Those of you who know me personally know how much I respect the written word. It is in this spirit that I write you as part of my ongoing efforts to support Palestinian culture and arts, especially writing, and more specifically women writers.
One of the up and coming woman writers whom I’m supporting is Fida Jiryis. Fida is from the Palestinian village of Fassouta, near the border with Lebanon. She is a dear friend and dedicated colleague.
Fida’s second Arabic collection of short stories, titled Al-Khawaja, has just been released by a publisher in Haifa, Kul Shee Library. It is getting rave reviews.
Fida Jiryis' books depict daily life in a Palestinian village in the Galilee, which could be a village anywhere in the world. With wit, humor and an always present sense of reality, Fida brings villagers and their daily trials and tribulations to life in a light, comic setting.
AL-KHAWAJA is a sequel to Fida’s first book of short stories titled Hayatuna Elsagheera ("حياتنا الصغيرة" in Arabic or "Our Small Life"). Both books depict daily life in a Palestinian village in the Galilee, which could be a village anywhere in the world. With wit, humor and an always present sense of reality, Fida brings villagers and their daily trials and tribulations to life in a light, comic setting.
Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM), a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.
Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine’s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine’s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.
A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.
Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled “The Tallest Man in Ramallah.” He holds an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA — a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.
!["Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians" [Recommended]](https://epalestine.ps/sambahour/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/home-land-oral-histories.jpg)
