Monday, October 25, 2010
New Orleans Middle East Film Festival
"In any writing or screenwriting class you quickly learn that the most important element to any good story is conflict. In the Middle East, conflict is a more abundant natural resource than even oil. Presented by Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Arts Center and curated by Rene Broussard, this annual festival of films founded in 2007, explores the extremely rich and complex history, politics and culture of this volatile region.
Why the New Orleans Middle East Film Festival? Founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a city of refugees inside the United States, it soon became quite obvious the many parallels to our situation and the many conflicts of the Middle East. Issues such as class, racism, Human Rights, social justice, land grabs, Right of Return, environmental issues, etc. So with literally no money, partly as a diversion from our own problems and largely out of solidarity, the festival was born as a completely grassroots effort that continues to grow every year.
The 2009 festival featured 72 Acclaimed and Award-winning new films from or about Afghanistan, Anatolia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates shown over eleven nights with food, music, visual art and visiting filmmakers.
This year's festival will coincide with the opening of the second INTERNATIONAL MUSLIM ARTISTS EXHIBITION 2010 in our gallery, being curated by Egyptian artist, Haithem Eid and will for the second year feature collaborative screenings with the Gaza International Documentary Film Festival."From www.nolamideastfilmfest.blogspot.com
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Jordan Journal #1
Today I explored the depths of my virus-infested computer and what do I find but an old journal assignment from Jordan...perfectooo.
February 3, 2008
I can’t remember what was going through my head as our captain told us to fasten our seat belts; we were making our descent into Amman. I was probably too tired to think. I was sitting with twenty or so college students that I’d met at JFK the day before, people who had a lot in common but were at the moment too exhausted for small-talk. Bonding could wait. Right then we were at least together in our uncertainty; no one knew who would pick us up, where we would stay that night, or what to do if something went wrong. I decided to forgo worry, finding that faith and fatigue went hand and hand; my Middle East experience was scheduled to start when I woke up the next morning, and until then I was on auto-pilot.
This plan was interrupted when I woke up a few minutes later to see Jordan’s capital for the first time. At first nothing special registered, but I began to notice that this city was unlike any city I’d seen before. It seemed that we were descending onto a sea of buried treasure. The streets of Amman flowed like golden rivers, their lights like strings of pearls, running every which way and bringing no semblance of order to the accumulation of gemstones that scattered and clumped in greens, reds and blues. I could feel the life radiating below, confident in its disarray, and suddenly I was part of the history books, a modern-day Marco Polo who had taken off from the microchip of New York and found the Orient. It looked exotic and shiny, and I wondered what place (if any) it held for me. As I wiped the fog from my window, I thought about my goal to help “bridge the gap between East and West.” I pledged it on my program application, as had probably most of my other classmates-to-be. But now it seemed so vague, so cliché. What made us think we were equipped for this? Of all the things I saw from my window, I did not see a city waiting with open arms for our Western intellect, our textbook knowledge. But I couldn’t keep that image from my mind.
Since my arrival to Jordan I’ve been thinking about my initial reaction to that bird’s eye view of Amman. My first response was that of a child looking at something pretty and appealing, then of a traveler, about to embark on an adventure. It then shifted into the response of a poet or writer, trying to immortalize what I saw. Then I began to question my place in the world below. On one hand, my studies of Orientalism had prepared me to travel with knowledge of historical context and an open mind. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but see myself as a pirate to the buried treasure I saw, as if my identity as a Westerner gave me an advantage, a reason to feel confident in a new place. In my Race and Ethnic Studies major it was an exhausting topic, wondering if continual dialogue only perpetuates hierarchy, if knowing my place in history has further inoculated me with a subconscious feeling of superiority. Then again, this dialogue has trained me to question my assumptions and find new ways of seeing and measuring the world, and new ways of bridging gaps in human understanding. As we descended into Amman, I was aware of this conflict between appreciation, entitlement, determination and guilt. The feeling was short-lived.
The day after we arrived in Amman, my group mates and I were finishing our first session of orientation (I later found that word really amusing, Orient-ation) and packing up our laptops when I heard the call to prayer for the first time. I left my things, ignored the director calling out names for our taxi stipend, and found myself on the front steps of our school, trying to comprehend the sound. Words like “creepy” and “fundamentalist” and quotes from Team America ran through the back of my conditioned mind, but I just smiled.
It was beautiful. One of my professors told me that it was considered offensive to liken Quranic recitation to singing, but it was music to my ears, skilled and melodic and wonderful. I didn’t know what the words meant, but I knew they were summoning the city to remember their faith, as they had four times already that day. Now it reminds me of something my great-grandfather wrote:
"God is not a dimension of existence for a perfunctory hour of worship in church, but that we live in and from and for Him all the time, also in toil and fun, alone and in the crowd."
My mind wandered back to Sunday school: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. And this I forgot by Monday. I watched my first Jordanian sunset and thought, these people have got it down. These people. Them. Us. Us vs. Them. These thoughts dissolved as I stood there feeling cleansed, safe, and wholeheartedly welcomed. I was an ajnabia, a foreigner, and I understood for the first time how Islam meant peace.
That was when I learned to stop questioning my intentions. It’s hard to lay down your worries and recognize that you are, in fact, in the right place, at the right time. It was disorienting. It was humbling. Twenty-four hours in the Holy Land had taught me that as a child, a traveler, a poet, a writer, and an ajnabia I was already what I had set out to be: a builder of bridges, one by one.
February 3, 2008
I can’t remember what was going through my head as our captain told us to fasten our seat belts; we were making our descent into Amman. I was probably too tired to think. I was sitting with twenty or so college students that I’d met at JFK the day before, people who had a lot in common but were at the moment too exhausted for small-talk. Bonding could wait. Right then we were at least together in our uncertainty; no one knew who would pick us up, where we would stay that night, or what to do if something went wrong. I decided to forgo worry, finding that faith and fatigue went hand and hand; my Middle East experience was scheduled to start when I woke up the next morning, and until then I was on auto-pilot.
This plan was interrupted when I woke up a few minutes later to see Jordan’s capital for the first time. At first nothing special registered, but I began to notice that this city was unlike any city I’d seen before. It seemed that we were descending onto a sea of buried treasure. The streets of Amman flowed like golden rivers, their lights like strings of pearls, running every which way and bringing no semblance of order to the accumulation of gemstones that scattered and clumped in greens, reds and blues. I could feel the life radiating below, confident in its disarray, and suddenly I was part of the history books, a modern-day Marco Polo who had taken off from the microchip of New York and found the Orient. It looked exotic and shiny, and I wondered what place (if any) it held for me. As I wiped the fog from my window, I thought about my goal to help “bridge the gap between East and West.” I pledged it on my program application, as had probably most of my other classmates-to-be. But now it seemed so vague, so cliché. What made us think we were equipped for this? Of all the things I saw from my window, I did not see a city waiting with open arms for our Western intellect, our textbook knowledge. But I couldn’t keep that image from my mind.
Since my arrival to Jordan I’ve been thinking about my initial reaction to that bird’s eye view of Amman. My first response was that of a child looking at something pretty and appealing, then of a traveler, about to embark on an adventure. It then shifted into the response of a poet or writer, trying to immortalize what I saw. Then I began to question my place in the world below. On one hand, my studies of Orientalism had prepared me to travel with knowledge of historical context and an open mind. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but see myself as a pirate to the buried treasure I saw, as if my identity as a Westerner gave me an advantage, a reason to feel confident in a new place. In my Race and Ethnic Studies major it was an exhausting topic, wondering if continual dialogue only perpetuates hierarchy, if knowing my place in history has further inoculated me with a subconscious feeling of superiority. Then again, this dialogue has trained me to question my assumptions and find new ways of seeing and measuring the world, and new ways of bridging gaps in human understanding. As we descended into Amman, I was aware of this conflict between appreciation, entitlement, determination and guilt. The feeling was short-lived.
The day after we arrived in Amman, my group mates and I were finishing our first session of orientation (I later found that word really amusing, Orient-ation) and packing up our laptops when I heard the call to prayer for the first time. I left my things, ignored the director calling out names for our taxi stipend, and found myself on the front steps of our school, trying to comprehend the sound. Words like “creepy” and “fundamentalist” and quotes from Team America ran through the back of my conditioned mind, but I just smiled.
It was beautiful. One of my professors told me that it was considered offensive to liken Quranic recitation to singing, but it was music to my ears, skilled and melodic and wonderful. I didn’t know what the words meant, but I knew they were summoning the city to remember their faith, as they had four times already that day. Now it reminds me of something my great-grandfather wrote:
"God is not a dimension of existence for a perfunctory hour of worship in church, but that we live in and from and for Him all the time, also in toil and fun, alone and in the crowd."
My mind wandered back to Sunday school: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. And this I forgot by Monday. I watched my first Jordanian sunset and thought, these people have got it down. These people. Them. Us. Us vs. Them. These thoughts dissolved as I stood there feeling cleansed, safe, and wholeheartedly welcomed. I was an ajnabia, a foreigner, and I understood for the first time how Islam meant peace.
That was when I learned to stop questioning my intentions. It’s hard to lay down your worries and recognize that you are, in fact, in the right place, at the right time. It was disorienting. It was humbling. Twenty-four hours in the Holy Land had taught me that as a child, a traveler, a poet, a writer, and an ajnabia I was already what I had set out to be: a builder of bridges, one by one.
In kaanet niyyetak 3umaar, la tadhuruka dhariit al Himaar...
One of the comments on Mondoweiss shared that Omani proverb which apparently means "if your intentions are noble you will not be harmed by the farting of the donkey."
I received more e-mails today. Three of the Anti-Defamataion League's "Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups" have something to say about their new status. Enjoy.
Dear Jessica,
My family survived the pogroms of Eastern Europe and came to the US before the outbreak of WWII only to see many close relatives killed in the Holocaust. My grandparents took their profound grief and channeled it into creating a state they hoped would be safe for Jews and a light unto nations. It is because of their story that I was brought up to remember the past and to create a world that refuses to remain silent in the face of such persecution.
And it is because of their story that I’ve dedicated myself, like so many of you, to doing everything I can to push for a truly just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians that recognizes the full humanity of all peoples.
But to be told by the Anti-Defamation League, as we were last week when they named us one of the top-ten "anti-Israel" groups in the US, that this dream makes me anti-Israel and somehow less Jewish is beyond repugnant.
To the Anti-Defamation League: you do not speak for me, for my family, for our community.
For all of us who support the work of Jewish Voice for Peace, our belief in the universal value of human life is essential, not negotiable. Our work for human rights is based on a vision of possibilities for all of us.
The story about the ADL’s top ten list has made the news across Israel – in Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post, and Ynet . But it’s also triggering quite a reaction here in the United States, revealing yet one more way the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman has a broken moral compass when it comes to Israel.
Below is JVP’s official response to being named on the ADL’s Top Ten list. I’ve also included links to various media reports and analyses. Finally, if you are as offended as I am by the assertion that the work we do to support universal human rights is in any way anti-Israel, I invite you to join the many others who have made a gift to JVP in honor of Abe Foxman himself by CLICKING HERE NOW.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace statement on making it on the Anti-Defamation League's list of top ten "anti-Israel" groups
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is at it again. They just came up with a list of the top ten most influential anti-Israel Groups in America, and Jewish Voice for Peace makes the list. We appreciate the honor, except that the ADL--as usual--got a few things wrong in describing us.
(1) JVP IS NEITHER ANTI-ISRAEL NOR ANTI-ZIONIST.
We do not hold Zionism as a litmus test for membership. Some of our members are Zionists, some are anti-Zionists, and some are non-Zionists. We believe you can define yourself in any of these ways as long as you support an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- and Gaza, and you advocate for human rights, which naturally apply equally to Israelis and Palestinians.
We stand by Israelis that hold these views, such as Israeli conscientious objectors and Israeli actors refusing to play in illegal settlements in the West Bank.
We stand by Palestinians that hold these views, such as Palestinian activists protesting the Israeli confiscation of land in the West Bank town of Bil'in.
We stand by internationals that hold these views, such as students pressing for divestment from occupation and war crimes or activists trying to break the siege of Gaza.
What unites us is our belief in human rights and equality.
(2) WE DO NOT 'USE' OUR JEWISH IDENTITY TO PROTECT ANTI-SEMITES.
We are Jews and allies who strongly oppose anti-Jewish hatred, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism.
We do understand that as Jews we have a special role to play in bringing about a change in American and Israeli policy. Israel claims to be acting in the name of the Jewish people. Some American Jewish organizations defend Israel right or wrong, claiming to be representing all American Jews. It is up to us to set the record straight.
We strongly reject the misleading accusations of anti-Semitism that the ADL and others have used in other to protect Israel's policies. For example, when the ADL accuses Archbishop Desmond Tutu of anti-Semitism, it is not only wrong, but it also makes all Jews less safe when facing a real case of anti-Jewish hatred.
(3) ACKNOWLEDGING THE NAKBA IS NOT OPPOSING ISRAEL'S EXISTENCE.
Would the ADL call those that acknowledge the genocide of Native-Americans in this land anti-American?
We believe that in order to reach a just and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the Nakba must be addressed. Without acknowledging the events of 1947-9, there will be no truth and reconciliation. JVP adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country." Israelis should acknowledge the Palestinian refugees' right of return and negotiate a mutually agreed just solution based on principles established in international law, including return, compensation, and/or resettlement.
We acknowledge our own legacy of suffering and the horrors of the Holocaust, but we do not allow these to blind us to the suffering of others. Quite the opposite, we have learned from our own history and from our own tradition not to stand silent when others are suffering. The ADL, on the other hand, fights Holocaust-deniers and denies full recognition of the Armenian genocide at the same time.
(4) THE ADL IMPOSES ON PALESTINIANS A BURDEN IT DOES NOT IMPOSE ON ITSELF.
Jews in America constitute fewer than 2% of the population. We would be rightfully upset if we had to recognize the United States as a "Christian state." And yet, he ADL expects Palestinians -- 20% of Israel's population -- to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." The ADL apparently has learned little from Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."
Response from Students for Justice in Palestine
Response from CAIR-Council on American Islamic Relations
Rabbi Brant Rosen's On JVP: Zionism and Jewish Community Growing Pains
Bottom line? Jewish Voice for Peace is an example of a new Jewish organization that speaks to a young post-national generation of Jews that simply cannot relate to Zionism the way previous generations did. Indeed, increasing numbers of Jewish young people are interested in breaking down walls between peoples and nations – and in Israel they see a nation that often appears determined to build higher and higher walls between itself and the outside world. (It’s a poignant irony indeed: while Zionism was ostensibly founded to normalize the status of Jewish people in the world, the Jewish state it spawned seems to view itself as all alone, increasingly victimized by the international community.)
Whether the old Jewish establishment likes it or not, there is a steadily growing demographic in the American Jewish community: proud, committed Jews who just don’t adhere to the old narratives any more, who are deeply troubled when Israel acts oppressively, and who are galled at being labeled as traitors when they choose to speak out.
Want to read more?
Salon:Anti-Defamation League beclowns itself, again
Daily Beast on ADL's "desperation."
New York's Jewish Week
Bay Area's Jweekly
I received more e-mails today. Three of the Anti-Defamataion League's "Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups" have something to say about their new status. Enjoy.
Dear Jessica,
My family survived the pogroms of Eastern Europe and came to the US before the outbreak of WWII only to see many close relatives killed in the Holocaust. My grandparents took their profound grief and channeled it into creating a state they hoped would be safe for Jews and a light unto nations. It is because of their story that I was brought up to remember the past and to create a world that refuses to remain silent in the face of such persecution.
And it is because of their story that I’ve dedicated myself, like so many of you, to doing everything I can to push for a truly just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians that recognizes the full humanity of all peoples.
But to be told by the Anti-Defamation League, as we were last week when they named us one of the top-ten "anti-Israel" groups in the US, that this dream makes me anti-Israel and somehow less Jewish is beyond repugnant.
To the Anti-Defamation League: you do not speak for me, for my family, for our community.
For all of us who support the work of Jewish Voice for Peace, our belief in the universal value of human life is essential, not negotiable. Our work for human rights is based on a vision of possibilities for all of us.
The story about the ADL’s top ten list has made the news across Israel – in Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post, and Ynet . But it’s also triggering quite a reaction here in the United States, revealing yet one more way the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman has a broken moral compass when it comes to Israel.
Below is JVP’s official response to being named on the ADL’s Top Ten list. I’ve also included links to various media reports and analyses. Finally, if you are as offended as I am by the assertion that the work we do to support universal human rights is in any way anti-Israel, I invite you to join the many others who have made a gift to JVP in honor of Abe Foxman himself by CLICKING HERE NOW.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace statement on making it on the Anti-Defamation League's list of top ten "anti-Israel" groups
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is at it again. They just came up with a list of the top ten most influential anti-Israel Groups in America, and Jewish Voice for Peace makes the list. We appreciate the honor, except that the ADL--as usual--got a few things wrong in describing us.
(1) JVP IS NEITHER ANTI-ISRAEL NOR ANTI-ZIONIST.
We do not hold Zionism as a litmus test for membership. Some of our members are Zionists, some are anti-Zionists, and some are non-Zionists. We believe you can define yourself in any of these ways as long as you support an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- and Gaza, and you advocate for human rights, which naturally apply equally to Israelis and Palestinians.
We stand by Israelis that hold these views, such as Israeli conscientious objectors and Israeli actors refusing to play in illegal settlements in the West Bank.
We stand by Palestinians that hold these views, such as Palestinian activists protesting the Israeli confiscation of land in the West Bank town of Bil'in.
We stand by internationals that hold these views, such as students pressing for divestment from occupation and war crimes or activists trying to break the siege of Gaza.
What unites us is our belief in human rights and equality.
(2) WE DO NOT 'USE' OUR JEWISH IDENTITY TO PROTECT ANTI-SEMITES.
We are Jews and allies who strongly oppose anti-Jewish hatred, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism.
We do understand that as Jews we have a special role to play in bringing about a change in American and Israeli policy. Israel claims to be acting in the name of the Jewish people. Some American Jewish organizations defend Israel right or wrong, claiming to be representing all American Jews. It is up to us to set the record straight.
We strongly reject the misleading accusations of anti-Semitism that the ADL and others have used in other to protect Israel's policies. For example, when the ADL accuses Archbishop Desmond Tutu of anti-Semitism, it is not only wrong, but it also makes all Jews less safe when facing a real case of anti-Jewish hatred.
(3) ACKNOWLEDGING THE NAKBA IS NOT OPPOSING ISRAEL'S EXISTENCE.
Would the ADL call those that acknowledge the genocide of Native-Americans in this land anti-American?
We believe that in order to reach a just and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the Nakba must be addressed. Without acknowledging the events of 1947-9, there will be no truth and reconciliation. JVP adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country." Israelis should acknowledge the Palestinian refugees' right of return and negotiate a mutually agreed just solution based on principles established in international law, including return, compensation, and/or resettlement.
We acknowledge our own legacy of suffering and the horrors of the Holocaust, but we do not allow these to blind us to the suffering of others. Quite the opposite, we have learned from our own history and from our own tradition not to stand silent when others are suffering. The ADL, on the other hand, fights Holocaust-deniers and denies full recognition of the Armenian genocide at the same time.
(4) THE ADL IMPOSES ON PALESTINIANS A BURDEN IT DOES NOT IMPOSE ON ITSELF.
Jews in America constitute fewer than 2% of the population. We would be rightfully upset if we had to recognize the United States as a "Christian state." And yet, he ADL expects Palestinians -- 20% of Israel's population -- to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." The ADL apparently has learned little from Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."
Response from Students for Justice in Palestine
Response from CAIR-Council on American Islamic Relations
Rabbi Brant Rosen's On JVP: Zionism and Jewish Community Growing Pains
Bottom line? Jewish Voice for Peace is an example of a new Jewish organization that speaks to a young post-national generation of Jews that simply cannot relate to Zionism the way previous generations did. Indeed, increasing numbers of Jewish young people are interested in breaking down walls between peoples and nations – and in Israel they see a nation that often appears determined to build higher and higher walls between itself and the outside world. (It’s a poignant irony indeed: while Zionism was ostensibly founded to normalize the status of Jewish people in the world, the Jewish state it spawned seems to view itself as all alone, increasingly victimized by the international community.)
Whether the old Jewish establishment likes it or not, there is a steadily growing demographic in the American Jewish community: proud, committed Jews who just don’t adhere to the old narratives any more, who are deeply troubled when Israel acts oppressively, and who are galled at being labeled as traitors when they choose to speak out.
Want to read more?
Salon:Anti-Defamation League beclowns itself, again
Daily Beast on ADL's "desperation."
New York's Jewish Week
Bay Area's Jweekly
Thursday, October 21, 2010
On Monday I receieved three e-mails from three very different organizations. One is JStreet, a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" political action committee in D.C. that promotes dialogue on U.S. policy in the Middle East and supports politicians who advocate for a two-state solution. These politicians are constantly attacked as anti-Israel, and are financially disadvantaged without support from the Israel lobby. This political branch of the pro-peace movement isn't about campus activism, boycotting, or public awareness campaigns. It recognizes that the influence of AIPAC on Congress is at the heart of Israel's inability to demilitarize, and that a blank check (rather, an unquestioned third of all foreign aid) is the worst thing one democracy could give to another.
So it operates from within the beast, fighting fire with fire....
Dear Jessica,
As a Tea Party wave threatens to sweep the nation, we here at JStreetPAC are determined to do everything we can on behalf of key progressive allies who are committed to Israel and Middle East peace. With just 13 days left until the critical November election, Senate Candidate Joe Sestak (D, PA-Sen) and our progressive friends need our help more than ever.
In particular, the neoconservative Emergency Committee on Israel and the Republican Jewish Coalition have focused on Joe Sestak because of his sensible pro-Israel, pro-peace views - as well as his ties to JStreetPAC. Just this week, the RJC announced they are spending $1 million dollars on attack ads, including ads during tonight's World Series game.
Joe Sestak is not alone in this fight. At JStreetPAC, we are proud to share the progressive values of Reps. Raul Grijalva (D, AZ-03) and Maurice Hinchey (D, NY-22) and challenger Anne Kuster -- and to join them in applying these core values to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If the radical right defeats Joe Sestak and our progressive allies, they would be well on their way to scaring the President and the political establishment away from a meaningful and bold push for a two-state solution. It's that simple.
This is no time to sit on the sidelines and watch some of JStreetPAC's most important progressive endorsees this cycle get beat by Tea Party opponents.
-In upstate New York, another JStreetPAC ally Maurice Hinchey is under furious attack by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and by Rupert Murdoch's New York Post.
They say he's "hostile to Israel." Why? He won't sign hawkish, one-sided Congressional letters on Israel, and he's staked out moderate pro-Israel, pro-peace positions in nine terms in Congress.
-In Arizona, co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva was cruising for a solid victory through much of the campaign until large right-wing funders launched ads attacking Grijalva's opposition to Arizona's new immigration law.
Now, with just two weeks left, the race is suddenly tight, and Grijalva needs our help immediately to get more ads on the air and to fight back.
-In New Hampshire, JStreetPAC's newest endorsee Anne Kuster has a strong shot at holding an open seat against a former Republican House member. She is a bold progressive who's made clear that JStreetPAC is where her heart is on Israel and the Middle East. Polls show her race neck and neck.
We need these valuable allies to win as we head into a make or break year for the peace process.
We can't sit on the sidelines -- we have to help right now to keep these vital progressive allies in the Congress.
We'll be in touch,
- Isaac
The second group is Ta'anit Tzedek, led by Rabbis Brian Walt and Brant Rosen....
Dear Ta'anit Tzedek Supporters,
Three short notes:
1) Fast Day and Phone Conference Tomorrow: "Why we sailed to Gaza" with Maireed Maguire and Yonatan Shapira
We are writing to remind you of our fast day tomorrow, October 21, and of the phone conference at 12 noon EST on "Why we Sailed to Gaza" with Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and Yonatan Shapira, former elite Israeli pilot.
Yonatan Shapira was a passenger on the Jewish Boat to Gaza and Mairead Maguire, who was denied entry to Israel earlier this month, has traveled to Gaza by boat three times.
2. "What is at stake in Gaza: A Jewish Fast for Gaza perspective" Rabbi Brian Walt's Talk at World Council of Churches meeting
Three weeks ago, I (Brian Walt) participated in the World Conference of Churches United Nations Advocacy Week. I was invited as the co-founder of Ta'anit Tzedek - Jewish Fast for Gaza. I have posted a complete copy of my talk on our website and a long excerpt on my blog. It was an honor to represent you at this meeting and I would love to hear your feedback on my comments and encourage you to share it with others.
3. News from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel
I just received a shocking email from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel about the death of a toddler with leukemia who died while waiting for permission to get medical treatment in Israel. This toddler is only one of many in Gaza who suffer needless pain and suffering and in some cases even death as they are waiting for permission to get medical treatment outside of Gaza. This is only one of the inhuman consequences of the immoral siege. When I read this, I was reminded why we are fasting tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued commitment,
Rabbis Brant Rosen and Brian Walt
Co-Founders Ta'Anit Tzedek-Jewish Fast for Gaza
The third group is Interfaith Peace-Builders, which sends delegations of Americans of all backgrounds to Israel and Palestine. The delegates keep blogs and update constantly to share their stories and experiences. Here's a snippet from one of their trips:
Sheikh Jarrah: Samoud
Effusive welcomes, gifts from people who have little to give, unrefusable offers of cool drinks and strong coffee, incredible spirit and amazing resistance...ahh, here is the Palestine I know and love! It's in Sheikh Jarrah.
For the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, the Nakba is quite literally at their doorstep. Jewish settlers have moved not just into their neighborhood, but right into their homes, evicting them with the help of the police. This is just one of a myriad number of efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem of its native Palestinian Arab inhabitants and maintain a Jewish demographic majority.
The evicted families have been stubbornly living in tents in their own backyards, facing harassment, humiliation and often violence from settlers. If Palestinian residents of the neighborhood go to the police to complain about settler violence, they are more likely to find themselves arrested than helped. And, in the final Orwellian absurdity, at least one family has been fined by Israeli authorities who claim the tent they sleep under in their own yard is an "illegal dwelling"--erected without a building permit. The tent has been torn down and confiscated seventeen times. They keep putting it back up.
We meet with several generations of the Hanoun and Rawi families and one of their lawyers, a man diligent enough to represent them in a court system completely stacked against them. At first the women are fairly quiet while the men do most of the talking. But when someone asks one of the women a direct question, the most amazing stories of resistance come pouring out. "Every time we're attacked, I get stronger," says a mother from one of the families. "Before I faced them, I was afraid of the police, but now I have no fear. Now I'm as strong as any man in the neighborhood and maybe more so." Other women echo her sentiments. Since many of the women of the families don't work, they play an important role in Sheikh Jarrah's resistance, maintaining a physical presence near their houses during the day and confronting police and settlers.
These women are awesome. They are exploding the stereotype of the meek, submissive Muslim woman and teaching us all about resistance. If only to meet them, the trip has already been worth it.
P.S. Samoud is an Arabic word generally translated as “steadfastness,” as in being a total badass who won't back down for anything. A generally abundant Palestinian trait.
--Laura Durkay
So it operates from within the beast, fighting fire with fire....
Dear Jessica,
As a Tea Party wave threatens to sweep the nation, we here at JStreetPAC are determined to do everything we can on behalf of key progressive allies who are committed to Israel and Middle East peace. With just 13 days left until the critical November election, Senate Candidate Joe Sestak (D, PA-Sen) and our progressive friends need our help more than ever.
In particular, the neoconservative Emergency Committee on Israel and the Republican Jewish Coalition have focused on Joe Sestak because of his sensible pro-Israel, pro-peace views - as well as his ties to JStreetPAC. Just this week, the RJC announced they are spending $1 million dollars on attack ads, including ads during tonight's World Series game.
Joe Sestak is not alone in this fight. At JStreetPAC, we are proud to share the progressive values of Reps. Raul Grijalva (D, AZ-03) and Maurice Hinchey (D, NY-22) and challenger Anne Kuster -- and to join them in applying these core values to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If the radical right defeats Joe Sestak and our progressive allies, they would be well on their way to scaring the President and the political establishment away from a meaningful and bold push for a two-state solution. It's that simple.
This is no time to sit on the sidelines and watch some of JStreetPAC's most important progressive endorsees this cycle get beat by Tea Party opponents.
-In upstate New York, another JStreetPAC ally Maurice Hinchey is under furious attack by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and by Rupert Murdoch's New York Post.
They say he's "hostile to Israel." Why? He won't sign hawkish, one-sided Congressional letters on Israel, and he's staked out moderate pro-Israel, pro-peace positions in nine terms in Congress.
-In Arizona, co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva was cruising for a solid victory through much of the campaign until large right-wing funders launched ads attacking Grijalva's opposition to Arizona's new immigration law.
Now, with just two weeks left, the race is suddenly tight, and Grijalva needs our help immediately to get more ads on the air and to fight back.
-In New Hampshire, JStreetPAC's newest endorsee Anne Kuster has a strong shot at holding an open seat against a former Republican House member. She is a bold progressive who's made clear that JStreetPAC is where her heart is on Israel and the Middle East. Polls show her race neck and neck.
We need these valuable allies to win as we head into a make or break year for the peace process.
We can't sit on the sidelines -- we have to help right now to keep these vital progressive allies in the Congress.
We'll be in touch,
- Isaac
The second group is Ta'anit Tzedek, led by Rabbis Brian Walt and Brant Rosen....
Dear Ta'anit Tzedek Supporters,
Three short notes:
1) Fast Day and Phone Conference Tomorrow: "Why we sailed to Gaza" with Maireed Maguire and Yonatan Shapira
We are writing to remind you of our fast day tomorrow, October 21, and of the phone conference at 12 noon EST on "Why we Sailed to Gaza" with Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and Yonatan Shapira, former elite Israeli pilot.
Yonatan Shapira was a passenger on the Jewish Boat to Gaza and Mairead Maguire, who was denied entry to Israel earlier this month, has traveled to Gaza by boat three times.
2. "What is at stake in Gaza: A Jewish Fast for Gaza perspective" Rabbi Brian Walt's Talk at World Council of Churches meeting
Three weeks ago, I (Brian Walt) participated in the World Conference of Churches United Nations Advocacy Week. I was invited as the co-founder of Ta'anit Tzedek - Jewish Fast for Gaza. I have posted a complete copy of my talk on our website and a long excerpt on my blog. It was an honor to represent you at this meeting and I would love to hear your feedback on my comments and encourage you to share it with others.
3. News from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel
I just received a shocking email from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel about the death of a toddler with leukemia who died while waiting for permission to get medical treatment in Israel. This toddler is only one of many in Gaza who suffer needless pain and suffering and in some cases even death as they are waiting for permission to get medical treatment outside of Gaza. This is only one of the inhuman consequences of the immoral siege. When I read this, I was reminded why we are fasting tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued commitment,
Rabbis Brant Rosen and Brian Walt
Co-Founders Ta'Anit Tzedek-Jewish Fast for Gaza
The third group is Interfaith Peace-Builders, which sends delegations of Americans of all backgrounds to Israel and Palestine. The delegates keep blogs and update constantly to share their stories and experiences. Here's a snippet from one of their trips:
Sheikh Jarrah: Samoud
Effusive welcomes, gifts from people who have little to give, unrefusable offers of cool drinks and strong coffee, incredible spirit and amazing resistance...ahh, here is the Palestine I know and love! It's in Sheikh Jarrah.
For the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, the Nakba is quite literally at their doorstep. Jewish settlers have moved not just into their neighborhood, but right into their homes, evicting them with the help of the police. This is just one of a myriad number of efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem of its native Palestinian Arab inhabitants and maintain a Jewish demographic majority.
The evicted families have been stubbornly living in tents in their own backyards, facing harassment, humiliation and often violence from settlers. If Palestinian residents of the neighborhood go to the police to complain about settler violence, they are more likely to find themselves arrested than helped. And, in the final Orwellian absurdity, at least one family has been fined by Israeli authorities who claim the tent they sleep under in their own yard is an "illegal dwelling"--erected without a building permit. The tent has been torn down and confiscated seventeen times. They keep putting it back up.
We meet with several generations of the Hanoun and Rawi families and one of their lawyers, a man diligent enough to represent them in a court system completely stacked against them. At first the women are fairly quiet while the men do most of the talking. But when someone asks one of the women a direct question, the most amazing stories of resistance come pouring out. "Every time we're attacked, I get stronger," says a mother from one of the families. "Before I faced them, I was afraid of the police, but now I have no fear. Now I'm as strong as any man in the neighborhood and maybe more so." Other women echo her sentiments. Since many of the women of the families don't work, they play an important role in Sheikh Jarrah's resistance, maintaining a physical presence near their houses during the day and confronting police and settlers.
These women are awesome. They are exploding the stereotype of the meek, submissive Muslim woman and teaching us all about resistance. If only to meet them, the trip has already been worth it.
P.S. Samoud is an Arabic word generally translated as “steadfastness,” as in being a total badass who won't back down for anything. A generally abundant Palestinian trait.
--Laura Durkay
Monday, October 18, 2010
Growing up in Asia didn't really contribute to my knowledge of anti-Western sentiment. If anything it made me less pro-West, but also the idea of East and West...unimportant. I wasn't any more comfortable in England or the States than I was in Japan or India. I liked how the roads were smoother in Seattle, and I could eat more fast food, and Saved By the Bell was on every afternoon, but even when I read Seventeen magazine and started to want everything a teenaged American girl is supposed to want, I was oblivious to the divide between East and West. I remember in seventh grade I was really bummed out when our track meet in Karachi was cancelled because of a bomb threat. It seemed to happen all the time, but I didn't really wonder why. Just some hateful people up in Pakistan...
In Alternative Voices I learned about Orientalism, and the motives behind the writings that separated a civilized West from an exotic and primitive East. In Orientalism, Edward Said writes,
So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Moslems and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we have instead is a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression.
Orientalism was the foundation of everything I learned about the Middle East from then on. That's why I loved studying race and ethnicity; we can't even attempt to become global citizens if we don't understand the roots of racial and ethnic division. Hear that Whitman? My major was useful! R.I.P, Race and Ethnic Studies...
My point is....the last year or so has been a tremendous exercise in source-searching. I look back to my senior year, staring at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict section of the library before starting a paper for Middle East History, and finally getting it. I couldn't trust these books. The year before I had written a paper on Japanese internment during WWII, and had encountered a book that said it was completely justified during a time of war and heightened fear. I'm ashamed to say that as a college junior, the mere fact that this book had been published rocked my world. Now I stood in front of 60 years of conflict (or over 100 if you start with the birth of Zionism) full of wars, battles, internments, treaties, resolutions, all on one shelf...and chances were, half of it was a load of hooey. Who spoke for the East? Who spoke for the West? Who made them seem...unimportant?
After facing the IP Conflict section with horrified curiosity, the first name I looked for was Edward Said. As a Palestinian-American he bridged the East-West gap and became the top scholar on the gap itself. The more I learned, the more I learned who to trust. The ones who sacrificed their careers, reputations and safety to put peace and human rights first. Rashid Khalidi, Mahmoud Darwish, Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, Hanan Ashrawi, Norman Finkelstein, Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy, Uri Avnery....
It's been a slow process, but I've come a long way. Up until a few years ago, I assumed that Al-Jazeera was a media outlet for terrorists. Until today, I viewed the website Electronic Intifada with suspicion, even though I know the word intifada refers to the "shaking off" of an illegal Occupation. Turns out they have a pretty stellar team.
Electronic Intifada: German firm helps Israel cement occupation with Light Rail
And a glimmer of light from Haaretz:
Thousands of Arabs and Jews Protest in Tel Aviv against Loyalty Oath Requirement
In Alternative Voices I learned about Orientalism, and the motives behind the writings that separated a civilized West from an exotic and primitive East. In Orientalism, Edward Said writes,
So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Moslems and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we have instead is a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression.
Orientalism was the foundation of everything I learned about the Middle East from then on. That's why I loved studying race and ethnicity; we can't even attempt to become global citizens if we don't understand the roots of racial and ethnic division. Hear that Whitman? My major was useful! R.I.P, Race and Ethnic Studies...
My point is....the last year or so has been a tremendous exercise in source-searching. I look back to my senior year, staring at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict section of the library before starting a paper for Middle East History, and finally getting it. I couldn't trust these books. The year before I had written a paper on Japanese internment during WWII, and had encountered a book that said it was completely justified during a time of war and heightened fear. I'm ashamed to say that as a college junior, the mere fact that this book had been published rocked my world. Now I stood in front of 60 years of conflict (or over 100 if you start with the birth of Zionism) full of wars, battles, internments, treaties, resolutions, all on one shelf...and chances were, half of it was a load of hooey. Who spoke for the East? Who spoke for the West? Who made them seem...unimportant?
After facing the IP Conflict section with horrified curiosity, the first name I looked for was Edward Said. As a Palestinian-American he bridged the East-West gap and became the top scholar on the gap itself. The more I learned, the more I learned who to trust. The ones who sacrificed their careers, reputations and safety to put peace and human rights first. Rashid Khalidi, Mahmoud Darwish, Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, Hanan Ashrawi, Norman Finkelstein, Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy, Uri Avnery....
It's been a slow process, but I've come a long way. Up until a few years ago, I assumed that Al-Jazeera was a media outlet for terrorists. Until today, I viewed the website Electronic Intifada with suspicion, even though I know the word intifada refers to the "shaking off" of an illegal Occupation. Turns out they have a pretty stellar team.
Electronic Intifada: German firm helps Israel cement occupation with Light Rail
And a glimmer of light from Haaretz:
Thousands of Arabs and Jews Protest in Tel Aviv against Loyalty Oath Requirement
Mondoweiss
Mondoweiss is a news website devoted to covering American foreign policy in the Middle East, chiefly from a progressive Jewish perspective.
It has four principal aims:
1)To publish important developments touching on Israel/Palestine, the American Jewish community and the shifting debate over US foreign policy in a timely fashion.
2)To publish a diversity of voices to promote dialogue on these important issues.
3)To foster the movement for greater fairness and justice for Palestinians in American foreign policy.
4)To offer alternatives to pro-Zionist ideology as a basis for American Jewish identity.
I got this article today from skip schiel:
We Wouldn't Eat Their Sandwiches! An Interview with Lillian Rosengarten
Lillian Rosengarten was the only American on the Jewish boat to Gaza that was intercepted by the Israeli military on September 28th..."I saw the side of the Jewish experience that will do anything to preserve the myth of Israel."
I asked her what it means that she fled Nazi Germany as a young Jew and now she has been kicked out of Israel as an older one.
Rosengarten lowered her head and cried.
“That’s exactly what I’m feeling, behind all these words. Because Israel always did exist in my mind as an ideal. My image of Israel was this place of return, a refuge for all the Jews, a place where Jews are good to one another, a country where they can be free and safe.
“Now I think, what was it all about? That this country, that’s supposed to be a haven to Jews, where Jews are going to be safe, can act like this. Not just to us, but the way it treats the Palestinians, their land, their water. And this issue of deportation, it is absolutely horrendous. I thought that all Jews have a right to be in Israel. To be cared for. To be safe. But as soon as we voice a dissent against the actions of a government that is brutal, that dominates another people, that commits collective punishment, when we cry out, No that’s not right, we’re deported.
“I'm weeping because-- you know, I think about my mentor Hans. He is 91. I can’t ever go to visit him. I can’t go there if he dies. And my Palestinian friends, I can’t see them again either.”
"So you are feeling grief?”
“Oh I’m feeling tremendous grief, but mostly it’s grief about Israel. The road that it’s taken.”
It has four principal aims:
1)To publish important developments touching on Israel/Palestine, the American Jewish community and the shifting debate over US foreign policy in a timely fashion.
2)To publish a diversity of voices to promote dialogue on these important issues.
3)To foster the movement for greater fairness and justice for Palestinians in American foreign policy.
4)To offer alternatives to pro-Zionist ideology as a basis for American Jewish identity.
I got this article today from skip schiel:
We Wouldn't Eat Their Sandwiches! An Interview with Lillian Rosengarten
Lillian Rosengarten was the only American on the Jewish boat to Gaza that was intercepted by the Israeli military on September 28th..."I saw the side of the Jewish experience that will do anything to preserve the myth of Israel."
I asked her what it means that she fled Nazi Germany as a young Jew and now she has been kicked out of Israel as an older one.
Rosengarten lowered her head and cried.
“That’s exactly what I’m feeling, behind all these words. Because Israel always did exist in my mind as an ideal. My image of Israel was this place of return, a refuge for all the Jews, a place where Jews are good to one another, a country where they can be free and safe.
“Now I think, what was it all about? That this country, that’s supposed to be a haven to Jews, where Jews are going to be safe, can act like this. Not just to us, but the way it treats the Palestinians, their land, their water. And this issue of deportation, it is absolutely horrendous. I thought that all Jews have a right to be in Israel. To be cared for. To be safe. But as soon as we voice a dissent against the actions of a government that is brutal, that dominates another people, that commits collective punishment, when we cry out, No that’s not right, we’re deported.
“I'm weeping because-- you know, I think about my mentor Hans. He is 91. I can’t ever go to visit him. I can’t go there if he dies. And my Palestinian friends, I can’t see them again either.”
"So you are feeling grief?”
“Oh I’m feeling tremendous grief, but mostly it’s grief about Israel. The road that it’s taken.”
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I got this e-mail today, and it made me laugh. Kinda reminds me of the professors who called up Campus Watch and asked to be put on their list of "terrorist apologists." While I don't agree that the ADL has abandoned its good work of fighting racism and discrimination, this list is ridiculous.
The ADL List
From: The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Congratulations to Us--We Made ADL's List
Dear Jessica,
We were honored to learn yesterday that we made the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) top ten list of "anti-Israel groups" in the United States.
Help us "thank" the ADL for its recognition of our work by replanting Palestinian olive trees, which Israeli settlers are currently uprooting and stealing fruits from.
For every $25 you donate to the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, we'll replant one olive tree in Palestine. Donate $100, and we'll replant five trees.
You can help us replant 1,000 olive trees in Palestine as a "thank you" to the ADL. Then, we'll give the ADL a nicely framed certificate showing how naming our coalition to the list enabled Palestinian farmers to remain steadfast on their land, despite Israel's attempted colonization and ethnic cleansing. To contribute to the replanting, please click here.
The ADL, which long ago abandoned its noble charter to fight racism--in favor of spying on U.S. peace and justice organizations, fanning the flames of Islamophobia, and defaming anyone who supports Palestinian human rights, named the US Campaign the "primary organizer of efforts to persuade the U.S. government to cut off aid to Israel." The ADL said that the US Campaign "function[s] as an umbrella organization [that] boosts cooperation among various anti-Israel groups."
Thanks, ADL, for recognizing our centrality in building a national movement to end U.S. support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians and to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality. We appreciate it!
Of course, we dispute the ADL's facile characterization of our mission as "anti-Israel." It's the same type of wrong thinking that produces the red herring that people who criticize U.S. foreign policies are "anti-American." That Bush-era mentality went out of fashion a long time ago.
Thank you for your generous support!
The ADL List
From: The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Congratulations to Us--We Made ADL's List
Dear Jessica,
We were honored to learn yesterday that we made the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) top ten list of "anti-Israel groups" in the United States.
Help us "thank" the ADL for its recognition of our work by replanting Palestinian olive trees, which Israeli settlers are currently uprooting and stealing fruits from.
For every $25 you donate to the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, we'll replant one olive tree in Palestine. Donate $100, and we'll replant five trees.
You can help us replant 1,000 olive trees in Palestine as a "thank you" to the ADL. Then, we'll give the ADL a nicely framed certificate showing how naming our coalition to the list enabled Palestinian farmers to remain steadfast on their land, despite Israel's attempted colonization and ethnic cleansing. To contribute to the replanting, please click here.
The ADL, which long ago abandoned its noble charter to fight racism--in favor of spying on U.S. peace and justice organizations, fanning the flames of Islamophobia, and defaming anyone who supports Palestinian human rights, named the US Campaign the "primary organizer of efforts to persuade the U.S. government to cut off aid to Israel." The ADL said that the US Campaign "function[s] as an umbrella organization [that] boosts cooperation among various anti-Israel groups."
Thanks, ADL, for recognizing our centrality in building a national movement to end U.S. support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians and to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality. We appreciate it!
Of course, we dispute the ADL's facile characterization of our mission as "anti-Israel." It's the same type of wrong thinking that produces the red herring that people who criticize U.S. foreign policies are "anti-American." That Bush-era mentality went out of fashion a long time ago.
Thank you for your generous support!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A few snippets from The Lemon Tree:
Ramallah, 1967
At the edges of town stood the concrete dwellings and narrow, refuse-strewn lanes of the UNRWA refugee camps. Each year, the UN refugee agency was required to submit a budget for renewed funding. Receiving long-term funds or building more permanent-looking houses would imply a UN admission that the refugees were not going home.
November 1966
Israeli planes, tanks and troops attacked the West Bank village of Samu, blowing up dozens of houses and killing twenty-one Jordanian soldiers.
President Johnson assured King Hussein of Jordan of his disapproval:
"Regarding your Majesty's concern that Israel's policy has changed and that Israel now intends to occupy territory on the West Bank of the Jordan River, we have good reason to believe it is highly unlikely that that events you fear will in fact occur. Should Israel adopt the policies you fear it would have the gravest consequences."
June 7, 1967
On the morning of June 7, Bashir and his family woke up to a city under military occupation. Israeli soldiers were shouting through bullhorns, demanding that white flags be hung outside houses, shops and apartment buildings; already balconies and windows fluttered with t-shirts and handkerchiefs.
Bashir was in shock from the surreal and the familiar. Another retreating Jordanian army was replaced by another occupying Israeli force. In 1948, Bashir thought, we lost 78 percent of our land. And now all of Palestine is under occupation....Perhaps most shocking of all, was that East Jerusalem, and the Old City with its holy sites, was now in the hands of the Israelis.
...
Strangely though, in the midst of occupation and the utter failure of the Arab regime, a sense of freedom was emerging; a notion that Palestinians were suddenly free to think and act for themselves. In the weeks after the occupation, Bashir began to believe that his people would go back to their homeland only through the sweat and blood of armed struggle. He was far from alone in this assessment.
The book was written because the author found two families whose lives were intertwined by their residence in one house--built by Ahmad Khairi for his family, and claimed in 1948 by Moshe and Solia, a Jewish couple from Bulgaria. Nineteen years after they were expelled, Bashir Khairi and his cousins crossed the Green Line to see their house, which they managed to do with the help of Moshe's daughter, Dalia. Upon his return to Ramallah, Bashir faced his family.
In the morning the family was waiting. Bashir took his time, recounting every moment of the journey with his cousins. Everyone pumped Bashir with questions-everyone, that is, except Ahmad, who remained quiet while the others demanded a replay of Bashir's every step, his every touch of stone. Did the light still stream in through the south windows in the afternoon? Were the pillars on the gate still standing straight? Was the front gate still painted olive green? Was the paint chipping? "If it still is," Zakia said, "when you go back you can bring a can of paint to make it new again, Bashir; you can bring shears and cut the grass growing up along the stone path. How is the lemon tree, does it look nice? Did you bring the fruit?...You didn't? Did you rub the leaves and smell them, did your fingers smell like fresh-cut lemons? How were the strones of the house, were they still and tough to the touch?...What else Bashir, what else? Please don't leave anything out."
Throughout the interrogation, Ahmad had been still as a mountain, his eyes watering. Abruptly he stood, pushing back his chair. Tears streaked his face as he left the kitchen and walked down the hallway. All eyes followed Ahmad, but no one dared call him back. He closed the bedroom door.
"God forgive you, my son," Zakia said. "You have opened our wounds again."
Ramallah, 1967
At the edges of town stood the concrete dwellings and narrow, refuse-strewn lanes of the UNRWA refugee camps. Each year, the UN refugee agency was required to submit a budget for renewed funding. Receiving long-term funds or building more permanent-looking houses would imply a UN admission that the refugees were not going home.
November 1966
Israeli planes, tanks and troops attacked the West Bank village of Samu, blowing up dozens of houses and killing twenty-one Jordanian soldiers.
President Johnson assured King Hussein of Jordan of his disapproval:
"Regarding your Majesty's concern that Israel's policy has changed and that Israel now intends to occupy territory on the West Bank of the Jordan River, we have good reason to believe it is highly unlikely that that events you fear will in fact occur. Should Israel adopt the policies you fear it would have the gravest consequences."
June 7, 1967
On the morning of June 7, Bashir and his family woke up to a city under military occupation. Israeli soldiers were shouting through bullhorns, demanding that white flags be hung outside houses, shops and apartment buildings; already balconies and windows fluttered with t-shirts and handkerchiefs.
Bashir was in shock from the surreal and the familiar. Another retreating Jordanian army was replaced by another occupying Israeli force. In 1948, Bashir thought, we lost 78 percent of our land. And now all of Palestine is under occupation....Perhaps most shocking of all, was that East Jerusalem, and the Old City with its holy sites, was now in the hands of the Israelis.
...
Strangely though, in the midst of occupation and the utter failure of the Arab regime, a sense of freedom was emerging; a notion that Palestinians were suddenly free to think and act for themselves. In the weeks after the occupation, Bashir began to believe that his people would go back to their homeland only through the sweat and blood of armed struggle. He was far from alone in this assessment.
The book was written because the author found two families whose lives were intertwined by their residence in one house--built by Ahmad Khairi for his family, and claimed in 1948 by Moshe and Solia, a Jewish couple from Bulgaria. Nineteen years after they were expelled, Bashir Khairi and his cousins crossed the Green Line to see their house, which they managed to do with the help of Moshe's daughter, Dalia. Upon his return to Ramallah, Bashir faced his family.
In the morning the family was waiting. Bashir took his time, recounting every moment of the journey with his cousins. Everyone pumped Bashir with questions-everyone, that is, except Ahmad, who remained quiet while the others demanded a replay of Bashir's every step, his every touch of stone. Did the light still stream in through the south windows in the afternoon? Were the pillars on the gate still standing straight? Was the front gate still painted olive green? Was the paint chipping? "If it still is," Zakia said, "when you go back you can bring a can of paint to make it new again, Bashir; you can bring shears and cut the grass growing up along the stone path. How is the lemon tree, does it look nice? Did you bring the fruit?...You didn't? Did you rub the leaves and smell them, did your fingers smell like fresh-cut lemons? How were the strones of the house, were they still and tough to the touch?...What else Bashir, what else? Please don't leave anything out."
Throughout the interrogation, Ahmad had been still as a mountain, his eyes watering. Abruptly he stood, pushing back his chair. Tears streaked his face as he left the kitchen and walked down the hallway. All eyes followed Ahmad, but no one dared call him back. He closed the bedroom door.
"God forgive you, my son," Zakia said. "You have opened our wounds again."
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
I'm reading Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts for a ladies' book club, and this is proving to be more door-opening than I thought. For one, I do feel like a Sister Goddess who deserves to indulge in all the pleasures of the world, but for two, I have the opportunity to help plan next week's Life class (read..Sex Ed) for half of my school's 7th grade girls and I feel this overwhelming urge to get up and tell them how beautiful they are. We always assumed our Health teachers were just making up rules because they liked to tell us "no." I've realized that one of the hardest things about being a teacher is convincing your students that you're there to help them, not torture them. I want to tell my girls that they need to support each other, but more importantly, they need to love themselves before even thinking of giving a part of themselves to someone else.
I tutor one seventh grade boy for much of the day, and today he wanted to write a love poem. In retrospect it was fitting that I thought of this line to write on the board for him to copy:
And in the end the love you take
Is equal to the love you make.
I got him to identify that take and make have a long aaa sound and are rhyming words, but the underlying concept was easy. You have to give love to get love.
But you need to save plenty for yourself. I'm wondering if this education-based trip to Palestine and/or the year that follows will include some work with women's empowerment.
That's a much larger fish than I expected to fry. But it's a thought. I'll post more after next Life class.
I tutor one seventh grade boy for much of the day, and today he wanted to write a love poem. In retrospect it was fitting that I thought of this line to write on the board for him to copy:
And in the end the love you take
Is equal to the love you make.
I got him to identify that take and make have a long aaa sound and are rhyming words, but the underlying concept was easy. You have to give love to get love.
But you need to save plenty for yourself. I'm wondering if this education-based trip to Palestine and/or the year that follows will include some work with women's empowerment.
That's a much larger fish than I expected to fry. But it's a thought. I'll post more after next Life class.
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