Gorgeously and intricately written. Perfect Victims takes up questions adjacent to ones I've been considering the limits of witness, specifically regarding respectability politics and dehumanization. The argument is theory-heavy, which will have some bearing on the audience for this book. This is not a criticism, but rather a recognition of my weaker areas as a scholar and reviewer. Even so, thoughtful questions regarding Palestinian resistance and liberation.

Of all the books I’ve read related to Palestine, this is the best one. This book is beautifully written while interrogating the rhetoric surrounding Israel’s occupation and genocide. It’s a challenging book to get through, but definitely worth the effort.

Thank you to NetGalley, Haymarket Books, and Mohammed El-Kurd for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Timely, devastating and very moving; challenging our conception of the world order. In a time of great persecution of protest and the world order tilting in the favour of the war machine, we need to read and understand this like a study of society.

This book gets proven right every day. It could not be more relevant. Seeing criticism of Mahmoud Khalil so lined up with sections from El-Kurd’s writing you can almost see the playbook. And then of course hearing a Palestinian in Gaza who pointed out how Khalil has attracted so much attention but he is still starving, that he believes people have grown used to reading about Palestinian suffering.

So yes, I see evidence of the truth of El-Kurd’s writing constantly. I saw his name and immediately grew excited to read this because I loved his poetry collection “Rifqa”.

It took me a while to get through this. While short in length the content is heavy though the style is very engaging. It is difficult to stomach the unfairness and absurdity of some of the examples El-Kurd discusses. So much death and so little justice. And somehow still it is beautifully written, somehow still it concludes on a hopeful note.

This book made me feel a lot of things, I highlighted so many passages, and I am going to purchase my own copy. I look at the news and I feel like I’m losing my mind, I watch interviews and hear insane justifications from “reputable” figures, acclaimed newspapers. These writings helped me process this disconnect, it was a balm.

An incredible nonfiction take down of the ways we discuss Palestinians and the little boxes they are put in in order for the broader public (read: Western) to take their struggle and oppression seriously. El-Kurd's background as a poet leads to a tremendous prose and inspiring use of language to accompany his timely argument. Extremely prescient and also timeless--although may there be one day that Palestinians receive justice.

What a powerful and emotionally gripping read. Like an intimate, eye-to-eye conversation with a friend. El-Kurd’s writing reads of poetry intermingled with history, journalism, and introspection to invite readers to explore how we engage with Palestinian people and their voices. The foundational question and premise of the book is both crucial and timely. This will be one of my most recommended books of the year, without a doubt.

Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal written by Mohammed El-Kurd is a deeply moving and insightful read into the Palestinian condition of resistance, resilience and refusal, and an ode to the steadfastness of a nation.

This is a comprehensive and coherent collection of works from award-winning poet, journalist, writer and organizer from Jerusalem, occupied Palestine. He has written Perfect Victims with such care and consideration, and eloquent intelligence.

Who holds the power to shape the narrative? Why must Palestinians prove their humanity? What are the implications of such an infuriatingly impossible task? Are we too acquainted with the horrific? Are we accepting the Western and Zionist propaganda?

This book offers varying tonal shifts, from lyrical prose to personal narrative, unflinching critique, sorrow, analysis and indignation. Many of these shifts, and the different pronoun usage throughout, is rather representative of the disparate Palestinian conditions, that are marked by colonial fragmentation.

“The least that anyone can do, is to raise the ceiling of what is permissible.”

I am ill-equipped to explain how deeply impactful this book is - the articulation of the enduring nature of oppression, violence, suppression, erasure; the asymmetry of victimhood; the incongruity and cognitive dissonance.

With many thanks to Mohammed El-Kurd, Haymarket Books and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy, in exchange for an honest review.

A must-read for anyone interested in the complex and often fraught history of the Palestinian experience, those passionate about human rights and social justice, or wishing to comprehend the dynamics that perpetuate oppression. The works cited are extensive and offer a huge array of further reading opportunities.

Thank you to Haymarket for the copy! Mohammed El-Kurd never ceases to amaze me. He remains brilliant and cutting with a lyricism that does not escape him even when recounting the most dire events. Perfect Victims captures not only the cruelty of colonialism — both its aftermath of displacement and death and its vicious persistence in the wake of mass graves — but the conditions under which Palestinians must survive while simultaneously proving their humanity to the world.

El-Kurd touches on a myriad of things in such brevity, but the sentiments and research do not go unnoticed. Chronicles of martyrs and their horrific deaths, courtesy of the occupying entity. Children, elders, snipers, air strikes. Between mentions of murdered children and elders, he asks why the age or gender of the victim matters when "bombs do not discriminate on the basis of political ideology" — why must women and children be the only worthy contenders of sympathy when Palestinian men are just as deserving? In the eyes of the occupying entity and the West, a criteria of moral personhood and dormancy must be achieved in order to ascend to worthiness and victimhood. El-Kurd writes that "the problem is, if you want to humanize the Palestinian, you have to defang the Palestinian."

He analyzes fallacies in the debate against humanizing Palestinians (e.g., "what about the settlers?", "do you want to throw 'Israelis' into the sea?"). This section was particularly interesting since language can so easily become a weapon against the oppressed in order to absolve the brutality of the occupiers. Headlines that are skewed towards a blameless, causeless death that somehow happened without a perpetrator. Journalist reports on Palestinian deaths that somehow must include verbiage of the martyr's relation to America to earn relevance. ("To attempt to eulogize a Palestinian man in the colonizer's lexicon is to self-flagellate.") What about-isms that center concerns over a nonexistent outcome for the occupiers as an actual genocide plays out in the current day.

It is difficult to not be moved at all times by El-Kurd's comprehensive reflections which are both tender and enraged. But I found Chapter 3 - Shireen's Passport to be one of the most impelling parts. We will never forget the martyr Shireen Abu Akleh and the way the occupiers overthrew her funeral. We will never forget that even in death, Palestinians are unable to rest, and that even burying the dead is a human right not afforded to their people.

El-Kurd ends Perfect Victims with a beautiful epilogue that echoes the hope he emanated in his poetry collection, Rifqa. It's a call for persistence, a prayer for an end to the occupation. But of course, this is only possible if we exercise the agency we have against fascism and colonialism now, and not when history becomes the determinant of whether brutality was acceptable and humanity debatable.

As El-Kurd writes it: "Such bravery is asked of us now, not when gardens grow over our martyrs' graves, not when the debris is swept up and sculpted into memorials, and not when the bloodied press vests of our fallen journalists rest eternally in shadow boxes."

“We die a lot. We die in fleeting headlines, in between breaths. Our death is so quotidian that journalists report it as though they’re reporting the weather: Cloudy skies, light showers, and 3,000 Palestinians dead in the past ten days. And much like the weather, only God is responsible - not armed settlers, not targeted drone strikes.”

'Perfect Victims' by Mohammed El-Kurd is an important and necessary read.
If I could, I would put it into the hands of every single person on the planet who turns a blind eye to the ongoing ruthless massacre of the Palestinian people that we're witnesses of.

In 'Perfect Victims', El-Kurd sheds light on the struggle, injustices, and oppression Palestinians face every single day.
It's about the role of language used in the media and by the world leaders to justify occupation and genocide and dehumanise Palestinians in the process.
He points out that the way the world views Palestinian people's suffering has become a moral stain on our conscience and a betrayal to collective humanity.
Palestinians face the impossible demand of being "perfect victims" to be worthy of empathy, dignity, support, and freedom.
It's expected of them to prove their humanity first, as if humanity is something they're not entitled to because they don't follow colonial and Western standards of victimhood.

"The strategy of defending ourselves, often preemptively, against the baseless charge of antisemitism has historically brought us closer to it. And, more than that, such an impulse inadvertently elevates the history of Jewish suffering—which certainly studied, if not honored—above our present day suffering, a suffering that is denied and disputed, despite being relentlessly televised."

El-Kurd critiques the Western and Zionist propaganda, censorship, and erasure, and debunks certain narratives and discourse spread in the media that perpetuate harm.

'Perfect Victims' is an essential and devastating read. It features El-Kurd's most important pieces on Palestine.
I urge everyone to read it!

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A fantastic nonfiction work that is a must read for anyone committed to Palestinian liberation. El-Kurd is an engaging writer and though this is certainly an academic text, it was hard to put down and very readable.

Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal was an evolutionary read for me as someone who has struggled to find the precise language to discuss Palestine, and therefore settled for nebulous talking points within the ballpark for too long.

Based on Mohammed El-Kurd’s previous essays and articles, this book felt like an inevitability—something the author himself admits to at various points, including the acknowledgements.

It is, at once, both an archive of El-Kurd’s most important pieces on Palestine (works that the apartheid regime are actively trying to censor and erase) and an elaboration on points we’ve known him to make both in speech and writing throughout his career.

I’m struggling as I write this review because everything I want to say, Mohammed El-Kurd already has—and in a much more articulate, eloquent, poetic, and gut-punching fashion. As much as this book taught me, I feel ill-equipped to sing the praises of a piece that hits the high notes on its own.

So I’d like to use this space to prompt people: if you’re interested in reading Mohammed El-Kurd’sbook, then read any one of his essays or articles online first. Familiarise yourself with his style and the subjects he is most concerned with. These tinier doses will sufficiently convince you (I promise) to pick up the more concentrated conversation on who gets to be a perfect victim, and why do we concern ourselves with the semantics of naming oppressors, but not when speaking of those being oppressed.

Highly recommend. Mohammed El-Kurd’s collection of essays, parts previously published in different publications prior to being included here, is an essential work for those advocating for Palestinians, and for anyone interested in the role of language and media discourse in perpetuating harm.

Here, the author grapples with his own Palestinian question. In these texts, he interrogates the various ways Palestinians are continually dehumanised in various discourse, well-meaning or otherwise. It seems obvious that certain things are unequivocally wrong: settler colonialism, apartheid, eradicating life and means to life, et al. Yet, language is utilised to erase this context and/or imply that there are certain conditions where such things might be allowed, even accepted.

Palestinians have to be ‘perfect victims’ to be worthy of empathy and support. They are defanged in multiple ways, e.g. tokenisation in exchange for permission to narrate, erasure of Palestinian men in favour of women and children being put forward as representatives of the ‘perfect victim’ trope, reliance on ‘acceptable’ outsider testimonies, the lengths taken to ‘humanise’ as if to better represent the idea that they are just like you, as if they weren’t already fellow human beings. But, as he puts it: “The problem is, if you want to humanize the Palestinian, you have to defang the Palestinian.”

In these essays, he reasons through the hows and whys behind the perpetuation of such discourse, such as whether it be due to racial bias, class blindness, clout chasing, cashing in on what sells, or even out of love. He reasons through this without excepting himself and those in the diaspora, as well as non-Palestinians more generally. “Are we indeed all Palestinians”, he questions in an essay, parts of which had been previously published elsewhere. What does this demand of us, when exempt from realities on the ground.

At the very least, it is about listening and being mindful of the language we do use, how we might play into practising a politics of appeal, how our words might perpetuate Palestinian victimhood. It requires an analysis of the self and knowing our place, not distracting from the original sins of settler colonialism, apartheid, genocide faced by those forced to live through it. All Palestinians deserve to live free of violent oppression and harm end of story, without judgment or ‘redeeming’ qualifiers, without needing to prove their perfect victimhood or humanity.

Lots of food for thought and reflection here. This is a text that is in conversation with works exploring similar tropes and false binaries that ultimately distract from actual sources of harm and discontent, and works that move away from a need to talk back to the empire and instead urge our sovereign selves to speak with one another and act accordingly. Thank you so much to @haymarketbooks @netgalley for my copy of this worthwhile read, very grateful!

“But I will never be a perfect victim.”

“Death is everywhere. Even metaphor is a casualty of war. The figurative has become painfully literal (...) death is now a boring scarecrow.”

When I first laid my eyes on this title, I thought of the Palestinian UN ambassador's speech when he said, “ Do they have the right to kill and the only right we have is to die? “ and then I saw the name of the author; I knew in an instant it’d be a great read, and a GREAT read it was.

This is one of the easiest 5-stars I have given to nonfiction. Writing about a 5-star read is extremely difficult since I only want to quote the book and let you see for yourself. It is so well-researched, and it has such painful and beautiful writing. It has been ages since I read something full of poetical anger and information that reminded me a lot of Ghassan Kannfani’s writing, and that is the highest complaint I can give to a modern-day writer.

This book delves into many topics, i.e. dehumanization, propaganda and Journalism, but they All surround one thing: humanization: the Palestinian drive to be seen; however, to achieve that, we—as global political societies and witnesses of the current genocide—demand them to be the ‘perfect Victims." We demand them to be people worth saving and they have to follow our guidelines to achieve that. El-Kurd informs us about some of those guidelines, some of the forbidden sentiments that will deprive Palestinians of becoming humans and how this affects the way Palestinians perceive themselves. He tells us How the only representation of Judaism to Palestinians is through settlers. About the global blindness to the star of David in the middle of the flag. This Does Not make Palestinians less oppressed. How we should view murder and detention in Palestine, what Questions we should be asking and what we should not. And I feel ashamed for not viewing it the way El-Kurd has instructed.
My first ever read by El-Kurd and surely not the last.

“Though the settler colony’s Jewish character was no secret, we were still instructed to treat it as such, sometimes by our parents, other times by well-meaning solidarity activists. We were instructed to ignore the star of David in the middle of the Israeli flag and to distinguish Jews from Zionists with surgical precision. It didn’t matter their boots were on our necks. And their bullets and batons bruised us. (...) What mattered was how we spoke about our keepers, not the conditions they kept us under—Burglarized, Blockaded, surrounded by colonies and military outputs—or the fact they kept us at all. (...) the Palestinian people have consistently made it crystal clear that our enemy is Zionism, an ideology of dispossession."

Thanks to Haymarket Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this masterpiece

I really loved the collection Rifqa so I knew I wanted to read this! Divided into nine chapter, El-Kurd covers so many topics related to Palestinian identity, resistance, and frank conversations about selective empathy towards certain Palestinians vs. others. This book provided a lot of insight and gave me a lot to think about as well. I wanted to finish this book in one sitting, I took some time to reflect after each chapter. While each chapters covers so much, I think the writing style really encourages a conversation with the reader in an accesible way—which I don’t often find in nonfiction books. This is a must-read and I will be purchasing a copy for my home library!

I think this is an important read for anyone shocked by the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and how it is framed in the western world by both our governments and media. An eye opening book.

if you are someone who has been watching the genocide unfold on social media since last year (or longer), read this book immediately.

Perfect Victims answers the questions we’ve all been thinking—why is it always “women and children”? why are the victims of genocide presented as saints? what happens to the angry ones? those who fail to fit the mold of the colonizer’s tongue? those who defend themselves while the IOF murders their family? those who throw stones? why don’t they qualify for sympathy in the same way? why don’t we get to hear their stories? why are they always asked their opinion of Hamas? is their non-whiteness the only target here or are there other factors at play? how does the genocide affect children’s psyche? what is it like speaking for Palestine publicly?

true to the title and the description, the main message of Perfect Victims is that the Palestinian People must fit into the mould of a “non-partisan” and “neutral” civilian to qualify for sympathy in the Western media. this “humanisation” has robbed them of their wholeness and created an image of passivity and hyperindividualism. the author calls out this ethnocentrism of not just the West but also the Palestinian elitists that push the narrative of relatability.

and no, he does not solely focus on the oppressors, but on the allies as well. a plethora of overtly supportive stances often play right into the coloniser’s trap, turn apologist, and are guilty of shifting focus from their brutalities to justifications about the victims’ innocence. there is a lesson here for you and i, to recognise and call out propaganda and to “debunk with dignity”.

the book uses concrete examples from popular news outlets (and the stories they reject), the stories and writings of the martyrs as well as references to contemporary injustices such as the student protests. the author expands on the truth: to the West, decolonisation is theoretical. they do not want to face its “material manifestation”, they avert their eyes from freedom fighters and focus solely on the victims that are the closest to whiteness or sainthood—altruistic medical professionals, fathers, women and children.

the author also talks about language as a landmine, one that the Palestinian People have to tiptoe around, and where the antisemitism (notedly incorporated into AI), Islamophobia, capitalism, and racism fit in this discussion. he points out how books by non-Palestinian writers and academics are given preference, exacerbating the narrative that the words of Palestinians are “suspicious or subpar”. the only ones who free from this suspicion are the poets but even their works are aestheticised, such as Mahmoud Darwish.

Perfect Victims is a book that knows its readers — what lines will be taken out of context and what counterarguments might play in their heads. yet, it persists with a deep and eloquent intelligence.

while the book does not go into detail about what the west has to gain from these perfect victims, it remains an unapologetic tribute to the imperfect—the ones who harbour hatred and resentment alongside their pain, the ones who refuse to be polite in their suffering. Perfect Victims is a pivotal text on the world’s interaction with the Palestinian genocide. if we take a minute to learn from it, this book can transform how we support the resistance and the language we use to do so.

These words by Mohammed El-Kurd resonated with me, “How have we allowed the world to demand of us hospitality even in hunger? What is it that makes an untimely and out-of-place disavowal of bigotry seem like a crucial part of an obituary? Is disproving libel the sole reason we roam this earth? We talk about the racism that follows the Palestinian's name, particularly its manifestations in policy and procedure, but we should also consider its psychic cost. Do we understand the impact such aspersions have on the Palestinian's psyche? How does spending a life in cross-examination influence our gaze? How does it guide our interactions and relationships? “

Perfect Victims by Mohammed El-Kurd is my first read by this author, and hopefully it won’t be the last. His writing style is eloquent, poetic, raw and intelligent.

This book is a must-have and I highly-recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

I recommend this book to every single person ever. Even if you’re not a reader, please make it a point to have read, understood, and reflected on this book. There’s so much about the genocide that we learn to live with, and El-Kurd shines a spotlight on issues that get overlooked among social discourse on so many other, pointless, useless topics.
Brilliantly written, amazingly accounted, comparisons brought up and incidents named; every page—no, every word is written with unbelievable amounts of care and forethought, and intention. Very powerful book. Again, I beseech everyone who even comes across this book to make it a point to read it. 5/5 extremely well deserved stars.

Absolute perfection - A must read!

In this timely and critical work, El-Kurd offers profound reflections on the ongoing strife of Palestinians, shedding light on the injustices they face and the enduring nature of their oppression. As the author poignantly states, "the Palestinian condition is the human condition. Palestine is a microcosm of the world: wretched, raging, fraught, and fragmented. Dignified. This lens we lend the Palestinian reveals how we see each other, how we see everything else" (p. 25). This powerful statement underscores the universality of the Palestinian struggle, reminding readers that the injustices faced by Palestinians reflect broader human issues, and how we view their suffering speaks to our collective humanity.

In a similar vein, El-Kurd asks us, "What is the profound force, the impetus that incites in our foes and friends alike the refusal to look us in the eye?" This compelling question invites readers to confront the deep-seated denial and indifference that allows the suffering of Palestinians to persist unchecked. El-Kurd suggests that the refusal to acknowledge the humanity of Palestinians reflects a broader global silence surrounding the genocide in Gaza.

With an unwavering commitment to humanizing Palestinians, the book challenges readers to look beyond the headlines and view the occupation (and genocide) through the personal stories of those affected. The author emphasizes the resilience of Palestinians, weaving together historical and contemporary struggles to highlight how their fight for dignity and self-determination is far from over.

One of the book's key strengths is its unflinching critique of Western and Zionist propaganda. The author debunks pervasive narratives that have long shaped global perceptions, challenging the biases and misinformation that dominate mainstream discourse. Through meticulous analysis, the author exposes the distortion of truth and the silencing of Palestinian voices, urging readers to reconsider the narratives they have been fed.

The book also reflects on the long history of Palestinian oppression, with particular focus on the ongoing 'Nakba.' Rather than seeing this tragedy as a single historical event, the author frames the Nakba as a persistent and ever-present reality. This powerful lens reframes the Palestinian experience, showing how displacement, violence, and dehumanization continue to haunt the lives of millions.

Additionally, the author delves into the commodification of Palestinians, critiquing how their suffering and identity are often appropriated or exploited in political and media contexts. The analysis exposes how Palestinians are frequently reduced to symbols, their pain repackaged to suit external agendas, ultimately undermining their agency and humanity. This ties into a broader discussion of 'othering' and the creation of the 'perfect victim'—a narrative that demands Palestinians adhere to a moral purity in order to gain sympathy, while stripping them of their complexity and dignity.

At its core, the book explores the politics of appeal, analyzing how Palestinians are forced to frame their struggles in ways that cater to the expectations of global audiences. This dynamic, the author argues, forces Palestinians into a position where their agency is compromised, and their voices are moulded to fit external narratives. In a chilling critique, the book also establishes that the death and suffering of Palestinians have become, in many ways, sustenance for the world—a grim necessity to maintain the status quo. The author provocatively examines how the ongoing violence is not merely ignored but, in some cases, sustained to protect entrenched power structures that benefit from Palestinian subjugation.

Most importantly, the author honours the martyrs of the Palestinian struggle, giving them a voice that has often been silenced. Through poignant storytelling, the book ensures that the sacrifices of those who have died in the pursuit of justice are not forgotten. The author redefines martyrdom, elevating these individuals from mere casualties to symbols of resistance, resilience, and dignity.

This book is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complexity of the Palestinian struggle and the global dynamics that perpetuate their oppression. Through its compelling analysis and unwavering commitment to truth, the author offers a crucial perspective on one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Haymarket Books, and Mohammed El-Kurd for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

It's my first encounter with the writing of El-Kurd and I am truly impressed. A very good book, part essay, part memoir utterly engulfing.