Stone Men: the story of Palestine's stonemasons & the building of Israel I Andrew Ross I Nov 2019

Stone Men: the story of Palestine's stonemasons and the building of Israel with author Andrew Ross in discussion with Fida Touma Using some of the best-quality limestone deposits in the world and drawing on generations of artisanal knowledge, Palestinian stonemasons have built almost every state in the Middle East except one of their own. Today the business of quarrying, cutting, fabricating and dressing stone is the Occupied Territories' largest private employer, and supplies the construction industry in Israel, along with other countries in the region and overseas. Ross's engrossing and gracefully written story of this fascinating ancient trade shows how the stones of historic Palestine, and Palestinian labour, have been used to build the state of Israel - in the process, constructing 'facts on the ground'-even while the industry is central to Palestinians' own efforts to erect bulwarks against the Occupation. For more than a century, the hands that built Israel's houses, schools, offices, bridges and even its separation barriers have been Palestinian. This book, largely based on interviews in the region, asks how this record of labour and achievement can and should be recognised. About the speakers: Andrew Ross is a social activist and Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU. He has published more than twenty books, and is a regular contributor to the Guardian, the New York Times, The Nation and Al Jazeera. Fida Touma is an architect who trained in restoration at Riwaq Centre for Architecture Conservation, where she worked on numerous projects in the West Bank. She is currently Director General of the A.M. Qattan Foundation. This event was held at CBRL Kenyon in partnership with the Education Bookshop and Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi.