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Audible samplePerfect Victims: And The Politics Of Appeal Paperback – 1 June 2025
by Mohammed El-Kurd (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars (349)
Perfect Victims is an urgent affirmation of the Palestinian condition of resistance and refusal an ode to the steadfastness of a nation.
Palestine is a microcosm of the world: on fire, stubborn, fragmented, dignified. While a settler colonial state continues to inflict devastating violence, fundamental truths are deliberately obscured the perpetrators are coddled while the victims are blamed and placed on trial.
Why must Palestinians prove their humanity? And what are the implications of such an infuriatingly impossible task? With fearless prose and lyrical precision, Mohammed El-Kurd refuses a life spent in cross-examination. Rather than asking the oppressed to perform a perfect victimhood, El-Kurd asks friends and foes alike to look Palestinians in the eye, forgoing both deference and condemnation.
How we see Palestine reveals how we see each other; how we see everything else. Masterfully combining candid testimony, history, and reportage, Perfect Victims presents a powerfully simple demand: dignity for the Palestinian.
'Mohammed El-Kurd has written a new Discourse on Colonialism for the twenty-first century.' Robin D. G. Kelley
'El-Kurd is a wordsmith with the power to change the minds of all but those with a heart of stone.' Louise Adler, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age
'El-Kurd has become a critical voice in colonial discourse especially at a time where people are prone to either demonising or fetishising Palestinians. Perfect Victims is Mohammed El-Kurd refusing to exist in this binary, challenging depictions of Palestinians on our phones and in our minds which insist they perform perfect victimhood in order to deserve liberation.' Soaliha Iqbal, Missing Perspectives
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From Australia
Johnno
5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book and a very painful lesson for us all outside Palestine
Reviewed in Australia on 9 February 2026
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
The introduction and first chapter had me putting the book townnto take a breath. The writing is clear, incisive, and I found it painful to read. The prose is lucid, fluent and poetic in its expressiveness. For me, the most important book I have read about the lives of Palestinians and the genocide.
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Em
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and coherent collection- offers a deeply moving and insightful read
Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2025
Format: Kindle
“The least that anyone can do, is to raise the ceiling of what is permissible.”
I am ill-equipped to explain how deeply impactful this book is - the articulation of the enduring nature of oppression, violence, suppression, erasure; the asymmetry of victimhood; the incongruity and cognitive dissonance.
A must-read for anyone interested in the complex and often fraught history of the Palestinian experience, those passionate about human rights and social justice, or wishing to comprehend the dynamics that perpetuate oppression. The works cited are extensive and offer a huge array of further reading opportunities.
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From other countries
hala
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended read
Reviewed in Canada on 10 January 2026
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Great, important read for Palestinians first and foremost and everyone else. Highly recommend it to everyone as it will challenge some biases and thoughts you have, guaranteed.
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Ali Mohsan
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must
Reviewed in Italy on 12 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
You have to read it to understand the pain of the Palestinian people
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doves
5.0 out of 5 stars Elevating read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2025
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What an amazing book! Short focused chapters are a joy to read, insight on Palestinian experience and views is invaluable. Mohammed is a gifted and witty writer.
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Joanna
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the book to read. Everyone should have this
Reviewed in Spain on 21 March 2025
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Absolutely amazing.
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cyphunk
5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageously visible. A razor-sharp uprising
Reviewed in Germany on 14 September 2025
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Mohammed El-Kurd's Perfect Victims permeates the politics of respectability with a voice that is both poetic and uncompromising and refuses to smooth over Palestinian suffering for Western expectations. His prose is sharp and relentless, it reveals the costs of trying to adapt to the empire and questions the myth of the “perfect sacrifice” with biting clarity. This book is not just a reading; it is a confrontation, a refusal to stage grief, and a demand to be seen unadulterated.
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Top
Reviewed in France on 8 January 2026
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Of public utility
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Nick S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading…
Reviewed in the United States on 1 July 2025
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Brilliant and essential work. El-Kurd is an amazingly talented writer and poet. The prose stick with you, but more importantly it is a thorough examination of the apartheid and genocide going on through the eyes of its victims. Incredibly generous to the reader, it’s a very easy read for how difficult the subject matter is. He really is a poet and is a treat to read. Thank you Mohammed El-Kurd. Free Palestine.
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Kiyemba Muhammed
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
Reviewed in Germany on 27 October 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Highly recommend read enjoyed every bit of this book. Mohammed dissects the Palestinian cause in a very careful manner exposing several biases. I see the Palestinian cause in a different perspective. Very educative
He writes about things many would avoid because they don’t want to be questioned but someone has to say that hard truth and Mohammed did
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H
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2025
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A clear thinker and great writer. Truly what the world needs.
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Carly A.
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant author and brillian book
Reviewed in Canada on 17 March 2025
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Incredible articulation of the clearest moral thoughts. An incredible book in a time when so many have so easily been brainwashed against seeing the most obvious realities.
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Rex
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Important Book
Reviewed in the United States on 19 December 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A very timely read. For anybody looking to understand what it means to be Palestinian in today's world, this is essential reading. Why do the Palestinians constantly have to prove their humanity, when for others this is simply assumed? What does this cultural mindset do to a people longing for the basic rights of which they are deprived? What does it mean for how Palestinians are viewed by the wider world? The book is highly readable and incredibly important for anybody seeking to understand the Holy Land and what it means to be Palestinian.
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Ilom86
5.0 out of 5 stars Super important topic 🍉
Reviewed in Germany on 29 March 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Badly stored or was maybe read by someone before me.
BUT a very important topic. The West should wake up.
Hopefully soon German version
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Translated from German by Amazon
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Perlab
5.0 out of 5 stars The only book you need to read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2025
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This book has to be read by everyone. EVERYONE
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Ninak455
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!
Reviewed in the United States on 11 January 2026
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Loved the quality of writing style. Poetic and real. Want to read more from this author!
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Ashley
5.0 out of 5 stars Great and important book.
Reviewed in Canada on 21 November 2025
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A Must-read book!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on 4 September 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Excellent book. Very informative. I feel sad what is happening to Palestinians.
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Kevin and Natasha Tucker
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely crucial book, you need to read this
Reviewed in the United States on 20 April 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book is beyond reproach. I don’t say that lightly.
This is the moment, Mohammed El-Kurd is the voice, and this is the book. It is oozing in its sincerity and necessity. It has the passion of a late night conversation with an old friend, the conviction of living in the gallows, the honesty of desperation in the face of erasure (both literal and figurative), and the poetic fire of a heart no longer confined by a situation it neither created nor seeks to perpetuate.
This is the soul of anti-colonial resistance. And it is unflinching in its right and necessity in existing.
I could go on forever, but it boils down to this: I cannot speak for Mohammed, nor do I desire to. I dream of a world where we could be laughing in a late night conversation. But, in the meantime, I will throw stones at the Zionist mechanisms. And this book is the kind that kills Goliaths.
If you’re still reading, just get the book and read it. Pass it on. Pay it forward. There’s much to be said, and this book says it with a crucial driving force.
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Terri
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This book evoked so many emotions whilst "in conversation" with Mohammed E-Kurd about the awful situation in Gaza.
Highly recommended
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JANET GIBSON
5.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Good book
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Melissa Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in Canada on 7 March 2025
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A must read.
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Ahmad Ibrahim
5.0 out of 5 stars An underrated gem.
Reviewed in the United States on 12 October 2025
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El Kurd is perhaps the most under-appreciated voice of his generation. More than anyone Ive read in decades, he brings a different perspective to just about everything I believed I knew.
I am now reading Perfect Victims. It is as cathartic as it is necessary. Poetic yet erudite. Perfect.
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Jacqueline
5.0 out of 5 stars If you support the palestinian cause. I recommend this author.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
If you support the palestinian cause.
I can't recommend this author enough.
He's an amazing author.
If you don't know enough about the palestinian cause, you have no excuse.
Educate yourself and support a palestinian author who's family has suffered at the hands of of the IOF.
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Kaly
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant masterpiece!
Reviewed in the United States on 11 June 2025
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Mohammed El Kurd proves time and time again that he is a brilliant writer and academic. He has the ability to take complex concepts and break them down in very clear and simple manner. His writings have been an anchor for me and have helped shape my thinking and encourage me to be non-apologetic when it comes to injustice. I highly encourage everyone to read this book to truly understand how the worldview is skewed when it comes to the plight of the Palestinian people.
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Alan Richards
5.0 out of 5 stars A latter-day Aimé Césaire
Reviewed in the United States on 31 July 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This is a wonderful book that everyone should read. It will make you cry (often) and think (always). Point after point after point, eloquently and elegantly stated. And it will also enrage you--not at the author, but at the injustices he and his people have suffered for so long--& are suffering right now. The book has been justly compared to Aimé Césaire's famous "Discourse on Colonialism."
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Scotty1
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2025
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Powerful, radical, empowering , honest, thoughtful.
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JerseyDevil
5.0 out of 5 stars “even if! even if! even if!”
Reviewed in the United States on 14 June 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
tragedy wrapped in poetry, i lost count of how many times i cried. but it’s more than just beautiful words, it is an argument that compels a life-altering shift in perspective. it forces you to confront your views. why do we only tally the deaths of women and children? why do we stress the fact that rachel corrie was a US citizen? why must palestinians be perfect victims as they are slaughtered?
read the footnotes. have an arabic-speaking friend on hand to appreciate what a non-speaker cannot. allow yourself to have your moral compass challenged. you will be a better person for having read this.
(ps, don’t bother with “one day everyone will have always been against this” if you have any baseline familiarity with critical theory; it’s nowhere near as powerful and challenging as this.)
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S. R. Tulip
5.0 out of 5 stars All bases covered.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Everything you need. Read it and pass it on if you don't want us to be remembered as the very worst generation in the history of mankind.
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Seren
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwrenching truth that needs to be read widely
Reviewed in the United States on 15 September 2025
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Emotionally devastating and intellectually stimulating, Mohammed El-Kurd paints poetry with truth, exposing the utter devastation Palestinians face. This book, which I encourage everyone to read to understand the genocide that currently (and historically) befalls Palestinians, plainly reveals the brutality of Zionism with thought-provoking language and downright horrific examples.
I have never cried more when reading a book, but the experience and knowledge I gained from it has shifted my perspective permanently. While I feel inept and helpless in the scope of how to help these people, I nevertheless endeavor to continue reading and sharing Palestinian voices.
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Gabriel
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
Reviewed in the United States on 12 January 2026
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
You absolutely need to read this book. Great writing, compelling arguments, timely.
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Lou Taam
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book.
Reviewed in the United States on 20 November 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Excellent book. Highly recommended.
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tourey
5.0 out of 5 stars must read book
Reviewed in the United States on 15 October 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
amazing book and author, bought many copies as well to give to friends. highly recommended
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T. Siddiqi
5.0 out of 5 stars Refaat Alareer Would be Proud
Reviewed in the United States on 23 April 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is a very powerful book. What I love more than anything was its unapologetic tone. So much of what I have read about Palestine deals worrying about the feelings of the Israeli perspective. However, Mohammed speaks from his own perspective without worrying about hurting anyone's feelings. His absolute best point though is about how Israeli sources are somehow deemed to be more authoritative vs. Palestinian sources in various books. Has fantastic quotes from other authors. Very powerful book that I need to re-read.
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James
5.0 out of 5 stars This essential book offers much-needed clarity in the ongoing discourse about Palestine.
Reviewed in the United States on 25 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
It is an engaging and crucial read for audiences in the US and around the world, where the pervasive Israeli propaganda machine has long influenced the conversation surrounding Occupation, Apartheid, Genocide, and the fundamental rights of Palestinians, who have suffered dehumanization and exploitation at the hands of the colonial war apparatus. The book calls for a new paradigm and a fresh discourse—one that breaks free from the misleading narratives of the past that have fueled the suffering of people oppressed by US-funded bombs and the widespread apathy that stifles meaningful debate on human rights and the ongoing theft of Palestine.
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Ju Li
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on 29 September 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Absolutely amazing book. Everyone should read this.
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Ghassan
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Engaging and much needed publication
Reviewed in the United States on 21 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is an Exceptionally well written book that will explain like no other what the Palestinians have gone and continue to go through. It explains the essence of what the whole issue with Zionism and Israel is all about. Mohammed El-Kurd's style is exceptionally good. It feels as if he is the Ghassan Kanafani of the 21st century. Looking forward to more of his writings and for him to get the recognition he deserves
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Lacey Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars The most important book Ive ever read
Reviewed in the United States on 25 February 2025
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If Malcolm X and Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani all wrote a poem together, it might not be as good as this book. Part poem, part political analysis, part love letter to Palestine, part middle finger to Israel...its perfect. Ive never been so uncomfortable and so inspired at once. I feel like a better human having read it.
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SusanD
5.0 out of 5 stars Mohammed El-Kurd - The Eloquent Courageous Voice of Palestine
Reviewed in the United States on 26 June 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Mahammed El-Kurd is the voice of Palestine, with a polished voice with a strong and courageous voice, very convicting and very well written.
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Feras Shalabi
5.0 out of 5 stars Very beneficial and informative
Reviewed in the United States on 4 September 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Excellent read!
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Laura Jessister
5.0 out of 5 stars read this book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on 26 May 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Astounding and deeply educative book. It should be required reading fot all of us. Great respect and appreciation to Mohammed El-Kurd for writing it.
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Karim Mabrouk
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on 27 April 2025
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Fantastic book so far! Recommended to anyone who wants to get a fuller picture of what is happening!
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Mary Vaughn
5.0 out of 5 stars What you need to know
Reviewed in the United States on 9 June 2025
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This book is a book of truth,
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ali
5.0 out of 5 stars History that can not be wiped
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2025
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Such a great read but heartbreaking that this has been permitted.
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Edinger Westphal
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping read
Reviewed in the United States on 15 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Powerful book. Forces the reader to acknowledge the reality of Palestinian identity. Not as victim or aggressor, but as a human that is always denied its humanity.
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one vegan
5.0 out of 5 stars Important perspective of erasure
Reviewed in the United States on 20 March 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
One of the best new books Occupation and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. I couldn't put it down.
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Leandro
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful read!
Reviewed in the United States on 13 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
El-Kurd has a way with words that continues to amaze me. Perfect Victims is so touching, inspiring, heartbreaking, and empowering. A must read! Free Palestine!
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Majd
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2025
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Very powerful
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Kd
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United States on 18 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I just got my book today and I already love the book. Thank you !!!
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Umar
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on 26 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Highly recommend. Finished the book in two sittings. Couldn't put it down.
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