Occupation – Sixteen Minutes to Palestine

A day in the life of a Palestine solidarity campus organizer

March 25, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 3 Comments

We’ve seen a tremendous surge in college activism and organizing for Palestine in the last few years. Divestment campaigns against companies exploiting the occupied West Bank are growing in size and number (Go California!). Actions and demonstrations for Palestinian rights happen almost daily. MEChA and SJP continue to build together on local, regional, and national levels. Deep-pocketed pro-occupation groups fruitlessly pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into elaborate programs designed to intimidate student organizers. Things are looking up, and the seemingly infinite amount of energy and creativity pouring out of campus groups gives us great hope for a future without occupation, racism, apartheid, and impunity.

But don’t take this progress as any indication that these hardworking organizers live stable lives. Oh no. Here’s a glimpse of an average day.

Wake up, 10:07 AM

Class is in twenty-three minutes and your apartment is ten to twenty minutes away from class depending on how nice the weather is. You probably shouldn’t have spent all night philosophizing on Twitter about the socioeconomic barriers to population migration dynamics in the 19th century nation-state. You tell yourself the same thing every day but never learn. You throw on the first shirt you see — a faded black “Palestine Awareness Week 2010″ shirt — and wrap a kuffiyeh around your neck, taking extra time to cover the “2010″. You zip up your coat and wonder why kuffiyehs are so big. You unzip, give the kuffiyeh another wrap, and zip up. Now you’re out the door. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism Tagged With: MEChA, Occupation, Palestine, SJP, Twitter, Ynet

British textbook presents accurate account of Palestine-Israel, gets pressured into issuing recall

January 7, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 5 Comments

A textbook used to teach English as a second language to students in the United Kingdom included a map using the name “Occupied Palestine” instead of Israel, causing widespread outrage over the accuracy of the image among Israel’s staunchest supporters.

An instructor at a college in Nottingham, England, spotted the map and immediately brought attention to it. The map was printed in the 2003 edition of Skills in English Writing: Level 1 published by Garnet Education, a popular and mainstream publisher, she argues.

In almost robotic fashion, Garnet Education published an apology, stated that the “serious editorial error” was a “genuine mistake”, and offered to substitute any existing copies of the textbook with a new and updated version.

Israel Today, which broke the story, calls this “a serious anti-Israel bias” that is “far from an isolated incident”. Israel Today also claims that “this brand of propaganda” damages prospects for peace. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News Tagged With: English, Map, Occupation, Textbook

Coming to grips just weeks before the Second Intifada

December 20, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

A bedroom is damaged following an air strike in Gaza during the Second Intifada. Photo credit: Alberto Pérez Puyal

I spent the summer of 2000 in Gaza City, far from my air conditioned privileges back home in Chicago. I was only nine-years-old at the time and although I didn’t know what humidity was all about, I wasn’t immune to the heat, the sweat, or the mosquitos. I sat on my hands whenever I could to keep from scratching puffy mosquito bites and I knew better than to walk barefoot on the blisteringly hot sands of the beach.

My immediate concerns were weather-related but the more time I spent in Gaza the more I became attuned to the militarized reality of my immediate surroundings. I think my parents, specifically my mother, made a good decision in letting me think for myself on this one. Growing up, she had instilled in me a very cultural pride in Palestine. She’d talk politics to me, sure, but not in a way that confined me to a specific set of political beliefs. I was fortunate enough to develop my opinions on my own, and part of the reason I was spending my summer vacation in the occupied Gaza Strip was to give me direct access to the tools and the proof I’d need to make a conclusion.

At the time, I was allowed to travel to Gaza via Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airpot even though it meant dealing with long and unfriendly stares, something I clearly remember complaining about to mama. I was processed through the Erez Crossing and made to maneuver between foreign soldiers monitoring my every move. Tanks blocked passage through roads which, I assume, led to Israeli settlements. The cab driver who drove my family to our destination was made to flash an identification card at checkpoint stops. There were watchtowers and guards sitting on chairs and green jeeps driving to and fro. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: Ben Gurion Airport, Gaza Strip, Human Rights, Occupation, Second Intifada, UNICEF

When +972′s privileged journalism belittles the Palestinian struggle

October 31, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 7 Comments

Effort can be appreciated. But when the effort is spent on lazy, privileged journalism that belittles a struggle and an entire population, that is when the effort needs to be stopped in its tracks and addressed.

+972 Magazine co-founder and contributor Yuval Ben-Ami recently published a piece recounting an evening he spent watching over Gaza’s skies as Israel shelled the territory from above and as Palestinian fighters returned fire, arguably in response to the four Gazans that had been killed earlier in the day.

He had bravely chosen to leave behind his cappuccino that morning and make his way from Tel Aviv to a kibbutz just beyond Sderot, about as close to Gaza’s border as a civilian could get.

There he joined a group of likeminded photographers hoping for the best shots. In essence, they were banking on human tragedy, a military assault, quite possibly the deaths of innocent civilians, to give them a photograph and a story they could use for their own personal gain.

They waited, “looking down at impoverished, futureless Gaza and at neglected southern Israel, secretly hoping for them to burn for our amusement,” Ben-Ami writes. It is a chilling sentence. What is worse, though, is that this problematic language, its self-righteous tone, and its patronizing attitude toward Palestinians is reflected in virtually every letter of every word of every sentence in this piece.

One can easily — word emphasis: easily — make the argument that this privileged and rather offensive reportage is common to +972, because it is. But Ben-Ami has provided us with an excellent example and that is what we will examine for the time being. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Analysis, Commentary, Media & Journalism, Opinion Tagged With: +972 Mag, Gaza Strip, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Privilege, Sderot

No clearer reminder of the occupation than the raining of missiles on its land

October 15, 2012 By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

“One Occupied Gazan Summer” is a three-part personal narrative by Mariam I. who explores her thoughts and retraces her steps during her most recent visit to the Gaza Strip. Read part one here and part three here.

Part two of three. Oddly, while I was in Gaza, even the moments of national celebration reminded me of how occupation and siege shaped our lives. I remember the end of the prisoners’ mass hunger strike that began on April 17 and ended on May 14. It was my first day in Palestine. I was thrilled, smiling uncontrollably, suppressing gleeful giggles, and using my utmost restraint to keep from flipping cartwheels up and down the alleys of my refugee camp. Then news of the end of the hunger strike broke and as all of the televisions in the densely populated camp were turned to the same channel and poor insulation, open windows, and gaping roofs allowed the sound to escape into the alleys, it felt like the women on the news ululating in celebration were with us in this very camp. Their cries of celebration were as real and present as the Israeli drones circling above our homes.

I remember when Thaer Halahleh decided to end his hunger strike. I remember exactly where I was when the radio news reporter announced that Halahleh was being released to his family. I had just spent several hours with my uncle’s family at a Gaza beach and we were in a taxi on our way home to our central Gaza Strip refugee camp. We were driving past al-Mughraga village and I was choking on the rancid smell of sewage and rotting garbage. I don’t know if I was holding my breath from the excitement of Halahleh’s release or from my disgust of the smell forcing itself down my throat. Either way, I was sitting between my thirteen year old cousin and my mother whispering to each of them about how incredible Halahleh’s heroism was and how thrilled I was to receive the news of his release, all the while excited giggles escaped from me and I held myself down to the backseat to keep from jumping through the roof of the car from my joy.

The next morning was another story. On my way to work, the car radio was playing the message of a prisoner’s mother to her son. She was telling him how much she missed him, how she prays for him often, how she is proud of him, how he is a hero, how his entire family is awaiting his release, how he must remain patient and steadfast. And as she indirectly shared with her son, through the ears of the entire nation, messages of motivation, love, and encouragement, I wept silently and uncontrollably in the backseat of a taxi at 7:45 in the morning. I arrived at work face red, swollen, and lined by streams of tears. The plight of the prisoners and their families was no longer just a news story; it was a real mental and emotional struggle that countless Palestinians had to live through every day. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Personal Tagged With: Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Hunger Strike, Occupation, One Occupied Gazan Summer, Prisoners, Thaer Halahleh

Reflections on raising awareness about Palestine at the ISNA Convention

September 5, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

I spent the weekend at the Islamic Society of North America’s national convention, this year held in Washington, D.C, where I volunteered at the American Muslims for Palestine booth and tried my hardest to sell little handmade souvenirs. It was both a fun experience and a sad one—fun because I discovered that I do not belong in a bazaar setting, and sad because, well, the Palestinian cause felt overwhelmingly neglected and misunderstood.

I know that this kind of convention isn’t the most ideal place to gauge the general public’s interest in Palestine but I do believe that, for the segment of the American public it does attract, it’s a great opportunity to share and discuss points of relation to the cause. For Muslims worldwide, Jerusalem is not only the occupied capital of Palestine but it is also the site of the third holiest mosque.

The remainder of this post will include reflections on quotes from some of the conference attendees I met during my time at the booth.

“It’s still not over? I thought Palestine and Israel became peaceful.” — High school student

It’d only take a quick glance at Google News or any other general news site to learn that no, the occupation isn’t over yet. Let there be no illusion about it: there is no peace and there won’t be any—and justifiably so—until all human rights are restored and protected and until Israel abides by international law and takes down the apartheid regime it has pitted against the Palestinian people.

“I’m with the Palestinians but I really hate that they think everything is about them.” — College student

I remember wishing he would’ve articulated that better. He revealed that he had only recently begun to learn about Palestine and its history mostly because, he sheepishly admitted, a classmate he had once eyed for marriage was Palestinian. So what prompted his comment? Palestinians, he said, choose to be too unrelatable and self-interested. The more I dwell on his comments, the more I realize how harsh they are. Yes, there’s a general exclusivity among certain Palestinians but that is to be found in any movement really. I’d even argue that it has little to do with selfishness and much more to do with an unpreparedness to build bridges with allied movements. Of course, this is still a problem and it’s one that needs to be addressed internally and reversed externally. But these connections are a two-way thing and it is important that both sides tackle the perceived exclusivity, not just complain about it at a convention that barely addresses Palestine at all. (Only one of the more than one hundred sessions offered at ISNA this year touched on Palestine—briefly too, because the session was mostly about foreign policy as it relates to the Middle East as a whole.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: American Muslims for Palestine, Education, ISNA, Israel, Jerusalem, Occupation, Palestine

My only sect is Iraq

August 3, 2012 By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Guest contribution by Budour Hassan

The Qana Massacre, the Second Intifada, the War on Afghanistan, the July War and the Cast Lead massacre. My childhood and teenage years were defined by war, either as a witness or spectator. Though I have been privileged to avoid physical harm or loss of family members, one event in particular that changed me so profoundly was the invasion of Iraq. Prior to the invasion, I’d blather for hours on Arabism and Arab unity. The fall of Baghdad made me realise that it was all a worn-out, tedious cliché that only existed in songs.

For years we have been watching Iraq getting torn apart by occupation and sectarianism. We are tired of counting the dead; we are tired of caring about the dead. Writing seems like the only way I could express my affection for the people of Iraq. I wrote this poem—confessions of a lover—in 2006 when the civil war in Iraq was at its peak. Reading it now, I know it’s perhaps too romantic and detached from reality, but I don’t regret it. And as the final verse says: “My only sect is Iraq.”

إعترافات عاشقة
:عندما أقول اسمك
يُزهرُ البنفسجُ في خصلِ شَعري
تختبي الحمائمُ في فيء عينيَيّ
تورِقُ القصائدُ على شَفَتَيّ

وتغفو الفراشاتُ في مهدِ صدري

:عندما أُردّدُ اسمكَ
تُصلّي الشُموسُ.. يُغنّي القَمَرْ
تسمو الروابي وتزهو التلال
تناغي المُروجُ رؤوسَ الجبال [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Personal, Poetry Tagged With: Iraq, Massacre, Occupation, War

Levy Committee: Israel not an occupier but a proud apartheid state

July 10, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

I woke up to this smiling face today though it’s not as bad as what Edmond Levy and his panel of dreamers just released to the Israeli Prime Minister’s office.

Israel’s judicial underbelly is a mess. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was acquitted in two major cases of corruption and found guilty in another case for breaching trust, Haaretz reports. He has yet to be tried for his documented crimes against Lebanese and Gazan civilian populations during the various invasions he helped mastermind.

Even more wild is the Levy Committee’s “findings” on Israel’s status in the West Bank. The panel, appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and steered by former Supreme Court justice Edmond Levy, “rejects the claim that Israel’s presence in the territory is that of an occupying force and asserts that its settlements and settlement outposts there are legal.” The committee’s claims are based on its reasoning that any structure built with government encouragement (which, let’s be real here, means every Jewish settlement) holds an “administrative assurance” that confers permission to settlers to continue colonizing Palestinian land. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News Tagged With: Apartheid, Ehud Olmert, Levy Committee, Occupation, Settlements, West Bank

WordPress recognizes the occupation of Palestine

July 8, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

Update: Information regarding the Israeli military’s website being hosted on WordPress has been corrected. Special thanks to b.p.

This past week, WordPress introduced “Palestinian Territory, Occupied” to its “Views by Country” stats counter. In the past, clicks from within Palestine were recorded as views coming from Israel.

What appears to be one of WordPress’s latest improvements is long overdue. For special-interest blogs that cater to large audiences in occupied Palestine, distinguishing Palestine-based viewership from Israel-based viewership has been an impossible task up until now.

Also interesting is WordPress’s choice of words. Using “Palestinian Territory, Occupied” rather than “Palestine” is significant for two main reasons. First, it recognizes the occupation. Second, “Territory” is in its singular form as opposed to the plural form which is much more common (i.e. “Palestinian Territories”). Could this be an implicit way of recognizing Palestine as a single entity rather than as a collection of scattered territories following the pro-occupation rhetoric that depends so heavily on the divide-and-conquer strategy? [Read more...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Israel, Occupation, Palestine, WordPress

Eighteen e-cards about occupation and apartheid

June 26, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 3 Comments

Parodies can be valuable when they force people to consider reality from a different perspective. But most of these e-cards aren’t parodies. It’s what millions of people have to live through every single day.

Families who come from both sides of Israel’s apartheid wall are not always permitted to be together. Husbands and wives are kept apart by concrete walls, checkpoints, soldiers, and residency laws aimed at subsiding a “demographic spillover”.

That’s what happened at the University of California, Irvine when the Orange County district attorney filed charges against eleven Muslim students for protesting and disrupting Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s speech. Oren was attempting to justify the murder of over 1,400 civilians in Israel’s 2008-2009 invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The last few times Israel and the Palestinian Authority met at the negotiations table, among Israel’s many preconditions (continuing settlement building, maintaining control over the West Bank, maintaining the Gaza blockade, etc.) was that the PA not have any preconditions of its own. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, Miscellaneous, Visual Arts Tagged With: Avigdor Lieberman, Desert Bloom, Irvine 11, Michael Oren, Occupation, Parody, Settlements