Volume 4 Issue 2

FALASTIN

Volume 4 - Issue 2

March 2020

PACC

Falastin, a Palestinian American Community Center Publication Falastin Staff Editor in Chief, Reem Farhat Poetry Editor, Aya Mustafa Fiction Editor, Marah Siyam News Editor, Aseel Washah Arabic Editor, Aseel Zeinati

Arabic Editor, Hiba B’irat Copy Editor, Tala Ismail Layout Editor, Ibrahim Issa We’d like to extend a special thank you to Lena Mahmoud for the beautiful artwork featured on our front cover. Lena Mahmoud is a young Palestinian artist based in Wisconsin. She is president of the multicultural club at her high school and works to make her school a more culturally accepting space.

She hopes to be able to take that to a global scale be a part of the effort to make peace in Palestine and bring exposure to Palestine through art.

We are always looking for new content and contributions! Submit your work to falastin@paccusa.org 388 Lakeview Ave, Clifton, NJ 07011

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www.paccusa.org

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info@paccusa.org

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973-253-6145

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

04 Letter From the Editor 04 Letter From the E.D. PACC’s Census-sational Community 06 07 ‫صناعة الصابون‬ 08 Spring Change I Go to the Backyard to Pick Mint 09 Leaves for My Mother Living the Unlivable: Gaza in 2020 10 Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib: On 12 Building Bridges and Being Unapologetic 14 What is Freedom is the Future?

17 ‫ وادي الجوز‬:‫القدس المحتلة‬ 18 Diaspora Becomes Tangible 20 Zealous Zimmern Crosses Controversial Lines 22 For the First Time Reem Farhat

Rania Mustafa

Tala Ismail

‫رجاء غزاونة‬

Marah Siyam

Tariq Luthun

Visualizing Palestine

Reem Farhat

Sandra Tamari

‫يوسف القطب‬

Mariam Abukwaik

Aya Mustafa

Aseel Washah

Letter from the Editor Reem Farhat During the first Intifada, Israeli soldiers lined up the young men in my village and made them stand in front of the masjid in sweltering heat pointing rifles at their heads, simply because they could. My aunt, only ten years old at the time, ran back and forth with bottles of water to pass to the young men, walking past the soldiers with a defiance only a Palestinian could muster.

Palestinian women display unparalleled levels of strength each and every day. For that reason, we’d like to dedicate this issue to Palestinian women, to celebrate their strength and resilience. Enclosed in this issue, you will find an interview with Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, musings on the diaspora, and reflections from Palestinians who recently visited home for the first time. This issue was made possible due to the efforts of all our artists and writers, our wonderful editorial team, the PACC board, our sponsors, and all of our wonderful readers who support Falastin issue after issue.

This magazine is a reclamation of our narrative, one that has been contested, suppressed, and told in every language but our own. Art, in all its forms, is among the most powerful forms of resistance because it emphasizes that we are here and that we have a story to tell.

Falastin is a refusal to be silent, it is crying out in a room where we’ve been told to whisper. We ask that you join us in our refusal to be silent, whether it be by contributing art, writing poetry or short stories, or sharing this magazine with someone who wouldn’t be able to point to Palestine on a map. Join us and resist.

Reem Farhat Editor in Chief

Letter from the Executive Director Rania Mustafa This past month we launched our 6-week Freedom is the Future Course in partnership with Adalah Justice Project and are currently preparing for our Second Annual Conference with the theme Freedom is the Future that is set to take place on Sunday, March 15th, 2020. PACC endorses the Freedom is the Future list of demands which can be found on page 14. We are very invested in living in a world where this list is not merely demands, but in fact a reality. We also must believe in the notion that as Palestinians living in the diaspora we have to take more ownership over our pursuit for freedom and justice. That notion is very empowering and is one of the main motivators for the PACC's existence. We are here to reclaim our narrative and to assert to the world that we exist and we demand our rights.

At PACC, we are invested in being heard and seen and there is a very easy way to do that this year. This year is a census year and I encourage you all to read the article by our civic engagement coordinator, Tala Ismail, on page 6. She explains how the census is safe, easy and important. I encourage you all to read the article and share it and make sure to take the census and when filling it out make sure to be as specific as possible because we want to be counted and we want to be seen. Thank you to our Falastin staff for successfully launching Volume 4. Thank you to our board of directors and sponsors for their continuous support. Last, but not least, thank you for picking this up and supporting Falastin.

Rania Mustafa PACC Executive Director 4

Artwork by Mila Hakim

IG: milahakim

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PACC’s Census-sational Community Tala Ismail Every 10 years, the United States Census Bureau conducts a survey in which population demographic information is collected and assessed. The census is mandated by the US Constitution, and it is extremely important that the census be completed in a timely and efficient fashion to ensure that federal funding is allocated to communities in an appropriate manner. This year is a census year, and the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) has launched an initiative, “Census-sational Communities!,” to ensure community participation.

The 2020 Census is easy.

For the first time in American history, the census will be available online! Now, individuals can complete the census online, over the phone or via mail.

Questions? Feel free to send an email to Tala Ismail, the Civic Engagement Coordinator at the PACC. You can reach her at tismail@paccusa.org or by calling the center at (973) 253-6145.

The 2020 Census is safe.

Though the census questionnaire may ask for personal information, it is important to note that an individual’s information is protected by federal law.

Simply stated, it is illegal for the US Census Bureau to release any of the personal and private information of any of the participants. Individuals are protected by Title 13 of the US Code. All census information can only be used to produce statistics.

Even the president cannot access any of the personal information!

The 2020 Census is important.

The census helps determine where billions of dollars of federal funding are distributed. By completing the 2020 Census, you are helping your community secure funding for yourself and your family.

Census funding can be used by schools or can be used to repair roads. Census funding can also be allocated to social welfare programs, like Medicaid!

When more people respond to the 2020 Census in any given area, that area is given more federal funding to be used in a number of different programs and services.

The census is also useful for redistricting, and can influence the political representation of any given area, so if you want to evoke change in the politics of your community, make sure to complete the census.

Help your community by getting out the count. #WeCount #Census-sationalCommunities!

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‫صناعة الصابون‬ ‫رجاء غزاونة‬

‫مباشرا لصواريخ ا حتال اإلسرائيلي وق ائف مجنزراته؛ حيث جفرى‬ ‫هد ًفا‬ ‫ً‬ ‫تدمير ثالث منها في حي الياسمينة ولحق أضرار جسيمة بأعداد أخرىال‬

‫يرجع تاريخ صناعة الصابون في فلسطين إلى أكثر من ألفف عفا ال‬ ‫يعرف على وجه التحديد من هو مبتكفر هف ا الصفنفاعفة وهف وجفد ففي‬ ‫نابلس أ نقل إليها من مدينة أخرى ولكن الثاب أن ه ا الصفنفاعفة وجفد‬ ‫لها في نابلس البيئة والظروف المناسبة التي ساعد على تمركزها في هف ا‬ ‫المدينة أكثر من غيرها ولع من أه األسباب التي ساعد على لك وفرة‬ ‫زي الزيتون في منطقة نابلس ومحيطها؛ فهو المادة األساسية ففي صفنفاعفة‬ ‫الصابونال‬

‫ّ‬ ‫أن‬ ‫كان عدد المصابن حتى أواخر القرن التاسع عشر ‪ 91‬مصبنة إ‬ ‫ه ا المصابن أخ تختفي تدريجيًا حتى وص عددها في العا ‪ 0311‬إلى‬ ‫‪ 09‬مصبنة تراوح إنتاجها السنوي ما بفيفن ‪ 0111 – 011‬طفنال عشفيفة‬ ‫اند ع الحرب العالمية األولى ارتفع عدد مصانع الصابون ففي نفابفلفس مفن‬ ‫جديد ليص إلى ‪ 93‬مصبنة‪ :‬منها ‪ 99‬مصبنة كبيرة و‪ 9‬صييرة تنتج ما‬ ‫بين ‪ 9911 – 9111‬طنًا من الصابونال وحسفب مفا كفرتفه أرقفا غفرففة‬ ‫تجارة وصناعة نابلس فإن عدد المصابن المسجلة رسميا حتى نهايفة الفعفا‬ ‫‪ 1 9109‬مصابنال و كر األرقا أن قيمة صادرا الصابون النابلسفي‬ ‫‪ 0199139‬دو ًراال كما أشار المصدر أن أكثر الفدو الفعفربفيفة اسفتفيفرادًا‬ ‫للصابون النابلسي هي‪ :‬األردن واإلمارا العربية والفعفرا ؛ وأن بفعف‬ ‫الدو األجنبية تستورد الصابون النابلسي وهي‪ :‬اليابان وكوريا والبيرو‬

‫في زمن ا حتال الصليبي لفلسطين حفظفيف نفابفلفس بفمفكفانفة عفالفيفة‬ ‫حكرا‬ ‫لشهرتها بصناعة أه أنواع الصابون؛ حتى إن ه ا الصناعة أصبح‬ ‫ً‬ ‫على الملك فهو المسؤو عنها و يسمح ألي من أصحاب المصانع بمزاولة‬ ‫الصنعة إ بعقد يمنحه له ملك "بي المقدس" مقاب مورد مالي دائف مفن‬ ‫أصحاب المصانعال ل يكتف الصليبيون ب لك ب اجتهدوا ففي نفقف الصفنفعفة‬ ‫إلى أوروبا؛ فتأسس مصانع الصابون من زي الزيتون في مرسيلياال كان‬ ‫ه ا المصانع تحضر الصابون بطريقة مشابهة لطريقة تفحفضفيفر الصفابفون‬ ‫النابلسيال في العهد العثماني؛ انحصر صناعة الصابون بأصحفاب الفثفروة‬ ‫والسلطة؛ ألنها كان ا دخف مفرتفففع جفدًا؛ ففكفانف صفنفاعفة مفتفوارثفة‬ ‫انحصر في مجموعة من العائال وارتبط بأسفمفائفهفاال ففي مفطفلفع هف ا‬ ‫القرن؛ تنبه الفمفصفريفون والسفوريفون لفروا صفنفاعفة الصفابفون؛ ففبفدأوا‬ ‫بصناعة صابون وأسموا "صابون نابفلفسفي"؛ ورغف لفك بفقفي الصفابفون‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ومحورا لالهتما‬ ‫رمزا للجودة‬ ‫النابلسي‬ ‫ً‬

‫المواد المستخدمة في صناعة الصابون‬ ‫‪ )1‬زي زيتون بنسبة ‪ 29%‬تقريبًاال‬ ‫‪ )2‬هيدروكسيد الصوديو بنسبة ‪ 09%‬تقريبًاال‬ ‫‪ )3‬ماء ومواد أخرى بنسبة ‪ 0%‬تقريبًاال‬ ‫الصابون النابلسي هو نوع من الصابون القشتالي ينتج فقط ففي مفديفنفة‬ ‫نابلس في الضفة اليربية و هو صابون يعتمد على زي الزيتونال‬

‫في عا ‪ 0391‬انتكس صناعة الصابون في نابلس لألسباب اآلتية‪:‬‬ ‫• عد القدرة على حمفايفة ا سف الفتفجفاري مفا شفجفع الفعفديفد مفن‬ ‫أصحاب المصانع التجارية على تقليد عالمة الصابونال‬ ‫• الضرائب الجمركية التي فرضتها الحكومة المصريفة بفالفتفعفاون‬ ‫مع حكومة ا نتداب البريطانيال‬ ‫• رسو ا ستهالك التي فرضتها الحكومة السورية على الصفابفون‬ ‫النابلسيال‬ ‫• سماح سلطا ا نتداب البريطاني باستيراد الصفابفون األجفنفبفي‬ ‫وتشجيعها لليهود على إنشاء مصانفع لفلفصفابفون الفمفصفنفوع مفن‬ ‫الزيو والشحو النباتية والحيوانية الرخيصةال‬ ‫بعد عا ‪ 0391‬وسقوط ما تبقى من األراضي الفلسطينية في قبفضفة‬ ‫ا حتال اإلسرائيلي بما فيها مدينة نابلس سع سلطفا ا حفتفال جفاهفدة ً‬ ‫إلى تدمير ا قتصاد الفلسطيني وكان صناعة الصابون مستهدفة كفيفيفرهفا‬ ‫من الصناعا الوطنية الفلسطينية؛ حيث بدأ المصابفن تفخفتفففي تفدريفجفيفا‬ ‫بسبب إغفرا السفو الفمفحفلفيفة بفأنفواع مفتفعفددة مفن الصفابفون األجفنفبفي‬ ‫واإلسرائيلي بأثمان رخيصة نسبيًاال أثناء انتفاضة األقصى كانف الفمفصفابفن‬

‫‪Photo by Rich Wiles, Al Jazeera‬‬

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Spring Change Marah Siyam

The high hills don’t crack Small flowers are strong enough Wind rushes dodging petals

Birthplace during sunset The light from her face shined bright Blessed is her bloodline

Grandma stayed very still Breath like droplets in a well No sound tears forming

I pray the soil softens The athan competes with roaring bullets Children cannot be prisoners

Land reflects its people Spilled figs and olives Her skin color rises with the sun

Brisk breezes move like smoke Hanoons shake off cold rain Spring wind carries sweet cherries and whistles to the courtyards

Photo by Rania Mustafa

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I Go to the Backyard to Pick Mint Leaves for My Mother Tariq Luthun Today, my mouth fell wide when I saw the light slip into the hills, and those boys I grew up with did not come back. Or, so I hear. Mama would often ask me to gather the mint leaves from behind our home, and so I would leave for this nectar - without it, there is nothing sweet to speak of. I pray that when I am gone, my people speak as sweetly of me as I do of them.

I see us, often, steeped in the land and hope that a shore remains a shore- not a place to become yesterday. The girls have joined the boys now- all of them tucked just beyond the earth. But I know they wouldn’t run from their mothers- not without a fight,

Artwork by Nidal Jaber

a chase, a hunt, a honey, a home for the tea to settle; a haven for us to return to.

About the Author: Tariq Luthun is a diasporic Palestinian community organizer, data consultant, and Emmy Awardwinning poet from Detroit, MI. He earned his MFA in Poetry from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

Luthun currently serves as Editor of the Micro Department at The Offing, and his work has appeared in Vinyl Poetry, Lit Hub, Mizna, Winter Tangerine Review, and Button Poetry, among other credits. His first collection of poetry, "HOW THE WATER HOLDS ME," was awarded Editors' Selection by Bull City Press and is available now.

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Living the Unlivable: Gaza in 2020 Visualizing Palestine In 2012, five years into the Israeli siege on Gaza, the United Nations Country Team in the occupied Palestinian territory raised a red flag. Conditions in Gaza, they predicted, would be “unlivable” by 2020, if current trends continued. In 2017, they revisited their initial projections and found that Gaza was dedeveloping even faster than they had anticipated.

What does it mean to live through the unlivable?

That’s what two million Palestinians in Gaza are doing today. 40 percent of them are under the age of fifteen and 70 percent are refugees.

The team at Visualizing Palestine uses data and design to convey the realities facing Palestinians.

We’ve published over 100 visuals since 2012 as a free resource for anyone engaged in learning, teaching, or organizing around Palestinian rights. This month, we’re highlighting our past work on Gaza. “Gaza’s Economic Collapse,” shown here, presents data on the economic impact of the Israeli siege on Gaza’s three largest industries. Since we created this visual in partnership with Oxfam in 2017, the unemployment rate in Gaza has risen to 52 percent overall, and 69 percent for those under age 26.

High unemployment is far from the only challenge for Gaza’s young people. Put yourself in the shoes of a Gazan turning fifteen this year. You’ve survived 4 major Israeli military operations since you were born. If you lost a family member, friend, or neighbor in an Israeli attack, the only recourse is the Israeli military’s own justice system, where impunity prevails.

When you are thirsty, your water might be poisonous—97% of the water available to you is unfit for human consumption. One quarter of all illnesses are caused by contaminated water, and unsafe water is a leading cause of child mortality. When you are hungry, you might not be able to get food—69% of households in Gaza are food insecure. Over half live in poverty.

If you get sick, you may be part of the 50 percent of patients in Gaza that cannot get treatment due to a severe shortage of essential medicines. If you try to travel for treatment, you might die waiting for Israel to issue an exit permit. If you are studying, you’ll have to do it on four to eight hours of electricity per day.

And if you dare to protest these conditions nonviolently, Israeli snipers may meet you at the fence with live ammunition, as they did during the 2018 Great March of Return protests.

If “Gaza’s Economic Collapse” teaches us anything, it is that things were not always this desperate in Gaza, and they do not have to be this desperate in the future. For those working to raise awareness or organize in solidarity with Palestinians, Visualizing Palestine’s resources are for you.

Photo by Ashraf Amra

To download our visuals, visit visualizingpalestine.org/visuals/use and subscribe to our newsletter at visualizingpalestine.org/subscribe 10

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Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib: On Building Bridges and Being Unapologetic Reem Farhat One of my friends always says that the single indisputable quality in all Palestinian women is being tough. I guess getting knee-deep in our land and planting roots that are still there, flipping heavy pans of maqlooba, and resisting fearlessly for the past seventy years would warrant that reputation.

Someone who truly encapsulates this trait, who embodies all that it means to be an unapologetic Palestinian woman, is U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th District, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. Congresswoman Tlaib came to visit PACC on the morning of February 9th, right before she was scheduled for an appearance at Rutgers University later that evening. The event itself was a small intimate gathering moderated by Anam Salem, an adjunct professor at Montclair State University.

Tlaib came into the room full of energy and began her speech by describing her childhood.

“I am the eldest of fourteen and I truly believe that prepared me the most for public office. I think my activism came from growing up not only as a Falastiniya but also growing up in the most beautiful, blackest city in the country in the city of Detroit. In Detroit, every corner is a reminder of the Civil Rights movement, the labor rights movement.”

Throughout her talk, Congresswomen Tlaib referenced her Grandmother, Siti Shamaa. “I remember she would walk into a room, and if there were men on one side and women on the other, she would always sit where the men were. And if anyone ever said anything to her, she would say, no, I’m not moving. She was one of those.”

Tlaib told audiences about how she came to enter politics and emphasized the importance of community building. “I want you to know, the part of the story that never gets told is the majority of my district is not Arab or Muslim. The point is, they didn’t share our faith or history, but they still helped make history because of shared values.”

“The way I expose who we are is through action.

My district is the third poorest congressional district in the country. I have four service centers in my district and we work to change people’s lives through social services, and I know PACC does this too.

When anyone comes with any challenges, we try to resolve it right away. It’s really wonderful because even to this day, my residents are like ‘Is Rashida really Muslim?’ But I sense the way people think about [our community] is changing through our actions. We have to show up for others. We have to speak up. I spoke to this African American pastor, and he told me, ‘Our country is not divided, it’s disconnected.’ ” She emphasized speaking up for others and recalled an instance at the U.S. Mexico border when a four-year-old asked her where his father was. Congresswoman Tlaib said she saw the struggles of those in Yemen and Palestine in his struggle too.

Tlaib ended her talk by shedding light on the importance of remaining true to one’s roots. “You have to be unapologetically yourself, proud. My mom’s passport book says she was born in Jordan, but she wasn’t born in Jordan, she was born in Palestine. So I’m going to give that back to her, and wear her thobe and say resist!”

“I say this to you all because sometimes we hesitate. We think we can’t ask for more or think it’s too much. We’ll say, ‘At least they came to the Masjid.

At least they greeted us and took pictures with us.’”

She paused before emphatically saying, “Oh my God, raise the bar!”

“I want you to know we can be unapologetic.

Listen, I’m never going to be perfect. You’re sometimes going to say, ‘Oh my God, Rashida!’ I will never be a polished politician, I am a falaha. It’s just not going to happen. But my residents love me the way I am. This is who I am and this is how I’ve always been, and I got elected three times in the Michigan 12

legislature, and then to Congress. And I did it by going door to door, just like I am.”

Afterward, the floor was open for various audience members, who asked the following questions: How can we best support you in congress?

We expose ourselves through action. We need to humanize what is going on in Palestine. This is important. I have an open-door policy with my colleagues. I don’t always get mad at them when they disagree with me, -especially when it comes to Falastin. But that is good because then they come to me and ask me what ‘occupation’ means? Sometimes you are using language that people don’t understand. They don’t know what happened in 1948, or what it means to go back to ‘1967 lines.’ When it comes to this cause, speak about it in a human way. I say to people, ‘Do you know my grandma has to go through two checkpoints to get to the doctor?’ You have to talk about how people in Gaza don’t have access to clean drinking water. We have to change the hearts and minds of people understanding this form of oppression happening in Palestine. They need to know it is interconnected to everything happening to Black folks and Latinos here. You have to connect it.

in Falastin that have to live under the oppression. Or my Sitti, -I want her to have human dignity before she dies. But she is the one who is like, ‘Tawakolee ala Allah, rely on God.’ I want you to know that the Palestinian people are some of the strongest people, I hope we can all be inspired by that. They have to live with it, and we’re here.

Can you share any stories or anecdotes that encapsulate a moment of support or solidarity from any of your fellow Congresswomen?

When denied access to see my Sitti Muftieh in Palestine, many colleagues spoke up and also expressed dismay that the State of Israel lied to them when they indicated that Ilhan and I would not be denied access. A majority of my colleagues spoke up.

What advice do you have for young Palestinian women seeking to enter spaces that are white male -dominated?

Be you. No matter how much they will try to make it seem that they know what is best, our lived experiences are what has been missing in many spaces. This is why change hasn't happened.

Did you receive a lot of cultural pushback as you were advancing in your education and career?

What did you say to those people who said a woman couldn’t or shouldn’t?

There is a saying in Falastin, if you want to marry a guy from Beit Hanina, great, but watch out if you’re going to marry a woman from Beit Hanina, because we run the show. I grew up very strongwilled. The cultural thing is the pressure of getting married and having kids. My mom wanted me to have an education, but she also wanted me to do those other things. And for them, this is just how they protect us. I know the pressures on our daughters are so much more than our sons. But more and more I am meeting uncles and fathers who are realizing the importance of their daughters getting an education. One thing I’ve gotten, being a mom, is colleagues that are like ‘Where are your kids?’ But are people asking the men this?

How do you deal with feelings of hopelessness seeing all the news?

You do feel hopeless, especially because these are years we can’t get back for the kids growing up Photo by Najah Yasin

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What is Freedom is the Future?

Sandra Tamari

Artwork by Shirien D IG: shirien.creates

Palestinians in the United States declare: freedom is the future.

Answering a call from Palestinians in the homeland to assert leadership in the movement for Palestinian liberation, Palestinians in the U.S. released Freedom is the Future in December of last year. Freedom is the Future articulates a distinctly Palestinian vision for the future and a set of policy demands. It emphasizes a clear call for the U.S. to end funding to Israel and reflects the demands of Palestinians in the homeland and in the diaspora for the right to selfdetermination, the right to return, and the freedom to thrive. Freedom is the Future provides an opportunity for progressives to embrace a rights-based framework that creates a path towards a world with justice for all.

Freedom is the Future outlines five requirements for justice for the Palestinian people: 1. Self-determination: Palestinians must be centered in any discussion, policy or plan that impacts their future. Palestinian voices can no longer be sidelined or ignored in conversations about the future of Palestine/Israel.

2. Return: Return is the first step towards realizing historic justice and decolonizing Palestine.

3. Let’s Get Free: Palestinians must be free of military occupation, home demolitions, segregation and other forms of state violence.

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4. Safety for All: Palestinians cannot thrive with a boot on their necks. They are not asking for handouts. Rather, they want the freedom to build their own just and liberated society.

5. The Right to Resist: We should be free to organize our communities in pursuit of justice and liberation.

These policy demands are grounded in a divest/ invest framework that requires ending U.S. military funding to Israel and investing in the safety of our communities, healthcare, environment, housing, and education. It asserts that because the U.S. government used taxpayer funds ($3.8 billion annually) Palestinians in the U.S. have been forced to fund their own oppression.

our hesitancy to take leadership of the U.S. movement for Palestinian rights due to a culture of deference to Palestinians struggling directly against Israeli military forces. By and large, Palestinian organizers in the U.S. work inside solidarity formations and have internalized the notion that they are not Palestinian enough to take leadership of their own liberation. Palestinians of 1948, citizens of Israel but still living on the land, expressed the same sense of alienation from their Palestinian identity. They shared that they felt guilty about privileges that come with “citizenship” in Israel, such as having the ability to move freely because of their citizenship status.

Their experience is vastly different from that of Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza because of Israel’s color-coded I.D. system that is designated to fragment Palestinians who remain in the historical homeland.

Fighting Palestinian Fragmentation Freedom is the Future is the result of a challenge We discussed how this alientation stems from from Palestinians in the homeland for Palestinians in decisions made by the Palestinian leadership in the the United States to claim their full identity as part wake of the 1967 occupation. This is when Palestiniand parcel of the Palestinian ans shifted from a focus on “Palestinians must be centered securing the rights of refupeople. For the past year, Adalah Justice Project, a U.S. in any discussion, policy or plan gees to return to their homes -based Palestinian advocacy to a political framework centhat impacts their future” organization that I direct, has tered around liberating the convened groups of Palestinians to radically reimagland occupied in 1967 and establishing a state. Our ine our future. These meetings included organizers group from the convening recognized that we must from both the United States and from Palestine. Last resist fragmentation of our people and operate on summer, Adalah Justice Project convened a small the assumption that all Palestinians, regardless of group of Palestinians living in our homeland and in where they live, suffer under Israeli colonization. the U.S. with the goal of bridging fragmentation, fosThis powerful conversation emboldened us and led tering closer coordination of efforts, and building to the writing and release of Freedom is the Future. trust across communities.

A Commitment to Collective Liberation When Palestinians in the U.S. asked for guidance The Freedom is the Future vision and policy defrom Palestinians living in Palestine about what mands come at a time of resurgence for Palestine as strategies should be used in the United States, we part of a transnational and intersectional push for were met with hesitation. Palestinians living in the justice. Palestine has resumed its role as one of the homeland reminded us of the obstacles they face in focal points for oppressed communities around the their own organizing: arrests, military violence, poglobe to better understand their own struggles for litical suppression, lack of resources, and gender disliberation. In the U.S., this is specifically true among crimination to name only a few. They told us that Black and Indigneous liberation movements. At the their energy and work must remain centered on sursame time, Freedom is the Future is inspired by the viving under extreme conditions of state and interwork of the Movement for Black Lives and The Red Napersonal violence. Further, they told us they could tion which has unapologetically put forth radical never know how to best move forward in the Unitand hopeful visions for a shared decolonized fued States. They asked us, “Who knows the U.S. conture. text better than you?”

(Continued on page 16) In response, U.S.-based Palestinians expressed 15

Freedom is the Future is a commitment to collective liberation. True freedom and justice for Palestine requires that every individual pursue equality, especially when that individual benefits from privilege. It requires that institutions guarantee freedom, especially where walls and mass incarceration give a false illusion of security. It is a demand of justice, especially when justice requires that every exclusionary frame be dismantled. Such political coherence, rooted in universal values of freedom, equality and dignity must guide our liberation struggle and our pursuit of historical justice.

Radical Imagining is Resistance Freedom is the Future is a reminder of the inevitability of our liberation. It nudges our conscience to reject despair in the same way that Martin Luther King, Jr. instructed, “A lie cannot live forever.” As we enter a new decade, there seems to be little reason for Palestinians to feel hopeful. Everything the Trump administration has done, up to and including the “Deal of the Century,” merely reflects longstanding Israeli policy to erase Palestinians. As they have since the Nakba, Palestinians continue to struggle for survival.

In the fight against racism, erasure, and settler colonialism, to profess faith in overcoming oppression and a hopeful future is a valuable weapon. Affirming our existence and preparing for liberation means truly manifesting the better world we aspire to create. The Indigenous-led “Water is life” movement and “Black Lives Matter” movement are two examples of optimism grounded in the struggle for liberation and resistance against oppression. Freedom is the Future is a Palestinian declaration based on the power of vision, optimism and principled resistance.

Foregrounding our imagining of a radically different future is itself a necessary act of resistance.

We have arrived at a moment where the global divide between those who believe in freedom and dignity for all and those who justify oppression and supremacy is crystal clear. Palestinians must be the dreamers who help birth the better world that is not only possible, but inevitable. As Angela Davis instructed, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” Freedom is coming. Let’s continue to work to get there sooner.

Artwork by Shirien D IG: shirien.creates

16

‫القدس المحتلة ‪ :‬وادي الجوز‬

‫يوسف القطب‬

‫سمي حارة وادي الجوز به ا ا س نسبة لشجفر الفجفوز الف ي ففيفهفا‬ ‫والتي تشتهر به حتى الزمن الحاليال "كان حفي وادي الفجفوز حفتفى نفهفايفة‬ ‫القرن التاسع عشر أرا ٍ أميرية وهي أرا ٍ تابعة للحكومة العثمانية يقفو‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الحق في الزراعة في تلك األراضي يفتفوارث مفن‬ ‫أفراد بزراعتهاال وقد كان‬ ‫جي آلخر داخ العائال ال وقد كان بع العائال الفففلفسفطفيفنفيفة الفيفنفيّفة‬ ‫تقضي فص الصيف في رعاية أراضيها في تلك المنطقة ومن ث حقًا ففي‬ ‫بدايا القرن العشرين بدأ بع العائفال بفا نفتفقفا لفلفعفيف ففي وادي‬ ‫نظرا لقربها من الفبفلفدة الفقفديفمفة و مفتفالكفهفا مسفاحفا‬ ‫الجوز بشك دائ ال ً‬ ‫مفتوحة واسعة التجأ إلى وادي الجوز العديفد مفن الفالجفئفيفن والفمفهفاجفريفن‬ ‫الريفيين من نكبة عا ‪0312‬ال وقفد تف احفتفال وادي الفجفوز مفع الفجفزء‬ ‫الشرقي للمدينة ال ي احت عا ‪ 0391‬ومفن ثف ضّف ّ حفقفا ً لفنفففو بفلفديفة‬ ‫ا حتال في القدس التي قام بفتفصفنفيفف الفمفنفطفقفة عفلفى أنفهفا "مفنفاطفق‬ ‫خضراء"ال وقد أعا ه ا التصنيف إلفى درجفة كفبفيفرة إمفكفانفيفة الفتفطفويفر‬ ‫العمراني والتجاري في المنطقة وساه في انخفا قيمة الفعفقفارا ففيفهفاال‬ ‫وقا رئيس بلدية القدس (الفلسطينية) األخير ربحي الخطيب بنق الفمفنفطفقفة‬ ‫الصناعية من شارع نابلس إلى وادي الجوز و لفك بفهفدف تفوسفيفع مفحفطفة‬ ‫الباص المركزية التي كان موجودة هنفاك ال شفهفد وادي الفجفوز انفتفعفا ً‬ ‫شفا‬ ‫اقتصاديًا في بداية الثمانينا عندما بدأ عدد من أصحاب الكراجا ومحال‬ ‫اإليجار المفنفخفففضفة‬ ‫تصليح السيارا بفتح محالته فيها إ ج بته معد‬ ‫نسبيًاال شارك أهالي وادي الفجفوز ففي ا نفتفففاضفة األولفى وأغفلفق الفعفديفد‬ ‫محالته التجارية ضمن خطوا اإلضراب وإظهار العصيان الفمفدنفيال ففي‬ ‫الفترة ما بين عا ‪ 9111‬وعا ‪ 9111‬تأثر الوضع ا قتفصفادي لفلفمفنفطفقفة‬ ‫الصناعية في وادي الجوز بعد اند ع اإلنتفاضة الثانفيفة وصفعفوبفة وصفو‬ ‫الزبائن والمشترين من القرى المحيفطفة بفالفقفدسال" تفتفركفز ففي حفي وادي‬ ‫الجوز الحياة التجارية والصناعية في الفقفدس الشفرقفيفة ولفهف ا يفعفد مفركفز‬ ‫المصالح التجارية الرئيسي الشرقيال ورغ أن وادي الجوز كما كرنفا يفعفد‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مركزا صناعيًا واقتصاديًا في القدس المحتلة إ أنه يحوي عددًا محدودًا من‬ ‫أنواع الصناعا أغلبها تقع ضمن خانة تصلفيفح السفيفارا ال وتفوجفد هفنفاك‬ ‫بع المحال التجارية والمطاع ومكاتب لمؤسسا دولفيفةال إ أنفه بفعفد‬ ‫انتهاء ا نتفاضة األولى ترك الكثير من الفزبفائفن الفففلفسفطفيفنفيفيفن الفمفنفطفقفة‬ ‫الصناعية وأصبحوا ي هبون إلى مناطق صناعية أكفبفر وأكفثفر تفطفورا ً ففي‬ ‫الضفة اليربية ال‬ ‫وتوجد في الحي المقبرة ا سالمية اليوسفية‪ :‬وهي الفمفقفبفرة الفمفحفا يفة‬ ‫للسور الشمالي الشرقي للبلدة القديمة‪,‬غالبية سكان وادي الجوز يدففنفون ففي‬ ‫ه ا المقبرة بعد قيامه بشراء أجزاء منهاال‬

‫وفيه أيضا ً قصر الشيخ وقد شيد ه ا المبنى على يد مفحفمفد الفخفلفيفلفي‬ ‫مفتي القدس في بدايا القرن ا ‪ 02-‬و في الفوقف الفحفاضفر هف ا الفمفبفنفى‬ ‫مهجور ومهم ويقع بجانب حديقة روكفلرال هنفاك أيضفا ً مفتفحفف روكفففلفر‬ ‫لآلثار وقد بني في ثالثينيا القرن المنصر ال يوجد به آثار اكفتفشففف أثفنفاء‬ ‫الحفريا التي تم في الفترة البريطانية باإلضافة إلفى مفجفمفوعفة صفور‬ ‫نّف في البالد في العفقفود ا ولفى مفن الفقفرن لفلفمفواقفع األثفريفة وتفوثفيفق‬ ‫للحفريا األثرية أوائ القرن العشرينال وضع بالقرب من المتحف والمقبرة‬ ‫ا سالمية نصب ت كاري للجندي األردني الفمفجفهفو والف ي أقفيف تفخفلفيفدا‬ ‫ل كرى مقاتلي الفيلفق األردنفي الف يفن سفقفطفوا ففي حفرب ‪0391‬ال قفامف‬ ‫األوقاف اإلسالمية ببناء النصب الت كاري و لك بعد انتهاء الفحفرب وبفإ ن‬ ‫السلطا اإلسرائيلية بينما تقو السفارة األردنية سنويا ً في شفهفر حفزيفران‬ ‫يونيو بمراس بالقرب من النصفب وتفدعفو إلفيفه الفكفثفيفر مفن الشفخفصفيفا‬ ‫البارزةال‬ ‫وبحسب التعداد السفنفوي لفلفقفدس الفتفابفع لفمفعفهفد الفقفدس لفلفدراسفا‬ ‫اإلسرائيلية في عا ‪ 9112‬سكن في الحي ‪ 25901‬نسمة معفطفيفا سفنفة‬ ‫‪ 9109‬تشم حي وادي الجوز والشيخ جراح في منطقة إحصائفيفة واحفدة‬ ‫لكن التقديرا تشير إلى أنه في عا ‪ 9112‬وبحسب ه ا التقسي سفكفن ففي‬ ‫الحي ‪ 095211‬نسمةال بحسب تقديرا السكان يعي ففي الفحفي الفيفو مفا‬ ‫يقارب ‪005111‬نسمةال يشير التعداد األو في عا ‪ 0391‬والف ي أجفري‬ ‫إبان الحرب بأن ‪ 95991‬نسمة سكن في حي وادي الجوزال بعد ‪ 11‬عفامفا ً‬ ‫زاد عدد السكان ليص إلى ‪ 35111‬أي زيادة بنسبفة ‪ 031%‬النسفبفة هف ا‬ ‫الزيادة منخفضة إ ا ما قورن في المجتمع الفعفربفي شفرقفي الفقفدس والفتفي‬ ‫تص إلى ‪ 919%‬ال بعد عا ‪ 0391‬ل يكن هناك زيادة سفكفانفيفة الفزيفادة‬ ‫السكانية حصل في الفترة الواقعة بين ‪ 0331- 0321‬والتي فيها تضاعف‬ ‫عدد السكانال بين السنوا ‪ 0331-9111‬كفانف هفنفاك زيفادة تصف إلفى‬ ‫‪ 9111‬نسمة في الحيال‬

‫في العقد األخير انخفض وتيرة الزيادة ويعود لك كما يبدو إلى قفلفة‬ ‫وجود ا راضي المخصصة للبناءال ّوحد المناطق ا حصائية خال الفعفقفد‬ ‫األخير لتشم الشيخ جراح ووادي الجوز عدد السكان في عا ‪ 9109‬لكال‬ ‫الحيين وص إلى ‪015001‬نسمةال حي وادي الفجفوز وحفي الشفيفخ جفراح‬ ‫يصنفان في الدرجة الرابعة من ‪( 91‬الدرجة الدنيا هي ‪ 0‬والعليفا ‪ )91‬مفن‬ ‫حيث المستوى ا جتماعي وا قتفصفادي و لفك بفحفسفب مفعفطفيفا الفدائفرة‬ ‫المركزية إللحصاء عا ‪ 9112‬التجدر اإلشارة إلى أن حفي الشفيفخ جفراح‬ ‫يعتبر مستواا ا جتماعي وا قتصادي أعلى من مستوى وادي الجوزال‬

‫‪Image courtesy of Google Images‬‬

‫‪17‬‬

Diaspora Becomes Tangible Mariam Abukwaik

Photo by Rania Mustafa

I remember being in a store in Khalil looking at a little Handala necklace. I thought of my grandfather going from Al-Lyd, our original city, to Gaza. I asked one of our trip leaders’ kids, “Do you know who that little boy is?” They said, “No! Who is he?” I told them, “That’s Handala!” They replied, “How do you know him?” I told them, “Every Palestinian knows him. We all know a refugee.”

That moment sits with me a lot because my grandfather was about the age of the trip leader’s daughter when he was forced to leave his home city and start a new life somewhere else, anywhere that was safe.

I was one of two Palestinians on the trip to Jerusalem with the Islamic Center of NYU. I think that says a lot. There were originally three of us but my husband, the third, was denied entry and banned almost indefinitely due to his Palestinian activism. I always imagined my first time visiting my homeland to be with family. I imagined it to be a “Welcome Home” return instead of a trip with strangers and a few friends. Although I loved this trip because of the spiritual and historical knowledge I gained, it was one of the most difficult

trips of my life. The internal struggle of walking through the streets without another Palestinian I personally knew by my side was arduous. I looked at every Palestinian and wanted to yell out, “I’m here! I’m back!” Every time I wanted to make a comment whether about something difficult or beautiful, I caught myself because I knew I’d be looked at with pity or the reply would be, “I know, right?” But they don’t know. No one understood except the other Palestinian, who was a trip leader, so we only had a few times where we could talk privately. But even then, she’s from a different city than me.

Still, I am so grateful for the Islamic Center for creating this trip. I used to look at Al-Aqsa and at Palestine in mostly a political sense. After this trip, I learned the prophetic history and relevance of Palestine. The sheer number of Prophets buried in Palestine alone creates this desire to protect the space, to protect our predecessors, our leaders. I could not believe I didn’t know all this history. It makes sense why the Palestinians of all different religions living there and the ones in diaspora feel such a strong call to the land; it’s more than just their home. Palestine carries endless history for many different religions and cultures. We met Afro-Palestinains living there, 18

and many of their grandparents first came to Palestine to defend Al-Aqsa when the occupation began.

The call to Al-Aqsa is one experienced by almost any Muslim, but for the Afro-Palestinians, it was clear that now that their parents married and had kids with native Palestinians, there is an even deeper connection for them to Jerusalem. They are Palestinian and they deserve to continue living in Palestine and they defend Al-Aqsa not just because they’re Muslim but also because they are Palestinian. This Afro-Palestinian history is not talked about enough.

When I told one of the Afro-Palestinians (anonymous for safety reasons), that I am Palestinian, the joy on his face made me feel at home. He said, “Welcome Home.” I immediately felt calm.

Like any population, not every Palestinian is a good person. I have faced racism from Palestinians to the point where I have felt ashamed to be Palestinian at times. To see Palestinians who have mixed roots like me be so proud of their identity made me feel pride in my mixed heritage as well. They fully acknowledge their African and Palestinian identity.

To them, their identity was simple and clear. They didn’t let anyone define them. To me, it was a resistance to Arab and white superiority. One of the Afro-Palestinians had visited us to tell us about his community. Someone asked him if he would move to the U.S., and I could tell he found that question almost bewildering. Leave Jerusalem? Leave home?

For the United States? He responded by talking about racism in the U.S. and basically saying how being Black in the U.S. is worse than being an AfroPalestinian in Jerusalem. We were all stunned by that answer.

I remember feeling this constant need to protect my country from many individuals in our group who made this journey without knowing any background and not knowing how to step out of their own cultural context (which is difficult for anyone). I was constantly on guard as I heard many insensitive comments and saw blatant disrespect towards my people and their cities. All this while trying to sit with my own emotions that come when making the return to Palestine, especially for the first time.

I decided to go visit Al-Lyd. I went with our tour guide because I couldn’t go alone. I wanted to see what my family had to leave behind, not realizing that Al-Lyd wasn’t the same Al-Lyd my grandfather 19

left. The Arab area is now filled with gang violence and drug trafficking while the Jewish area looks like a progressing new city. I was not allowed to say my last name in case an Abukwaik recently killed someone else because then I might be used for revenge. I didn’t think there were any Abukwaiks left in AlLyd, but my tour guide said it was better to be safe.

This didn’t upset me, but I was shocked because I had created this fantasy in my head from before: I would go to Al-Lyd and tell someone who I am and next thing I know I’m catching up with people who once knew the Abukwaik family and they’d tell me about the old days before drugs were pushed into the city, before the drugs were solely sold to Arabs, before we were forced out, before it was a place people were told not to go…

I forget that I went to Palestine sometimes. I think I fell so deep into being someone in diaspora that when I went back, I didn’t know how to let go of being someone on the outside even while being directly inside. We learn to live as outsiders. We learn how to move forward with one shoulder always tilted, waiting to turn around and look back.

Look back at what everyone else has forgotten but us. So when I was in a position where no matter where I turned, I was looking straight at my land, it was extremely overwhelming. One day, I slept all afternoon. My head and heart could not handle all the feelings, the anguish, love, and joy all at once. I met people I’ll never forget. A store owner in Khalil cried when I told him I’m Palestinian and that I am so happy to be in his store and see he supports Gazans even while the people in Khalil are struggling. He told me he would hug me but he respects me as his sister. He gave me the keffiyeh off his neck. This is love. This is real pure love for your people, even if you don’t know them personally. I felt love in Khalil that I hadn’t felt in Jerusalem, honestly. I think in Khalil, when I told them my family is from Gaza, there was an immediate bond because both Khalil and Gaza see and experience the occupation very clearly.

The most important message I took from this trip is that Palestinian liberation comes hand in hand with any other liberation movement. Palestinian freedom cannot come alone. Liberation is global.

Abolition of prisons means every prison. The end of police brutality means every cop and every soldier.

Freedom first, everywhere.

Zealous Zimmern Crosses Controversial Lines Aya Mustafa

Photo by Rania Mustafa

American celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern is most-well known for his TV series Bizarre Foods, in which he travels the world in pursuit of unusual regional delicacies. While Andrew Zimmern’s work is educational and admirable, it walks on the fine lines of exoticism and cultural appropriation.

Zimmern’s intention may be to demystify “essential dishes from cultures around the world in pursuit of culinary literacy,” but by searching for the “weirdest foods a location has to offer,” he risks exoticizing a people and their culture. In his own words in an interview with Mark Wilson on Fast Company, Zimmern admits that Bizarre Foods had a “cultural insensitivity problem.” He states that the first season of his show was simply “fat guy goes around the world eats bugs” and by doing that the show was “playing somebody else’s serious cultural totems … for laughs.” He explains he immediately took action to take out the exoticism in the next seasons. But, Zimmern was still walking on sensitive

lines. Perhaps the most sensitive material Zimmern touches upon are his episodes traveling to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. What really makes me both admire and criticize Zimmern’s career is my identity as a Palestinian American. I admire Zimmern’s work because I understand the importance of story-telling. I understand and know the need for shows like Zimmern’s that show us perspectives of people’s lives that we may have never known. Having a meal with a person and sharing their history humanizes them in more ways than one. As a Palestinian American who has visited Palestine several times and has seen and experienced things that the media in America would never portray, it’s work like Zimmern’s that I trust to get a true story across for people like the Palestinians. And yet, I must criticize Zimmern in falling short with getting a balanced story of what’s happening in Palestine and Israel.

Now, realistically, I don’t expect Zimmern to dedicate a show to explaining the Palestininan20

Israeli conflict. However, I do expect him to at least ence of other cultures, but it is wrong to label give both sides an equal amount of coverage, or, at “Israeli cuisine” as anything other than what it is: an the very least, have one segment where he visits the inexcusable theft of Palestinian cuisine. Rather than West Bank. The furthest Zimmern goes is to Jerusajustify an Israeli cuisine with claims that it was lem which most Palestinians, including myself, de“influenced” by various Middle-Eastern countries, spite being born and raised in America, are not perindividuals should call the intentions of the cuisine mitted to enter. So to me, when Zimmern simplifies under question. the story by having a clip of an Arab man saying “Israelis and Palestinians in general they have politiIf Israelis are willing to admit to food influences cal problems, but they have no problem to have a from countries such as Yemen and Syria, why are meal together in my they unable to admit to place,” it invalidates the “In the case of ‘creating’ an ‘Israeli cui- the more direct and experience of many Palprominent influence of estinians who yearn to sine’, whether it be falafel, hummus, or Palestinian cuisine? even step foot in Jerusa- halva, it fails to provide any food that is Typically, when cuisines lem. different cultures inauthentically its own and to give credit of fluence each other, there where credit is due. Thus, making Now, Anthony Bour is a give and take. In the -dain also had this point case of “creating” an ‘Israeli cuisine’ ... a horrid made in his show Parts “Israeli cuisine”, whethculinary apartheid.”

Unknown when he visiter it be falafel, hummus, ed a Palestinian/Israeli or halva, it fails to procouple. However, Bourdain also made it a point to vide any food that is authentically its own and to show some coverage of what was going on in the give credit where credit is due. Thus, making West Bank, so that his audience understands that the “Israeli cuisine” not a peaceful culinary exchange, issue is much larger than just being able to have a but rather a horrid culinary apartheid. The key here meal together. Moreover, it feels as if Zimmern puts and with all works of Zimmern and others that walk a little too much emphasis on the cuisine of Israel the fine line of cultural appropriation is context and being influenced by other areas around the world, intent. It goes without saying that the history of cuitotally forgetting that a large influence was by the sine is one of borrowings which may explain why people who were already living on the land. He Palestinians and Israelis are able to eat together says, “Some say there is no such thing as indigenous peacefully; it is understood that certain cuisines are cuisine in Jerusalem, with traditions shaped by Asia, adapted from other cultures and transformed from Africa, Europe, and other parts of the Middle East, one nation to another all around the world. The isit's a gastronomical melting pot.” The question, sue lies in when the dominant culture does not however, is not in whether Jersulaem has an indigeacknowledge the heritage of the foods they are nous cuisine; since it’s housed some of the earliest claiming as their own, which is the basis of Israeli civilizations, and, so, there obviously had to be a cuicuisine. Thus, when Zimmern struggles to mention sine those people ate, but rather, in whether there is any Palestinian influence on Israeli cuisine he’s givsuch a thing as an Israeli cuisine. It’s understood ing a harsh blow to the cultures to which the food he that no one cuisine remains untouched by the influloves originate from.

Photo by Rania Mustafa

21

For the First Time Aseel Washah

I have always had an abstract idea of what Palestine is really like. Similar to many people, my only concept of Palestine was derived through pictures, videos, and articles. So it was a surreal moment when I was offered a trip to Palestine. Due to my maternal grandparents fleeing Palestine from persecution in 1948 and paternal grandparents fleeing in 1967, my only concept of blad was Jordan. My reality is shared by many who had fled their Palestinian homeland in an attempt to escape the occupation.

When visiting Bethlehem's Aida Refugee Camp, I noticed a large key hanging over the entryway of the camp. The key represents the "key of return." It symbolizes how the people who fled the war intend to come back to their land. It’s been 70 years and these families still hold their keys close to their heart, holding on to the knowledge that they will return.

Take Abu Ali, a man whose family has lived in Bethlehem for generations and who gives tours of his city to visitors. His family has seen the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, Jordanian rule, and, eventually, Zionist control. His family is a target because of their commitment to staying in the same land. Abu Ali was imprisoned for some time after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) accused him of showing the Apartheid wall to a journalist. He wasn’t released until after he contacted the supposed “journalist” who confirmed he was a tourist. It makes you wonder why the Israeli government went to such measures to ensure that the cruel reality of the Apartheid wall wasn't shared among people from around the world. Abu Ali shared his horrible experience with us as he toured us around Bethlehem.

The beauty of the land was shown through the strong religious significance and more importantly how strong-willed Palestinians are. A strip in the refugee camp we visited had a scene of destruction littered around it. In 2014, about 501 children died, many of them siblings. The community came together and paid tribute to them by writing their names on the Apartheid wall that surrounded the village.

These children died due to the oppression and ag-

gression of the Israeli government. My heart cried for these families enduring such horrible conditions with unwavering strength.

A souvenir shop in Bethlehem contained jewelry made out of gas and sound canisters that the IDF attacked Palestinian youth with. The family collected these canisters and made jewelry from the metal.

Palestinians have always and will continue to show how they can turn something ugly and brutal into something beautiful. My heart stopped as the shop’s two young owners described what they went through. They are no older than 22, yet they were sent to administrative detention for simply existing.

Administrative detention is the Israeli government’s way of imprisoning Palestinians without trial or charge. It can be extended indefinitely- the cruelty behind this is the fear of what Palestinians might possibly do. The young men’s stories are shared among many in the village.

I stood in between the Apartheid wall and a Palestinian home with my heart open. My land is continuously being subject to war crimes. The sights and sounds that the city sang kept me sane. My people want to live a normal life, without oppression, without restrictions, and without violence. It was bittersweet to see the beauty of my country and the harsh reality that I read about and saw in pictures in front of me. The beauty of the city and the vile wall that surrounds the homes in Bethlehem are what made me cry for the first time in Palestine. The atrocities that these families face are incomparable.

They spoke of death like it was something that regularly happened, the sad truth is that it was.

My heart was so heavy with emotion knowing that I’ll be leaving to live a life that is so much more privileged than my fellow brothers and sisters in Palestine. I want to see them live peacefully. As I leave Palestine and continue my life in America, I leave with an important task to continue to try harder for my fellow brothers and sister in Palestine. I leave with the hope that in our lifetime, our land will be free and open to all for those that want to see the beauty of my country.

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Photo by Rania Mustafa

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