City of Oranges written by Adam LeBor is one of my favorite reads on contemporary Israeli-Palestinian history. The book is written through the stories of prominent families, Arab and Jewish humanizing their struggle and conflict. I also appreciate that the stories are told around the city of Jaffa instead of Jerusalem which holds more political rancor.
The theme I gleaned from the book was that Jew and Arabs have gotten along for centuries with only minor scuffles. The story line picks up at a point when the dynamics of the area change with an influx of people who really don't understand each other.
One of my favorite parts was when a Jewish family returned to their old Cairene neighborhood to find that their long time Arab friends missed them. It touched me and gave me hope for the future relationship of two peoples I care about.
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