Najla Said, daughter of the late great Edward Said, is not known for her father’s analytical acumen. She is all American sensibility and speech, and not as politically inclined as some of the rest of her family. But as an actress and playwright she gives a very human and compelling portrait of being an Arab-American, and specifically a Palestinian-American visiting Gaza as a teenager in this excerpt from her play. It was a trip that changed her, and coincided with highly personal events such as her father learning he had leukemia and her anorexia. And in this human portrait, Najla may well reach an audience which the best political analysis will miss.
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