Product Description

Defy the Stars is the story of a young man who went to the Middle East as an observer and lost his life through a single selfless human act. In April 2003, twenty-one-year-old Tom Hurndall, an English photojournalism student, was shot in the head as he carried a Palestinian child out of the range of an Israeli army sniper in the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Tom was unarmed, and wearing the internationally recognised peaceworker's fluorescent orange jacket. Severely wounded, he never recovered consciousness and died nine months later in a London hospital. A year after his death, following the family's own investigation and their determined and impartial fight to see justice done after a cover-up by the Israeli Defence Force, a soldier was sentenced to eight years for Tom's manslaughter. It was an unprecedented outcome, and a case that made legal history in bringing the IDF to account for its killing of an unarmed civilian. Tom's mother tells the story of this courageous young Englishman's quest, of its tragic end and its effect on his family. Defy the Stars is an elegy for a son, a story of loss but also of hope, for out of the tragedy have come projects in Gaza and friendships with both peace-loving Palestinians and Israelis. Her moving book gives a vivid picture of the realities of day-to-day life in Israel and in the bleak and beleaguered towns of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It puts a human face to a situation that affects us all, and speaks for the plight of countless forgotten people in the Middle East who suffer such losses on a daily basis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292903 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Jocelyn Hurndall was born in Winchester in 1951. In the early 1970s she worked as kibbutz volunteer on the Israeli/Lebanese border and travelled through the West Bank to Jerusalem, where her father had worked as a pioneer of wave energy in the early 1960s. She began a career as a teacher in 1974, eventually becoming Head of Learning Support in a multi-cultural school. She lives in London with her family.

Customer Reviews

Amazing, touching
This book really touched me. It moved me to tears in several parts. I didn't know about Tom's death until about a year later but have followed the news since then. I'm so pleased to be able to read now about the feelings and emotions that his mother has gone through since it happened.

An insight into a terrible situation
Somehow this book communicates the situation in the middle east to a level that TV news cannot quite achieve

This is Tom's mother's personal account of her time in Israel to try and find out what happened to her son. It is moving throughout. Some of the things that are happening there defy belief. What drives a soldier to shoot at an innocent child?

It is well written and a book that stays with you. Tom Hurndall was a remarkable man, and I wholly recommend you to read this book to understand why

Compelling with Great Depth
A deeply moving, unforgettable story of a family tragedy, which is written with sensitivity and graciousness. A compelling read with great depth. How difficult it is to have justice in a country where denial is uppermost without the support of friends, diplomats, the generosity and the kindness of many people, including Palestinian and Israeli. The journey taken by Jocelyn Hurndall and her family after her eldest son Tom was shot in Rafah in Gaza by an IDF soldier, sustaining severe brain damage, turned out to be formidable.

The overwhelming grief and anxiety experienced by the family, also has rich, poignant and positive moments. I highly recommend this book for the many insights provided. For the superb writing, the courageous commitment for the truth by both parents, and yes, it does make one weep.

This is a story that will linger with you. Jocelyn Hurndall has turned out to be a writer of considerable talent. Tom's presence through his diaries, photographs, and his mother's memories, is always engaging. Since reading the book, I purchased more copies for family and friends.

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