Ali, The Story of an Honorable Man by Hussein Yassin | علي: قصة رجل مستقيم، حسين ياسن

This Coffee & Books session will feature author Hussein Yassin in conversation with Nevine Abraham about his novel, Ali: The Story of an Honorable Man.

Hussein Yassin’s much acclaimed third novel, Ali: The Story of an Honorable Man (2017),  recounts the journey of Ali Abdel Khaleq, a farmer, member of the PCP, and one of five Palestinian Arabs who volunteered in the International Brigades in defense of the Spanish Republic against Francisco Franco’s nationalists.

Ali novel explores Palestinian-Arabs’ combat of fascism during Mandate Palestine and their involvement in the Palestinian Communist Party (PCP).  It documents a historical episode that helps debunk the notion that Arabs only collaborated with fascist regimes in the 1930s and 1940s. In this session, Yassin shares his insight into the reasons for Palestinian-Arabs’ volunteering in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), its significance to their internal struggle against British colonialism and the rise of Zionism, and his own journey to uncover Abdel Khaleq’s story in Palestine and Spain.

This session will be in Arabic, with simultaneous translation.