Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare

In Dr Julie Norman’s address to the IIEA, she discusses her new co-authored book, entitled Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare. Dr Norman and Maia Carter Hallward tell the story of Gaza from its early foundations, across decades of occupation, to the horrors of 7 October 2023 and the devastation of the subsequent war. Rather than focusing on elites or abstract politics, at the book's heart are ordinary Gazans - students, aid workers, journalists, and teachers - whose first-hand testimonies vividly illuminate the realities behind the headlines. The book reckons with the legal, moral, and humanitarian debates surrounding Gaza, from war crimes investigations to the contested meaning of resistance and the politicisation of aid. Dr Norman will discuss how combining a nuanced narrative with hard-hitting reflections from everyday Gazans, serves as a timely and necessary disruption of media cliches and political binaries, from the perspectives of Gaza's own people. About the Speaker: Dr Julie Norman is an Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at University College London (UCL). She is also the Director of UCL’s Israel-Palestine Initiative, and an Associate Fellow on the Middle East at Chatham House. She is the author of Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare and many other books and articles on Palestine/Israel and international conflict, and she is a frequent commentator on the BBC, Al Jazeera, and other media outlets. Recorded on the 19th of May 2026