Perfect Victims
| Author | Mohammed el-Kurd |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Haymarket Books |
Publication date | February 11, 2025 |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 979-8-88890-316-2 |
Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal is a 2025 book by the Palestinian writer and poet Mohammed el-Kurd in which the author critically interrogates the strategy of emphasizing Palestinian victimhood in order to make the Palestinian cause palatable to a liberal audience that professes to care about human rights.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] According to Jackie Wang in Jewish Currents, "By emphasizing victimhood as the condition for sympathy, he argues, this strategy grants the moral authority of those in power—those who preside over the world structured by colonial brutality—and requires Palestinians to maintain a posture of pitiable powerlessness."[1]
Perfect Victims is Mohammed el-Kurd's first non-fiction book.[5] Historian Robin D. G. Kelley described it as "a new Discourse on Colonialism for the twenty-first century." It debuted at 9th on the The New York Times Best Seller for paperback nonfiction the week of March 2, 2025.[8]
Contents
The book contains nine chapters[5] and an epilogue:
author’s note(s)
one: the sniper’s hands are clean of blood:
on dehumanization [9]
two: the politics of defanging:
on “humanization” [9]
three: shireen’s passport:
on the invention of the civilian [9]
four: a life in cross-examination:
on forbidden sentiments [9]
five: tropes and drones:
on discursive land mines [9]
six: mein kampf in the playroom:
on propaganda [9]
seven: miraculous epiphanies:
on testimony [9]
eight: are we indeed all palestinians?
on identity [9]
nine: “do you want to throw israelis into the sea?”
on irreverence [9]
epilogue: rain is coming[9]
References
- ^ a b Wang, Jackie (17 June 2025). "The Sympathy Trap". Jewish Currents. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ Intern, Mizna (2025-03-28). "Review: Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd". Mizna. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ Jahshan, Elias. "Mohammed El-Kurd's Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 2025-12-16. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ "Rethinking Victimhood in Mohammed El-Kurd's Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal". Middle East Monitor. 2026-01-18. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ a b c Kattoura, Nicki (2025-02-12). "Looking the Palestinian in the Eye". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ "Book Review: 'Perfect Victims' by Mohammed El-Kurd". Arab News. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ Nelson, Delaney (2025-02-18). "For Palestinians, the 'Perfect Victim' Is an Impossible Standard". Progressive.org. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ "Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - March 2, 2025 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j El-Kurd, Mohammed (2025). Perfect victims: and the politics of appeal. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. ISBN 979-8-88890-315-5.