“Ramsey Hanhan writes with a rare blend of courage and tenderness, and in Palestine Bleeds for You, he offers more than a literary work—he offers an act of witness that is deeply human and morally urgent. He does not turn away from Gaza’s wounds but confronts them with honesty while illuminating a spirit that refuses to be erased, reminding us that Gaza is not a distant headline but “a heartbeat interrupted,” and that “to witness suffering and remain unchanged is to surrender part of our humanity.
His writing moves beyond pain, carrying resilience, return, and hope. By preserving what others erase, he turns storytelling into resistance and calls us to share responsibility. I highly recommend this book as a deeply moving collection of poetry and essays drawn from the heart of Ramsey, who—after a distinguished career as a physics professor—has dedicated his voice and pen to bearing witness, uplifting truth, and affirming the humanity and resilience of the Palestinian people.”
— Rateb Y. Rabie, KCHS, Founder and President, Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, and Know Thy Heritage, Inc.
Famed Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sitta has described genocide as the destruction of “the past and the present in order to prevent the future from happening.” In this riveting collection, Palestinian writer Ramsey Hanhan documents the genocide of his people. His words resist genocide, inasmuch as they bring Palestinian culture to life, and preserve it for the future.
— Rebecca Ruth Gould, SOAS Distinguished Professor and author of Erasing Palestine
“Hanhan’s work is haunted by the demons which haunt all Palestinians, whether they are writers or not. These demons do not let an hour pass without whispering in a whisper that cannot be forgotten or disguised—for they are demons, after all, and so their voices cannot be erased once heard. And the demons whisper—how can you enjoy these moments when your brothers and sisters are meat in a grinder? How can you enjoy your lover when your land is being effaced and deformed? How can you enjoy playing with your children when your blood’s newborns are kindling in a pyre?”
— Tony Hanania, prize-winning author of Homesick, Unreal City, and the forthcoming Midnight At Noon
“This book is infused with the love of a man for his land, family, and his people, especially the children murdered by Israel and the West. The whole book by Ramsey is a memento mori and a recorded written remembrance of the Palestinian children slaughtered in Gaza. It is the theme of his work, and he has done as much as he can to keep their memory with us. This book is a testament to the shortened lives that never were. Yet in it their voices are heard.”
— Marc Barham, art, film, and book critic
Reviews, blurbs, media
Review by Greta Berlin, Co-founder, the Free Gaza movement (originally published on LinkedIn)
The moment you pick up Palestine Bleeds for You by Ramsey Hanhan and read his poem calligraphed across the cover, forming the shape of Palestine, you won’t be able to put the book down.
“I cannot talk about the house of my Grandfather in Lydd
That’s too controversial.
I can’t tell you about the death of my cousin who died in an airstrike,
Nor can I name the killer.”
That’s how the poem begins. Then you open the book. Ramsey’s passionate opening poem serves as a guide, pulling you into his stories, photos, and poems where he uses imagery to evoke resilience for future Palestinian liberation. And he doesn’t let you go until you reach the last page. Readers have said his poetry and essays are heartfelt and hopeful, bearing witness as a Christian and a Palestinian, to the destruction of his country and his hope of a better future after eight decades of Israeli occupation and Palestinian resistance.
But the book, written over the past three years, is so much more than that. It’s a call to action, a remembrance of what Palestine once was, and the author’s desire to see Palestine whole again, a country for all its people.
His writing is personal, telling the story of his family’s eviction from Yafa and Ramleh in 1948 and its lasting impact on his family. It’s the story of most Palestinians who are in a perpetual maze of loss, success, hope, then loss. And, Ramsey knows that maze well, having spent his youth in the occupied West Bank, then as a student and adult Palestinian in the United States, then an American/Palestinian when he became a citizen, married and became the father of a Palestinian/American daughter.
Finally, on October 7, 2023, the mouth to that maze closed, sprouted barbed wire and added checkpoints. The world yawned, the people believed the Western press, most of them mouthing the Israeli Occupation Forces press releases, and governments didn’t stop the Israeli genocide against Christian and Muslim Palestinians. When October 7th happened, Ramsey was in the occupied West Bank visiting friends and family, and he began to document what he witnessed, really as a series of letters to his daughter.
And that’s where Ramsey excels, telling his story in bursts of poetry, beautiful photos and essays about what freedom, justice and peace really mean, not what our media says they do. His ability to weave the story of eight decades of occupation and subjugation at the hands of Israelis is phenomenal. I especially liked the photos of the artwork on every possible concrete surface in the West Bank, having seen many of them when I lived there at the beginning of the century.
Every time I thought, “He’s writing an essay on what freedom means to Palestinians and to Israelis,” he would surprise me by adding a poem or a photo or a document, always keeping me involved. Many of the poems, especially, will break your heart.
Gaza Goodnight
How can I forget,
When I tuck my daughter in her bed,
Which of her photos will I pick,
If she is martyred?
Who gets to choose?
Rummage through the parents’ phones for a memory?
A gentle bud rooted before it bloomed,
Left in cyberspace to haunt our souls.
This book is not just a history lesson, though. Ramsey provides clear, reasoned suggestions for changing the narrative and sees progress and support from the younger generation, especially in the United States and Europe.
When I finished the book, (which ended with the same powerful poem that was printed on the cover), I felt hope for reparative healing in the land of Palestine for the first time in many years. His clarion call, “From the sea to the river,” (1) embraces justice and accountability as a path to healing and freedom for Palestinians and Israelis, and (2) is a call to all of us to continue making that happen.
