Shafa Amr Cultural Club Discusses Al-Madhoun's Novel 'Destinies'

The Shafa Amr Cultural Club, sponsored by the Horizon Foundation for Culture and Arts, held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 20, to discuss Palestinian author Rubai Al-Madhoun's novel, "Destinies: A Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba." The event took place at the Horizon Theater Hall and was attended by club members.

Ziad Shlout, a member of the club's administration and a writer, opened the evening by welcoming attendees and recounting the administration's recent visits to local secondary and middle schools to encourage reading among students and teachers. Dr. Mohammad Safouri facilitated the discussion, providing a brief biography of Al-Madhoun, who was born in Ashkelon and was the first Palestinian to win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2016, establishing himself as a prominent contemporary Palestinian writer.

Professor Yousef Subh presented an overview of the novel, noting its structure across four movements and multiple voices, detailing character roles and the precise descriptions of settings. Lawyer Elias Abu Al-Zulf offered an in-depth reading, raising questions about divine approval for those returning to Palestine versus those who remained, and debating the preference for classical Arabic over the author's use of colloquial language. He also pointed out a factual error regarding the number of movements in a concerto versus a symphony.

Writer and artist Afif Shlout recalled meeting Al-Madhoun before the novel's publication, sharing the author's response to a question about linking the Nakba and the Holocaust. Al-Madhoun stated that Palestinians had no direct connection to the Holocaust, while Jews had a direct role in the Nakba, and that one cannot empathize with others' tragedies without experiencing them. Afif Shlout praised the novel's structure and narrative style.

Soad Bahouth emphasized that the novel clearly addresses Palestinian identity, displacement, and exile, exploring the relationship between the homeland and the diaspora, and the interweaving of times and voices to depict the Palestinian tragedy from various perspectives. Poet Ibrahim Hassanein described the novel as engaging in style and narrative, noting the numerous stories stemming from the Nakba within the work. Dr. Nabil Saada observed that the novel portrays internal conflicts among characters within the larger societal conflict, suggesting the title "Destinies" refers to the fate experienced by Palestinians, whether through coercion or choice. Other participants included Huda Subh, Saleh Sawaeed, Anwar Abu Hajoul, and lawyer Sari Khoury.