A Diverse Al Nakba Rally in DC

The strength of Palestinian solidarity work is in its diversity, which requires Palestinian, Israeli and Jewish involvement. Al Nakba should be an annual event that manifests this.

Super-Scary Israeli Commandos in Action

Today we witnessed the best of Israel’s elite undercover crack commando operatives in action as they…arrested and beat up unarmed teenagers.

Deir Yassin

As Palestinians continue to be attacked, especially in Gaza, it is important to recount the history of massacres that have defined Israel’s expansionist domination of historic Palestine.

Book Review: Rula Jebreal’s Miral

Despite some memorable characters and moments, as well as the (ultimately brief) acknowledgment of Hind Husseini’s work and life, the books fails to be anything more than, as the Omar El-Khairy notes in a review of the film, “Palestine as Hollywood fantasy.”

Weinstein to Distribute ‘Miral’ – Why?

Yesterday, the Weinstein Co. announced a distribution deal over “Miral,” Julian Schnabel’s film about the founding of a Palestinian orphanage in 1948 and the evolution of a young Palestinian woman at the dawn of the first intifada. Rula Jebreal adapted the screenplay from her own novel.

The film’s story revolves around a real-life orphanage established in Jerusalem by Palestinian woman Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) following the 1948 creation of Israel. Miral (Pinto) is sent to the orphanage in 1978, and later teaches at a refugee camp where she falls for an activist (named Programmer Buydatti).

Happy Nakba Day

As Israel commemorates this day as its independence day, Palestinians around the world remember it as the beginning of their exile and continuous Israeli oppression. read.

A Dog With No Teeth: America’s Empty Words

Whoever said the Nakba — the catastrophic effects of Israel’s foundation on the Palestinians — is a historical event is failing to see the on-going and continuous nature of Israel’s Zionist project.

Its fundamental aim is to rid the land of its native inhabitants, the Palestinians, in order to give the Jewish state maximum control over the land.

Now, I read with minor interest and great skepticism that “the US has led international condemnation of Israel after it evicted nine Palestinian families living in two houses in occupied East Jerusalem.” As they should. How barbaric is this act of home-stealing? How ridiculously unjust and tyrannical, not to mention racist and inhumane? Condemnation is simply not enough, not just from the perspective of justice but from an outlook of pragmatism, that is actually getting this shit to stop.

We all know well by know how useless and feather-like American condemnations of Israel are. This is just the latest, though slightly more interesting, episode in a long history of hypocritical hoodwinking — opposing Israel publicly for show’s sake while tolerating its moves, no matter how egregious.

A 4th of July Special: The Native American Nakba

There are, of course, more than a few things to celebrate this 4th of July, but since everyone is already focusing on all that, perhaps I’ll lend my small voice as a tribute to the Native American Nakba. Of course, many people typically choose to remember the dispossession and mass slaughter of the Native Americans [...]

Happy Nakba Day to You!

Today marks the 61st anniversary of the creation of Israel. And there’s a million reasons to be upset about it. Palestinians around the world commemorate its establishment as Al Nakba, or “the catastrophe.” Israel’s foundation meant the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of refugees. This created the largest, long-term refugee population in the world. But, [...]

Gaza: Where families die together

I’ve had this open for two hours now, trying to write and finish earlier than usual so that I can get some real sleep tonight. But the words weren’t coming out. The constant, continuous and very real fear that every conversation with my family in Gaza might be the last, the hard-hitting anxiety I feel [...]