. Dr. Hatim Kannaaneh, author of Chief Complaint: A Country Doctor's Tales of Life in Galilee

*** Read Alice Rothchild's report on how Israeli settlements and military controls are threatening Palestinian farming in the West Bank. The piece highlights the work of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), which supports farmers with seed banks, cooperatives, and legal aid to defend their land and livelihoods. Published by JWE.

Read a post about Alice Rothchild’s 2017 visit to Gaza. She and other activists met with health workers, educators, and community leaders to better understand daily life under siege. The visit underscored both the resilience of Gazans and the severe humanitarian crisis they face. Published by JWE.

Click here to access part two of Alice Rothchild’s reflections from her Gaza visit. The post continues her conversations with local professionals and her observations on the impact of the blockade.

Click here to read Alice Rothchild’s analysis of the health effects of Israeli occupation, focusing on the hidden toll it takes on Palestinian communities.

Click here for a post about Alice Rothchild’s Mid-Atlantic tour, where she explored health and human rights in Palestine. She also read from her book Condition Critical. The post includes video links from events at Columbia University, Bluestockings Bookstore, and the Jerusalem Fund—watch them here and here.

Click here for a post covering a JWE event featuring Alice Rothchild’s talk on Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine. The post also highlights No Country for Jewish Liberals by Larry Derfner, which examines the challenges liberal Jews face in light of Israeli state policies. The event sparked important discussion around justice in Palestine.

Click here to access Rothchild’s reflections during the Jewish High Holidays. In the post, she questions the merging of Judaism with Zionism and calls for critical reflection on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. She draws from her book Condition Critical to support her points with real stories and on-the-ground insight.

Condition Critical published in February 2017 in Paperback ($19.99), and Ebook ($9.99)

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256 pages, 6" X 9"
Published February 2017
ISBN 9781682570517