Mahmoud Muna: Educational Bookshop

Mahmoud Muna is part of the family that runs the Educational Bookshop: the only English language bookstore in East Jerusalem. The current iteration of the Bookshop was opened in the 1980s by Mahmoud’s father, Ahmed. Today, the shop has multiple locations and thousands of titles on its shelves. "Any book on Palestine-Israel that has ever [been] written," Mahmoud says, "there's a good chance we have it."

When Unsettled producer Max Freedman visited Jerusalem at the start of 2020, he stopped by the Educational Bookshop and sat down with Mahmoud. In this episode of Unsettled, they talk about the history of the bookshop and what it means — to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and people around the world.

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Asaf Calderon, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson. This episode was reported by Max Freedman and produced by Emily Bell. Original music by Nat Rosenzweig. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

MAHMOUD’S PICKS: NON-FICTION

Jerusalem in History by Kamil AsaliI Saw Ramallah by Mourid BarghoutiPalestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen by Joudi KallaIn Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story by Ghada KarmiThe Palestinian Table by Reem KassisJerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag MontefioreOnce Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari NusseibehThe Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine—A Tale of Two Narratives by Padraig O’MalleyThe Peace Process: From Breakthrough to Breakdown by Afif SafiehPalestinian Walks by Raja ShehadehThe Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World by Avi ShlaimHollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation by Eyal Weizman

MAHMOUD’S PICKS: FICTION

Mornings in Jenin by Susan AbulhawaSalt Houses by Hala AlyanOut of It by Selma DabbaghThe Parisian by Isabella HammadThe Children of the Ghetto: My Name is Adam by Elias Khoury