Join us for an evening in conversation with Julie M. Norman and Zizette Darkazally to discuss Norman’s new book, Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare.In this urgent and compelling book, Julie M. Norman and Maia Carter Hallward tell the story of Gaza from its early foundations, across decades of occupation, to the devastation of the ongoing war. Rather than focusing on elites or abstract politics, at the book’s heart are ordinary Gazans -- students, aid workers, journalists, and teachers -- whose first-hand testimonies vividly illuminate the realities behind the headlines.
Refusing to sensationalise or oversimplify, the book reckons with the legal, moral, and humanitarian debates surrounding Gaza, from war crimes investigations to the contested meaning of resistance and the politicization of aid. Combining a nuanced narrative with hard-hitting reflections from everyday Gazans, the book serves as a timely and necessary disruption of media clichés and political binaries, telling the story of Gaza with clarity, compassion, and from the perspective of its own people.
Julie M. Norman is an Associate Professor of Politics & International Relations at UCL, the Director of UCL’s Israel-Palestine Initiative, and a Senior Associate Fellow on the Middle East at RUSI. She is the author of The Palestinian Prisoners Movement (2021), Understanding Nonviolence (2015), and The Second Palestinian Intifada (2010), and she has worked with the United Nations, British Council, and numerous NGOs in Israel-Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq. She is a frequent commentator on the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, and other media outlets.
Zizette Darkazally is an Associate Fellow with the Chatham House Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Programme and a consultant for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. She has previously worked for the United Nations and other international organisations covering political, electoral, and humanitarian portfolios, and she served as a legal adviser to the PLO’s negotiations support unit.
Tickets include a complimentary glass of wine or soft drink.
A portion of proceeds from book sales will be donated to support humanitarian aid in Gaza.
