Returning to Haifa

"Returning to Haifa" (عائد إلى حيفا) by iconic Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani is a masterpiece of modern Arabic fiction. Set after the 1967 War, the story follows a Palestinian couple, Said and Safiyya, who take advantage of opened borders to revisit their former home in Haifa, abandoned during the 1948 Nakba. In the chaos of their forced exile, they had been separated from their infant son, Khaldoun. Upon returning, they discover that their old home is now occupied by a Holocaust survivor, who raised their son under the name Dov—now a soldier in the Israeli military. The narrative builds to a tense, thought-provoking confrontation regarding identity, nurture versus bloodlines, and the essence of homeland. Kanafani poses profound philosophical questions, challenging the idea of nostalgia and establishing that a true homeland is defined by action, justice, and human dignity rather than memories alone.

Because it is a powerful literary monument that offers an unflinching exploration of human identity, memory, and the political and ethical dimensions of exile.

For readers of modern Arabic literature, political and historical fiction enthusiasts, scholars of Middle Eastern studies, and anyone exploring the themes of displacement and home.