Gerroa author David Kerr to launch new book Wall of Tears: The Human Face of the Israel - Palestine Conflict

The launch will be held at the Nowra Library on Wednesday, June 23 from 5pm and follows on from his first book, Out of Latvia, published in 2017, a memoir of his great mate and Shoalhaven City Council's 2021 Citizen of the Year, Peter Jirgens.

Peter and his wife Margie traveled with David and a small group to Israel and the West Bank in 2018 and visited many of the places and people in the historical novel.

Former Illawarra Mercury editor and now media consultant Nick Hartgerink will officially launch the book, while the program launch includes a visual presentation of 'People and Places in the Book', an interview with David by Margie - "questions without notice' and the opportunity to purchase signed copies at a discounted price.

Mr Kerr said as the dust settles after another war, Israelis and Palestinians face continuing tensions, Wall of Tears is an attempt to provide insight into the core issues fracturing the Holy Land.

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"In May 2013 I stood at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, one of Judaism's most sacred sites, or as it's often referred to in the West, The Wailing Wall," he said.

"Beside me, an Israeli friend, who recounted as a young boy, standing beside his father, an Auschwitz survivor, on their first visit to the Wall.

"He knew his father wanted to go closer and pray but couldn't make the final 10 metres.

"He watched his father shake with emotion and a single tear trickled down his face that disturbed him.

"He'd never seen his father cry. Later in life he learned the terrible truth behind that tear.

"When I heard his story - my book was born."

Kerr said his friend, who he's named Uri, gave him permission to use whatever information he chose to shape the novel, blending the history of the emerging Jewish State with the lives of his countrymen and Palestinians.

"On my visits, I met Palestinians like the businessman whose family owned a home near the Western Wall, seized by Israel after the Six- Day War," he said.

"They never received compensation. The distress of a young Palestinian man at a checkpoint in the West Bank is another example of the every day tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

"I have great respect for both Israelis and Palestinians who urged me not to hate 'the other'.

"They said, 'We want to live in peace', and urged me to 'write your truth as you understand it'.

"My purpose in creating the novel is to promote the stories of Israelis and Palestinians - my aim - to highlight the impact of trauma on Holocaust survivors and their families and the trauma experienced by Palestinian Arabs, dispossessed of their land and homes.

"My plea is for readers to approach my offering with an open mind to what is the most complex political/religious issue in the world today.

"Human nature often demands black or white. One is right, the other wrong.

"That is lazy thinking. The task is to try to understand the dynamics of the system that drives the conflict."

Mr Hartgerink said Wall of Tears is an extraordinary book.

"David has successfully straddled that most bitter of divides, the Israel-Palestine imbroglio, to create a novel of both warmth and wisdom," he said.

"Told through the eyes of Uri, the son of a Holocaust survivor, The Wall of Tears explores the creation of modern Israel at a human level, through the experiences of a Jewish family and their Arab neighbours.

"There is conflict, love, betrayal, loss and a shattering conclusion - essential elements of a compelling read.

"And through it all there is a sense that the author has a deep understanding of and respect for the history and complex issues that continue to rob Israelis and Palestinians of peaceful co-existence."

Due to limited numbers, it is essential to register attendance at the book launch through the Nowra Library's website.

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