Book of May / June 2025
Host: Pacinthe Mattar
Topics covered:
Back in October 2023, just three weeks into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, acclaimed author and journalist Omar El Akkad tweeted something that stopped me in my tracks, and felt so instantly true: ‘One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.’ That tweet has been seen over 10 million times—it touched a nerve for anyone watching in horror as Israel’s military campaign decimated Gaza.
Like so many of us, El Akkad once believed in the West’s promise—that it stood for justice and freedom. But after a decade-long career reporting on everything from the War on Terror, Ferguson, climate disasters, and now Gaza, he’s done pretending.
This book is his raw, furious, grieving realization that the West was never built for everyone. That some people—Arabs, Muslims, immigrants, whoever’s outside the circle of privilege, and crucially, Palestinians—were never meant to be seen as fully human. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This is El Akkad’s nonfiction debut, and it’s unlike anything he’s written before: part memoir, part indictment, part brokenhearted love letter to what could’ve been.
This isn’t just his story—it’s the story of this moment. It’s the same rupture happening in living rooms, on campuses, and in protests across North America. If you’ve ever looked at the world and thought, there has to be something better than this, there has to be someone as deeply disturbed and opposed to this as I am—this book is for you.
Since Hamas’s attacks on October 7th, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli military onslaught, over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 11,000 children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The United Nations estimates that approximately 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with many seeking refuge in overcrowded shelters. The blockade and ongoing conflict have led to severe food shortages, clean water, and medical supplies, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The devastation began long before. The Israeli occupation of Palestine has its roots in the events of 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” During this period, over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes, and more than 500 villages were depopulated or destroyed.
The aftermath of the Nakba left many Palestinians stateless. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) estimates that approximately 5.8 million Palestinian refugees are currently registered across the Middle East, living in conditions that many argue amount to ongoing displacement and dispossession.
Israel’s military aggression has severely impacted healthcare infrastructure and humanitarian efforts. Hospitals and clinics have been targeted in airstrikes, and Palestinian medical personnel have been abducted and placed in Israeli detention, where at least three have died despite pleas for their protection from the United Nations. The UNRWA reports its operations have been disrupted, and aid deliveries have been blocked, leaving many without essential services.
The war has been particularly deadly for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 176 journalists and media workers, the majority of them Palestinian, have been killed since October 2023, making it the deadliest period for journalists worldwide since 1992. Many were deliberately targeted, despite wearing press vests.
Amnesty International has issued a damning verdict: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. In a sweeping new report, “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza,” Amnesty meticulously documented mass killings, the deliberate blockade of food and aid, and the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure—actions that meet the legal threshold for genocide under international law. The findings accuse Israeli forces of systematically dismantling Palestinian life in Gaza while the world watches. Amnesty’s report on the genocide in Gaza captures details of forced displacement, indiscriminate bombings, and what it calls a “starvation campaign”—all pointing to an intent to destroy a people.
“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” explains Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.”
The report directly challenges global powers—especially the U.S. and European nations—demanding immediate arms embargoes, sanctions, and ICC prosecutions. It also warns that those who fail to act against those who continue supplying weapons or diplomatic cover risk complicity. Amnesty’s report on the ongoing atrocities should serve as an urgent call to stop the ongoing genocide.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
By Omar El Akkad
The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Omar El Akkad
Egyptian-Canadian Giller Prize-winning Author & Journalist
Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist. He was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager and now lives in the United States. He is a two-time winner of both the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award and the Oregon Book Award. His books have been translated into 13 languages. The BBC named his debut novel, American War, one of 100 novels that shaped our world.
Download the Amnesty Book Club Discussion Guide for One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This in a high-resolution printable and low-resolution sharable PDF file.
Listen to Omar El Akkad’s interview on CBC’s Frontburner
Watch Omar El Akkad’s interview on CBC’s Frontburner
Read Amnesty’s January 2025 report: ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza
Read more about the report: Amnesty International investigation concludes Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
Donate to Defend Truth and Accountability in Gaza
Learn with Amnesty Academy’s Deconstructing Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians
Sources: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), UNHCR, UNRWA, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Amnesty International calls for an immediate arms embargo on all parties involved in the conflict. Continued arms sales contribute to violence and violations of international humanitarian law. The United Nations has also expressed concern over the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war, urging the ICJ to assess Israel’s legal obligations to facilitate aid deliveries.
Vauhini Vara
Discussion Guide coming soon.
Omar El Akkad
Discussion Guide coming soon.
Vinh Nguyen
Discussion Guide coming soon.
The Honourable Murray Sinclair
Discussion Guide coming soon.
Katherena Vermette
Discussion Guide coming soon.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Discussion Guide coming soon.
