Why Inviting Someone to a Conference is An Assy Thing to Do... In Palestine

**TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT:
1) My original picture was the girl and donkey.
2) That chicken poop picture is disgusting.
3) I put the donkey in the air image after finding said chicken poop picture this morning.
4) Retribution will be swift and merciless.

In the midst of our recent exciting conversation about an upcoming conference in Michigan, and all the cool things Kabobers can submit on the pretext of being academics and activists (but really just aiming to have a big party), our resident MHMD interjected, "What a bunch of nerds."

(Note: It must be stated that this was in fact a considerably insightful observation.)

I nearly responded by inviting MHMD, who is in Ramallah and who clearly cannot just up and arrive in Michigan, to submit his recent paper and then use the acceptance to get a visa to come with us.

I nearly made myself into a huge ass.

HAD I invited MHMD to the conference, he would then have had to explain that well actually, in order to get a visa he'd have to go to Jerusalem or to Amman. Going to Jerusalem is practically impossible; he'd have to get a permit that would take forever to get and probably not be issued anyway. Plus there's the fact that his ID is Gazawi, which means that instead of giving him a permit or even just denying him the permit, they could deport him to Gaza and completely destroy his school, life, etc etc. Alternatively, if he goes to Amman, upon reentry at the border, he'd be herded onto the van for people with Gaza id and sent straight to Gaza, no questions and no exceptions.

I'm glad I didn't make myself into an ass by inviting him to the conference. Only under the strange and inhumane nature of an apartheid regime can such a thing as inviting someone to a conference become an assinine thing to do.

**MHMD corrected me that he does indeed have another passport. What this means is that he can in fact travel overseas quite easily. However, Israel deems its own IDs to have precedence over any other passport anyone might carry- US, Canadian, British, anything. If they can find your Palestinian ID number, you fall under Palestinian travel restrictions. What THIS means, is that were MHMD to leave, he almost certainly could never come back. He would in fact be herded onto the van and sent to Gaza, or not allowed back in at all.

And if he were any number of other people, the above would apply, and there'd be no traveling for you, Joe.

So I need to stop accidentally inviting folks to conferences until Palestine is free, already!