Miko Peled

Miko Peled, author of The General’s Son and Injustice, was born in Jerusalem in 1961 into a well-known Zionist family. Miko Peled is a writer and human rights activist born and raised in Jerusalem. He is considered by many to be one of the clearest voices calling for justice in Palestine, support of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, (BDS) and the creation of a single democracy with equal rights on all of historic Palestine. He maintains a blog at MikoPeled.com.

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Praise

“It is inspiring and enlightening to read the unfolding of one man’s path to liberate himself from racist ideologies, to disavow the privilege accorded to him because it comes at the expense of those who do not belong to his religion. I imagine it cannot be an easy path… This is an important book, full of hope and inspiration for a shared destiny between Palestinians and Israelis based on mutual respect and equal rights.”
–Susan Abulhawa, Author, Mornings in Jenin and My Voice Sought the Wind

“Matti Peled, the general of the title, was a remarkable personality. An underground fighter, a combat soldier and an architect of the Israeli army that won the Six-day War, he was a militaristic hawk before becoming an outstanding peace activist. The man who pushed the Israeli government into the war turned into one of the most implacable enemies of the occupation that resulted from it. During the twenty years we were close associates in this endeavor, I sometimes wondered how it was for a boy to grow up in the shadow of such a headstrong father. In this candid account, Miko Peled tells us how he followed in the footsteps of the general, from parachutist to fighter for peace, although his beloved 12-year-old niece was killed by suicide bombers. A fascinating story that provides much food for thought.”
–Uri Avnery, Veteran Israeli peace activist and former Member of Knesset

“Miko Peled has written a fascinating book about his illustrious father — military hero, defiantly independent peace-activist politician and Ph.D. professor-translator-scholar of Arabic language and literature. But this is in no way a conventional biography of a multi-talented great man. Rather, it is a penetrating, honest analysis of the core beliefs and courageous lives lived by an iconic Jewish leader and his remarkable family. A family that, though part of the national Zionist political-military establishment, have long reached out with empathetic concern for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation control — and who continue to agitate for a just peace acceptable to both Jews and Arabs. That family commitment to reconciliation has been sorely tested but remains unbroken even after a young grand-daughter of the general was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber… Miko is truly inspiring in the telling of his family’s story — and of his own struggles to come to terms with the moral, ethical and intellectual legacy from his father.”
–Landrum Bolling, veteran U.S. peace activist, former president, Earlham College

“This is a brilliantly rendered father and son saga amidst a background that evokes Greek mythology. The father was an Israeli hero in the fight for independence and the subsequent wars that led to Israeli dominance, and a brutal occupation. The father and son difficulties can never escape the bigger picture. This is a story of admiration—and anger.”
–Sy Hersh

“Miko did not automatically follow in the footsteps of his remarkable father—a hawkish general turned Arabist and early proponent of a two-state solution in dialogue with the PLO. Instead, we are privileged to accompany the author on his own fascinating internal odyssey—a journey of self-education and cumulative critique of Zionist premises and Israeli practices culminating in poignant advocacy of a unitary binational state anchored in common humanity.”
–Walid Khalidi, General secretary, Institute for Palestine Studies (Washington DC, Beirut, Ramallah)

“The story of Miko Peled, his mother and father, reveals how facts, compassion and a universal sense of justice took hold and inspires this energetic and informed voice for peace.”
–Ralph Nader

“Out of personal pain and sober reflection on the past comes this powerful narrative of transformation, empowerment and commitment. It is the personal story that brings home forcefully how one liberates oneself from oppressive ideologies without losing one’s identity, family and humanity. Miko’s story is a must read for anyone who has not lost hope that one day peace and justice will prevail in Israel and Palestine.”
–Ilan Pappé, Israeli historian, Professor of history at the University of Exeter (UK)

“The General’s Son provides a window into a unique view Palestinians need to see. It tells the story of a man and his son whose experience in the Israeli army awakened them to the horrible reality of Israeli occupation. I would strongly recommend it to all Palestinians and to those that sympathise with their quest for freedom and justice.”
–Azzam Tamimi, British-Palestinian Academic, Author of Hamas: The Unwritten Chapters

“This critically important memoir by Miko Peled, a writer and citizen at the dynastic heart of Israel’s identity, is a must-read for anyone, Jewish or not, who cares about our collective evolution to a more peaceful and compassionate world. Brave, honorable and engaging work.”
–Naomi Wolf, Author, Political Activist, and Social Critic

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Praise

Miko Peled’s vivid, intense, and detailed account of the case of the Holy Land Foundation 5 proves without a shadow of a doubt that it was a political case in its entirety. Injustice is a must-read book for anyone who wants to know how after 9/11, the US criminal justice system has been undermined and become another tool utilized by the pro-Israeli camp to silence and intimidate Palestinian Americans. Peled thoroughly presents the decade long campaign to criminalize the giving of humanitarian aid to other Palestinians living in poor communities and squalid refugee camps, and how the US government has failed to uphold its ideals as these men came to the US for freedom, only to be ultimately denied their freedom.
—Prof. Dr. Sami A. Al-Arian, Director and Public Affairs Professor, Center for Islam and Global Affairs, İslam ve Küresel İlişkiler Merkezi

Miko is a dedicated storyteller who approaches the difficult and complex Holy Land Foundation case in a sensitive, careful, and methodical manner while doing so with a humanistic focus on the impacted families. Injustice is a must-read for it provides a window into another painful dimension to the continuation of Palestine’s and Palestinians Nakba—but this one unfolds in the diaspora. For Miko, narrating the HLF case is a part of a long journey toward doing acts of justice that in a small way can contribute to putting Palestine back on the map.
—Dr. Hatem Bazian, U.C. Berkeley and Zaytuna College

This book is a compelling and moving account of the lives and trials of the Holy Land Foundation Five. It makes a convincing case that these 5 men are paying with long prison sentences  for the 9/11 attacks, which they had nothing to do with. The book also demonstrates that US American juries are unable to be fair and just in cases that revolve around Palestine/Israel, since few have an unbiased understanding of the issues. Under such conditions, government prosecutors can allege just about anything, play on widely held stereotypes, and win, whether their case has any merits or not. Justice was not, and can not be, served.
—Louise Cainkar, author of Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience after 9/11 (2009, Russell Sage Foundation, New York).

Miko Peled tells the riveting story of a grave miscarriage of justice against the Holy Land Five. Capitalizing on post-9/11 Islamophobic hysteria, the US government used secret evidence, conflating charity with terrorism, to convict five Palestinian men of providing material support for terrorism. Peled analyzes the case in the context of Israel’s brutal occupation of the Palestinian people and provides unique personal accounts of the defendants. A must-read for all who seek the truth about how the US and Israel work hand-in-glove to oppress the Palestinians.
—Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita, Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The destruction of the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Muslim charity in the United States, and the prosecution and draconian prison sentences of its leaders—the Holy Land 5—constitute one of the great judicial injustices in the “War on Terrorism,” of which there have been many. In a prosecution infused with the often deadly prejudice of Islamophobia, the U.S. government, relying on the testimony of anonymous Israeli “security experts,” convicted the five men of the “crime” of providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians suffering under an illegal and punishing occupation. This case is one of several repressive post–9/11 U.S. prosecutions that have been brought with the assistance of the Israeli security police, targeting U.S. based Palestinian Muslim activists. Miko Peled’s book conveys the humanity of the HLF5 and their families, and should be read widely and shared liberally to help support an international campaign for their freedom.
—Michael Deutsch, is a human rights lawyer with the People’s Law Office in Chicago, the co-author of “Secrets and Lies: the Persecution of Muhammad Salah” (Journal of Palestine Studies), and was defense counsel for Muhammad Salah, Abdelhalem Ashqar, and Rasmea Odeh.

Miko Peled shines a light on one of the most egregious cases of injustice committed to date against Muslim leaders in the United States.  His dogged reporting puts a human face on the suffering these men and their families have endured.  He exposes in damning detail the shameful government witch hunt and abuse of the judicial system that railroaded the Holy Land Foundation Five.  His book is an ominous and important warning about the degradation of the rule of law and civil liberties that increasingly characterizes American society. 
—Chris Hedges, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and former Middle East Bureau Chief for The New York Times

The conviction and imprisonment of the Holy Land Foundation Five was and remains a travesty of justice. Kudos to Miko Peled for shedding light on the case-and on the human lives impacted-in this important book.
—Jen Marlowe, author of The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian’s Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker

Peled details a phenomenal, albeit horrifying, story about the most important legal case Americans have never heard of. Injustice exposes the hypocrisy of the US empire’s sham ‘War on Terror’, and the depths it will go to destroy Palestinian life.
—Abby Martin, Host of “The Empire Files”

The trial of The Holy Land Foundation was a case that almost all American Muslims, and Palestinian activists worldwide, followed with great concern. Many people were worried that a fair trial would be impossible, not only in a post 9-11 world, but also given the incessant negative stereotyping of Palestinians and their quest for freedom under Apartheid rule. / In this ground-breaking book, Miko Peled investigates the shady tactics of a vindictive justice system that was blinded by prejudice against an NGO that even the US government itself had at times cooperated with. While it appears that those convicted in this trial will not see justice in this life, the least that they deserve is that their story be told fairly, and that future prosecutors and lawyers learn from the mistakes that occurred in this tragic saga of judicial abuse on American soil. It is only a matter of time (in large part because of the efforts of Miko Peled and others) before this trial will be seen in American legal history as a classic example of a miscarriage of justice against Muslims and Palestinians in an era of an Islamophobic America.
—Yasir Qadhi, Dean of Academic Affairs at AlMaghrib Institute

Miko Peled has written a moving and compelling story of the men ensnared by the government’s prosecution of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States. In so doing, he reveals the cost to the Holy Land 5 and their families in clear, human terms that should challenge many of the cultural misconceptions that have gone into fighting a ‘war on terror.’ Additionally, Peled shows the sheer negative impact that alleging terrorist links can have on the law, twisting basic principles of due process and constitutional protections beyond recognition.
—Wadie Said, author of Crimes of Terror: The Legal and Political Implications of Federal Terrorism Prosecutions

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