A fitting profile picture for the non-existant
Having finally convinced myself that my being is not a figment of my own imagination, the friendly folks over at Facebook.com have reminded me yet again that I simply do not exist. Today, I noticed that “Tarshiha, Palestine” is no longer listed as my hometown on my profile page. Upon further investigation, I noticed that every Palestinian village inside of the Green Line is now Israeli. Unfortunately, the state of Israel does not recognize me as one of their own. So if I’m no longer Palestinian, and I’m not Israeli, then what am I? What a quandary.
In all seriousness, there is an argument – though I do not agree with it – for Facebook.com to stop listing Palestine. Currently, there is no state of Palestine. But that’s not the rationale used by the Facebook.com admins. Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed and destroyed by Israel are actually listed as Israeli (for example, Bir’am is now “Bir’am, Israel”). Moreover, Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed and destroyed by the Zionist movement PRIOR to Israel’s inception are actually listed as – you guessed it – Israeli (for example, Deir Yassin is now “Deir Yassin, Israel”). To be clear, these ethnically cleansed villages are not even recognized by Israel. Some – but not all – Palestinian villages and territories under Israeli occupation are not, however, listed as Israeli. They simply have no state listed with them (though they are listed as being in a Palestine non-state entity). Oddly, some – but not all – illegal Israeli settlements are also not listed as Israeli. They too are listed as being in this Palestine non-state entity. Jerusalem is listed as Israeli. Sheikh Jarrah (a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem under Israeli occupation) is listed as Israeli. Neve Yaakov (an illegal Israeli settlement outside of Jerusalem) is listed as Israeli. Is there any sense to all of this? Rather than allowing each user to decide where his/her hometown is, the admins of Facebook.com have apparently opted to force their viewpoint of the conflict instead.
Related posts:
- An Israel That Does Not Have A Right To Exist
- LA Times, Political Conformity, And Recognizing Apartheid’s Right To Exist
- Israel Renounces Violence, Recognizes Palestinian’s Right to Exist
- Sands of Sorrow
- Apartheid Travel Guide
Good one, Fadi. Facebook has unilaterally decided what “belongs” to Israel and what does not.
Maybe we should just start lobbying them to list us all as “demographic threat”, “unchosen”, “cleansed”: Tarshiha, Demographic Threat or Ramallah, Unchosen, Deir Yassin, Cleansed.
Posted by diana | February 29, 2008, 1:46 pmweren’t you born in America?
Posted by Anonymous | February 29, 2008, 1:53 pmIrrelevant question. Nonetheless, the answer is no.
Posted by Fadi | February 29, 2008, 1:58 pmLet’s start a group about it. We can call it, I’m not from Israel and neither are you!
Seriously, tho. Sucky.
Posted by safiyyah | February 29, 2008, 2:04 pmLebanon?
I’m not a kabobber, but it seems that where you’re from and where you’re raised are pretty relevant.
Then again, I’m not a kabober.
Posted by Anonymous | February 29, 2008, 2:19 pmSo if I’m no longer Palestinian, and I’m not Israeli, then what am I? What a quandary.
I thought you were American, Fadi. No? Then please get the fuck out of the US. Thanks
Posted by programmer craig | February 29, 2008, 4:17 pmYour a terrorist, like all Palestinians.
Posted by pat1425 | February 29, 2008, 7:07 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured.
I think it’s plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou" Mack | February 29, 2008, 7:36 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured.
I think it’s plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou" Mack | February 29, 2008, 7:36 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured.
I think it’s plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou" Mack | February 29, 2008, 7:36 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured. I think it's plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou& | February 29, 2008, 3:36 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured.
I think it’s plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou" Mack | February 29, 2008, 7:36 pmMy mom has this theory: All social networking sites are fake parallel worlds designed by IT gurus in the CIA to eventually snare rogue minds for mass internment after all the intelligence is captured.
I think it’s plausible. They have so much culpabilizing information!
Posted by Mehammed "Abou" Mack | February 29, 2008, 7:36 pmjust seems weird to claim a part of the world as your hometown when you were born and raised in a completely different part of the world.
I was never good at geography though, so maybe I’m wrong.
Posted by Anonymous | February 29, 2008, 8:44 pmAnother illogical and purposefully misleading post by Fadi, original.
Posted by Programmer Buydatti | February 29, 2008, 9:05 pmBuydatti,
Get your weak BS comments out of here please!
No one will go to your dumb blog… like we are important enough to “watch.”
Will
Posted by Will | March 1, 2008, 7:37 amIt seems weird for me to claim as my homeland the place of my birth, when that place rejects me as one of their own, and requires me to obtain a visa for limited visits.
Nonetheless, this discussion really reflects the argument I make on my post. Nobody has a right to tell me what my homeland is. I’m Palestinian. That’s where my family is from. That’s where my ancestors were expelled from. Because we are prevented by Israel to live in our ancestral homeland, then it is no longer our homeland? Of course not, that’s ridiculous.
Posted by Fadi | March 1, 2008, 7:43 amfadi, why do you say that a palestinian state doesn’t exist? because the US doesn’t recognize it? international law scholars like francis boyle and john quigley suggest that the US’s view is not a whole lot more relevant to the legal existence of states than facebook’s view.
Posted by Disgruntled Goat | March 1, 2008, 8:49 am“That’s where my ancestors were expelled from. Because we are prevented . . . to live in our ancestral homeland, then it is no longer our homeland?”
That sounds like a Zionist whining.
Posted by Anonymous | March 1, 2008, 9:23 amA zionist whining is more like this …” I wasnt NAZI enough toward the Palestinians today….dmmit dammit dammit…oh well theres always tomorrow”
Posted by randy | March 1, 2008, 10:00 amyou guys are all morons.
and yes fadi, your whining sounds like the zionist shit you always complain about.
again, you guys are all idiots.
Posted by Anonymous | March 1, 2008, 11:40 amFor all of you saying Fadi’s whining sounds like the “zionist shit”, you have to keep in mind two things that:
1. Zionists are people who support Zionism, and this includes Christians, Jews, Athiests, Conservatives, Liberals, etc.
2. Zionists =/= Jews.
So, what you guys are really trying to say is that he sounds like a Jew.
And the truth, he isn’t whining, rather he’s voicing his concern/opinion about this stupid new thing on facebook.
Also, if you guys (Buydatti, this means you) hate what he has to say so much, why read it and comment on it? It just makes you seem infantile.
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