Visualizing Palestine - by Jessica Anderson & Aline Batarseh & Yosra El Gazzar

Book Synopsis

This striking collection of more than 200 full-color infographics is a vivid portrait of Israeli settler colonialism and the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

As a new generation of movement-builders seek to understand Israel's brutal, illegal occupation of Palestine, Visualizing Impact's vivid and informative graphics reveal deep truths about the decades-long Palestinian struggle for freedom.

The infographics present more than just data: colorful, accessible, and thoughtfully arranged, the oppression they document in stark detail dovetails with stories of perseverance and strength. From the history of Zionist settlement to the depopulation of Palestinian villages; from the construction of an apartheid wall to the destruction of olive trees; from hunger strikes to mass protests to boycotts, Visualizing Palestine's graphics are powerful, comprehensive, and demand our attention.

Review Quotes

"What stands out in this collection of infographics is the urgency with which Palestine should be considered. Too much time has been wasted by the international community allowing Israel to not only expand its colonialism, but also to continuously expand what the international community allows in terms of international law violations and war crimes. Politicians speak in generalised terms and from a pro-colonial framework. Visualising Palestine's infographics imparts the magnitude of Israeli colonialism's violations, in a way that leaves no space for doubt but all the opportunity to learn and mobilise."
--Middle East Monitor

Visualizing Palestine presents more than just data: colorful, accessible, and thoughtfully arranged, the oppression they document in stark detail dovetails with stories of perseverance and strength. From the history of Zionist settlement to the depopulation of Palestinian villages; from the construction of an apartheid wall to the destruction of olive trees; from hunger strikes to mass protests to boycotts, "Visualizing Palestine" graphics are powerful, comprehensive, and demand our attention."
--Midwest Book Review

"Deploying a unique combination of creative design, scholarly rigor, and unwavering moral commitment, Visualizing Palestine helps us glimpse the myriad cruelties and excruciating asymmetries of Israeli apartheid, colonization, and rapidly escalating violence against Palestinian people. This is political art and popular education at its most urgent and potent."
--Naomi Klein, author ofThe Shock Doctrine and Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World

"The anatomy of an occupation laid bare."
--Arundhati Roy, author ofThe God of Small Things

"Visualizing Palestine embodies 'a picture is worth a thousand words' for one of the most critical global justice issues of our time. This book is a journey of storytelling, compelling facts, and imagery that reflect the conditions, hopes, struggles and aspirations of the Palestinian people. The narrative is shifting towards justice andVisualizing Palestine is at the center of it."
--Linda Sarsour, author ofWe Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance

"Visualizing Palestine has captured nearly a century of Palestinian knowledge production in a series of striking visuals to further emphasize just how uncomplicated oppression is. The only controversy is whether this oppression should be accepted. Overcoming this hurdle is a battle over narrative and against racial-colonial logic. This text is a significant contribution in prevailing in both realms."
--Noura Erakat, Professor and author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine

"Aesthetically, the production is topnotch, inviting, not intimidating, despite the density of information and data to ingest. The book should be shared widely and discussed; in addition, it should prod the consumer to get active in the struggle against colonialism."
--Counter Currents

"Visualizing Palestine has been generating visual data based on research that makes understanding the mechanics of colonial structures accessible to anyone interested in learning them. It is visual design in its noblest form, translating challenging realities into comprehensible graphics to communicate with the masses. An instrumental tool for shifting the global narrative on justice, Visualizing Palestine is visualizing justice."
--Bahia Shehab, Professor of Design, award winning artist and author

"This book has all the rigor of academia, the urgency of journalism, and the power of historical documentation."
--Mona Chalabi, Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist

"These bold, perfectly designed and lucid graphics get straight to the point in illuminating the grave injustices perpetrated against the Palestinian people."
--Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza

"Mere statistics often obfuscate what needs to be fully apprehended, and multiple competing narratives magnify the task of interpretation. Each image in Visualizing Palestine invites us to begin to fathom the unfathomable; together, these graphic works are an answer to the problem of narrative confuscation. They are powerful--even beautiful--not only in design but for the ethical clarity they provide at this critical juncture. What an amazing team."
--Gina Dent, Professor and Co-Director of Visualizing Abolition, University of California, Santa Cruz

"Visualizing Palestine is the perfect book for the current political moment. Building on more than a decade of labor, the contributors have masterfully transformed the visual medium into a site of radical political education and anti-Zionist struggle. After viewing the hundreds of carefully crafted and remarkably lucid images contained in this book, readers will undoubtedly be better equipped to challenge dominant narratives and refute dangerous misinformation. This is an absolute must-read book for students, teachers, activists, organizers, and anyone else committed to Palestinian liberation!"
--Marc Lamont Hill

"It is hard to overemphasize what a useful resource this book is."
--Rethinking Schools

About the Author

Jessica Anderson is a human rights researcher based in Michigan. She was a first-year undergraduate during the 2008/2009 Israeli assault on Gaza, and a graduate student in refugee studies during Israel's 2012 bombardment. In 2013, she joined the Visualizing Palestine team, where she serves as deputy director.
Aline Batarseh is Palestinian from Jerusalem. She has more than 20 years of experience working with several Palestinian and international nonprofits focused on advancing gender equality, reproductive justice, children's rights, mental health, social justice and collective liberation. Aline joined the Visualizing Palestine team as executive director in 2021.
Yosra El Gazzar is a visual artist and graphic designer based in Cairo, Egypt. She has been a core part of Visualizing Palestine since 2016. Yosra was a 2021 Moutheqat/Women in Dox Fellow in Tunisia and a 2022 CEC ArtsLink Fellow in the United States. Her work has been showcased in various international venues.

Visualizing Palestine (VP) is a non-profit project dedicated to using data and research to visually communicate Palestinian experiences and provoke narrative change. VP envisions liberation for Palestinians in a world free from oppression.