Footnotes in Gaza

Having read all of Joe Sacco's books, I can conclude - unequivocally - that `Footnotes in Gaza' is his best. Centred around Sacco's quest to uncover the truth around Israel's massacre of 111 civilians in the town of Rafah in 1956 (a `footnote' in his early book, `Palestine'), Sacco expertly flits between his odyssey while detailing the current, miserable fate of those living in the Gaza Strip. In a work that details horrific inhumanity, Sacco - conversely - brings great humanity to the vilified Gazans. The book is full of dark humour and personal insights, but nor is the author one to shirk from criticising Palestinians, for example when they glory in the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. The artwork is stunning in its detail. My favourite set-pieces are when Sacco zooms out of a scene, as if in a film, and reveals the full devastation of Gaza in minute detail. Overall, as a reader, one is left bristling with anger at the injustices of Israel's horrific treatment of Palestinians, but Sacco retains an even tone throughout. Indeed the most obvious comparison one can draw with contemporary Gaza is that of the Warsaw Ghetto. Sacco stops short of making that comparison himself, but anyone studied in history will surely do so. Recalling the Holocaust nevertheless reveals the one weakness in this work. Sacco is largely unsuccessful (although how far he tried, he never tells us) in getting the Israeli perspective on the massacre. What turned the victims of one historical injustice into the perpetrators of another in barely a decade? This is the most intriguing question of Israel's abuse of Palestinians, but one he never addresses. This, nevertheless, is an important book and deserves its place among the literary canon on Palestine. It's cartoon-journalism may be mocked in some quarters, but that is nonsense and an injustice to a style that is as memorable as even the greatest writer could conjure.

Joe Sacco schrijft en illustreert in dit vervolg op Palestina het abominabele leven van Palestijnen in vluchtelingenkampen.

I found this book gave me a lot more insight into the latest conflict between the Israli Government and the people of Palestine. Joe Sacco has done a marvellous job in describing his time in Gaza, and doesn't seem to be "taking sides", as he questions the people of Gaza and their recollections and beliefs just as much as he seeks information into the reasons behind his visits. Inside the "comic book pages", we're exposed to the past horrors of repressive regimes and appreciate the far greater horrors being inflicted on the present-day Palestinian people. Essential reading for anyone seeking to learn about the issues behind the current conflict. A powerful book.

A touching and harrowing tale of the most magnificent and resilient people on the planet, and the systematic genocide they have been subjugated to by imperialist colonizers.

An inquest into Israel massacres in Gaza in 1956, this book provides the story as remembered by eyewitnesses to massacres in Rafah. This history is not well known and should be, especially given the context of on-going ethnic cleansing and genocide. I couldn't stop reading. 100% recommend, not only for the story of the Rafah massacres but for the context at the time it was written, the time around the 2nd Gulf war.