In My Heart, a Hebrew Girl

 I met Nada, the novel's protagonist, on the pages of an online forum. She recounted her story, which brought tears to my eyes. I left the forum, but the story never left me. After a while, the idea for the novel had grown in my mind. I found myself contacting her and asking for more details. Through emails and phone calls, we spoke at length. Through her, I learned about the closed Jewish community, or what they call "Arab Jews." But I learned things I had never imagined, about the resistance in Southern Lebanon, about love and war, and especially about faith. This novel is inspired by a true story. Its broad outlines belong to reality, and its main characters were still alive and breathing. But it is not without an intentional touch of imagination, either out of respect for personal secrets and privacy that should not be revealed, or to fill gaps in the true story that its owner remained silent about, or specifically to detail the events. I hope this story touches the core of every reader's heart and leaves an impact on them like the one it left on me.