Award-Winning Journalist to Speak on Friday, Jan. 13, in Long Beach, California

From Creative Common, Images of Book Cover and Ben Ehrenreich

Award-winning journalist Ben Ehrenreich, on Friday, Jan.13, at 7 p.m., at the Christ Lutheran Church, at 6500 Stearns St. in Long Beach, will sign and discuss his new book, “The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine.”

In December of last year, the Economist magazine in Britain announced it considers Ehrenreich’s book one of the best of 2016.

The New York Times called his book a “Love Letter to Palestine.”

According to a flyer issued before the book signing, People for Palestinian-Israeli Justice will sponsor Ehrenreich along with the cosponsors: Christ Lutheran Church, Peace and Justice Ministry Team of the Grace First Presbyterian Church of Long Beach, Jewish Voice for Peace-Los Angeles, Long Beach Area Peace Network and United Methodists’ Holy Land Task Force.

When being interviewed by Anne Strainchamps, the host of “To the Best of Our Knowledge” of Wisconsin Public Radio, Ehrenreich, regarding violence, said, “I think suicide bombings are terrible.  I think attacks on civilians are terrible…. I do think there is, however, extraordinary hypocrisy in the way we talk about violence in this conflict in situation.  So basically every act of Israeli violence, whether it is the bombing of Gaza, which left 2,200 people, two-thirds of them civilians, dead or shooting a 15-year-old boy in the back who was throwing stones, as happened this week and killing him, all of this is legitimate, all of the violence of the (Israeli) state.  It is never questioned whether or not Israel has the right to exert lethal violence on a daily basis against the civilian population.  But if there even is the tiniest amount of violence coming from the Palestinian side, it is immediately condemned, called terrorism.”

Ehrenreich, who studied religion at Brown University, won, in 2012, a PEN Center USA award for his journalism.  According to the website of PEN Center USA, it is “a branch of PEN International, the world’s leading international literary and human rights organization.”

In 2011, he won an Ellie from the American Society of Magazine Editors for feature writing.  In 2009, he won a GLADD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) media award for an outstanding magazine article.

Besides his immersion journalism, he’s written two novels, “Ether” and “The Suitors.”  His short stories have been published.  The Poetry Foundation has published his literary pieces.

Gatsby Books will be selling his book.

Parking and the event are free.  However, donations will be accepted.

People may call Dennis Korteuer at 310-427-2265 or email him at dkortheu@gmail.com for more information regarding the book signing.