A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

As evidenced by the motif of language and names in their titles, this section deals largely with The Complexities of Identity and Belonging in a Divided Society. In addition to motif, text structure develops this theme, augmenting the emails between Tal and Naïm with personal diary entries. Their impressions of each other in these diaries, along with what they share through email, reveal more about who they are and who they hope to be. Tal’s deep concern about Naïm’s well-being in the wake of violence in Gaza and his deeply moved response serves as a tipping point in their relationship, highlighting their growing connection and even dependence on each other. To each other, they represent hope that the other side might be more like them and less like the caricatures and stereotypes that are often a product of war, which also speaks to the themes of The Impact of Geopolitical Conflict on Individual Lives and Hope Versus Despair. This exchange of emotional messages also allows the topics they discuss to become more related to their interests and interior lives aside from the conflicts adjacent to their lives. Tal sends her photograph, and Naïm reveals his real name. Tal shares her dreams for the future and her hopes about filming Jerusalem; Naïm shares his memories of the past and the despair his grandmother felt at leaving Jaffa. They function as mirror images, opposite sides of a shared but divided identity, but they are both willing to reveal more of themselves as their trust grows. However, their initial hesitance, particularly Naïm’s, demonstrates the genuine danger of what they are doing: Palestinians and Israelis within the text are expected to not engage with one another, and Naïm’s wariness of the internet café and deletion of Tal’s picture highlights the fear that he in particular feels because of the punishment he could face. Notably, Tal is less afraid, and she has fewer restrictions placed on her in Jerusalem. While she keeps her correspondence with Naïm a secret, she does not express any fear of punishment, which helps to convey the varied stakes of their communication, as well as shedding light on Naïm’s initial anger and slowness to warm to Tal: From what he has shared, he may have more to lose.

This section firmly connects the concept of names with identity through the characters’ reflections on Naïm’s pseudonym, Gazaman, and as these layers of identity are pulled back, the theme of The Power of Storytelling and Communication is central. Tal considers the potential dangers and deceptions that can be a part of the anonymity of the internet and wonders if the Naïm is representing himself accurately. Naïm also experiences growing unease, as he feels overwhelmed by the realization that Tal cares about him as an individual despite his efforts to hide himself through his sarcasm and pseudonym: “I can’t believe it. In Jerusalem there’s a seventeen-year-old girl, a Jew, an Israeli, who’s thinking of me and of that ridiculous nickname, Gazaman” (73). Further, the bluntness of his username presents a one-dimensional view of him when in fact he is a complex character who hides beneath a hardened exterior because of years of war and harsh restrictions in Gaza. Significantly, the titles of Naïm’s entries highlight the impact of Tal’s concern; he has shifted from Gazaman, who kept her at a distance, to the real Naïm, who cannot go 20 minutes without thinking of her. The title of the chapter “How a Name Can Be a Gift…” further emphasizes the significance of this gesture and the slow revealing of Naïm to Tal as a symbol of trust. The meaning of his name, paradise, also conveys his wish to escape Gaza, which he views as a kind of hell, as well as foreshadowing his eventual escape to Canada and vow to meet Tal in Italy.

Tal and Naïm’s titular chapters also draw parallels between the two characters’ senses of identity in terms of their relationships with those around them, illustrating an inner conflict between belonging and isolation, which speaks to the theme of The Complexities of Identity and Belonging in a Divided Society. Tal’s confusion and the secrecy of their relationship has crept into her everyday life, giving her a sense of unease in Efrat and Ori’s company that makes her feel like she is “getting further and further away from everyone else” (62) as she becomes more aware of the world. This is a familiar feeling for Naïm, who is an only child and has less of a family support system than most people his age in Gaza. Both know what it is like to feel isolated in a place full of people, and they find an unlikely connection in each other.

In their emails, they further explore the connections between identity, belonging, and physical places. Tal’s documentary aligns her firmly with Jerusalem, “as I see it, as I experience it” (68). Her concern over Naïm’s well-being is rooted solely in his living in Gaza, as she notes that if he lived somewhere else and didn’t respond to her emails, she could imagine that he was simply very busy, rather than injured or killed. Meanwhile, Naïm demonstrates the pain of being displaced through his story about his grandmother’s longing for their house in Jaffa, which leads Tal to promise to look at the homes in Jaffa differently, again highlighting The Power of Storytelling and Communication as Naïm is comfortable sharing his family’s heartache after Tal’s persistence in communicating. Her continued interest in learning about him has softened him, demonstrating that learning the stories of others can often lead to a shared sense of humanity. Naïm and Tal’s experiences acknowledge the power of place to shape identity, and the Hope Versus Despair of what it means to belong, or be forced away from belonging, in a place.