When the World Sleeps
Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Apr 28, 2026
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- $15.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The first woman to serve as United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory conveys the spirit of a people through 10 unforgettable stories of resilience and humanity.
Francesca Albanese is the most lucid voice against Israel’s apartheid policies in Gaza and the West Bank, a voice that has been heard around the world when it comes to speaking the truth about the Palestinian genocide. In the wake of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s retaliatory war, the renowned Italian jurist has become a lightning rod for her staunch defense of human rights.
Reflecting on her years living in Jerusalem and her personal and professional journey toward understanding the Palestinian struggle, Albanese pays tribute to 10 people whose profoundly affecting stories opened her eyes, from Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces, to the remarkable Jewish scholars who acted as Albanese’s mentors: forensic architect Eyal Weizman, trauma expert Gabor Maté, and Holocaust historian Alon Confino.
When the World Sleeps is a courageous testimony of the harsh reality that Palestinians face. It raises critical questions about the past, present, and future of Palestine: What are the consequences of the occupation? Where is a refugee’s home? In what conditions do Palestinians live? With the uncertain end of the war, will there be a Palestinian state? Will Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and will they be able to live in peace, free at last from the coercion of Israel?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I am writing these words at a strange moment in my life: I have just been sanctioned by the United States.... for the absurd ‘crime' of allegedly working with the International Criminal Court," begins this incisive, heart-wrenching account from UN special rapporteur Albanese (Palestinian Refugees in International Law). The author spotlights the "unspeakable suffering" of the Palestinians and examines fraught questions around the Israeli occupation through close looks at 10 individuals who have shaped her thinking. They include slain five-year-old Hind Rajab; trauma expert Gabor Maté; Abu Hassan, a Palestinian acquaintance who took Albanese on an "alternative tour" of Jerusalem, including areas where "children had to crawl through sewage pipes to go to school because of the obstacles put in place by the Israelis"; and the author's own husband, who used to accompany West Bank Palestinians in their daily activities in order to shield them from settler violence. Along the way, Albanese delves into complicated debates surrounding Israel-Palestine, such as whether to call the system of government apartheid; incorporates her own observations from living in Jerusalem, including a distressing encounter when an Israeli man told a Palestinian friend, "You don't exist"; and draws on harrowing remote interviews she conducted with Gazan children in 2022. It's an indispensable, at times deeply sickening, overview of the situation on the ground in Palestine.
