Palestinain voices

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Yasser Arafat midnight interview



In 1993 Yasser Arafat had promised me an interview while he was in exile in Tunisia but in the end our crew had waited for four days with no result. Our producer scolded the PLO's Swedish representative which had effect. When Arafat one month later visited Sweden for talks with the Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, I was the only Swedish journalist who got an interview with the PLO leader. In the middle of the night, at Haga Palace in Stockholm.

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Rashid Khalidi



Rashid Ismail Khalidi (Arabic: رشيد خالدي‎; born 1948) is a Palestinian American historian of the Middle East, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He also is known for serving as editor of the scholarly journal Journal of Palestine Studies.



RASHID KHALIDI, Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997). Pp. 325. $42.00 cloth, $16.50 paper.

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 June 2001
Joseph Massad

Rashid Khalidi sets out to study the emergence of Palestinian nationalism at the dawn of the 20th century. He explores the early cultural beginnings of Palestinian identity, which precede the encounter with Zionism, and studies the different developments of Palestinian identity in light of that encounter. Whereas a large number of accounts stress that Palestinian identity developed exclusively as a result of the encounter with colonial Zionism, Khalidi sets the record straight. In line with predominant theories of nationalism, Khalidi demonstrates that national identities are defined in relation to an other. Palestine identity, which as early as 1701 manifested itself against a hostile European Christianity, remained Jerusalem-centered until the beginning of the 20th century. That is when a modern Palestinian nationalism was emerging, before the encounter with British colonialism and Zionist settler colonialism changed the configuration of both the Palestinian self and its other. Khalidi charts the changes in the forms of knowledge that the Palestinian intelligentsia was acquiring in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, noting the shift from Islamic studies to modern social science and the humanities. Through an inventory of Palestinian libraries, Khalidi carefully chronicles these changes in forms of knowledge, correlating them with the new and emerging political ideas in the country.

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Al Jazeera English



Filmmakers: Heba Bourini and Mohammad Jameel



Born to affluent parents in Palestine under the British mandate in 1935, Edward W Said devoted his adult life to raising awareness of the Palestinian cause on the world stage. A literature professor at Columbia University and celebrated intellectual, "he was a scholar and an ordinary man's person," according to the Independent's Middle East correspondent, Robert Fisk.

A fatal diagnosis with leukaemia in 1991 prompted him to start working on Out of Place: A Memoir, a coming-of-age story of exile and a celebration of his irrecoverable past. In this masterpiece, Said rediscovers the lost Arab world of his early years in Palestine, as well as in Lebanon and Egypt.

Raised as a Protestant christian in a predominately Eastern Orthodox community in Jerusalem, he realised early in life that he had something of a split identity. His first name was British, his last name Arabic and he carried an American passport through his father's US army service in the first world war.

Describing her English faculty colleague's seminal work, Gauri Viswanathan says, "He saw being out of place as a psychological state of things … as a physical characterisation. He saw out of place as also a moving reflection on being out of place - the place being Palestine."

While living and working in pro-Israeli New York City, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War marked a defining point in his life. The war changed the map of the Middle East and has affected the path to Arab-Israeli peace until today because of the way it redrew borders, implemented Israel's territorial claims and confirmed its military dominance in the region.

"I was no longer the same person after 1967", wrote Said. "The shock of that war drove me back to where it had all started, the struggle over Palestine."

At Columbia University, Said's preoccupation with the Arab world began to show in his published work, as he produced one of the most significant books of the 20th century. Orientalism challenged western preconceptions about the 'other', arguing it saw it as exotic, backward, uncivilised and sometimes dangerous. The book effectively gave birth to the academic discipline of post-colonial studies.

Said became something of a superstar in some academic circles and began trying to change the stereotype of Palestine and the Palestinians among Americans - and was also elected to the Palestine National Council, the governing body of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). But he predictably fell foul of the US pro-Israel lobby and a far-right Jewish magazine labelled him the 'professor of terror'.

Said was an accomplished musician and pianist and as his health failed in the late 1990s, he took a step away from politics and devoted the last years of his life to music, seeing it as a universal language. He wanted to break down barriers and find a common language between Israelis and Arabs - and so co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim.

This disappointed some of his peers who were quick to point out that this meant what they saw as normalisation with a coloniser. "I reminded him that he taught us not to separate art and music from politics," says Lebanese writer Samah Idriss.

Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi captures the essence and impact of his friend and colleague: "With the death of Edward Said we immigrant intellectuals ceased to be immigrant and became native to a new organicity. We are the fulfilments of his battles. He theorised himself to be out of place so timely and so punctiliously, so that after him we are no longer out of place, at home where ever we can hang our hat and say no to power"…

"We are all free-floating. Said was very site specific about Palestine - and thereby he made the Palestinian predicament a metaphysical allegory, and he grounded it in the physical agony and heroism of his people… The new intellectual organicity that Said enabled requires that you roll up your sleeves, get down and dirty, so that in the midst of chaos you can seek solace, of darkness, light, of despair, hope."

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The English language interview starts at 0:47


The interviewer of Edward Said is Michaël Zeeman (12 September 1958 – 27 July 2009). Zeeman was a Dutch journalist, author, editor, columnist and literary critic. He received the C. Buddingh'-prijs, given annually for the best debut in Dutch poetry (named for C. Buddingh'), for Beeldenstorm in 1991. He was also awarded the Gouden Ganzenveer, given to people who have significantly contributed to Dutch literary culture, in 2002.

Zeeman died in July 2009 at the age of 50, of a brain tumor.

[Jaga]

Hello Pieter, glad you have a bit different approach to the conflict. As you know for me Netanyahu is a cruel and corrupted man, extreme nationalist, with no heart, who knows how to play a Holocaust card way to well.
Palestinians are supported by many people not just leftist/marxist whatever... but nobody is going to stand against Israel openly, since Israel has a big brother and friend. Even BBC would not really talk about Israel invasion of the middle east but rather about "entering" Gaza and Hamas canals inside, since Hamas is not a person but a synonym of "bad" organization....
I think the world is tired of seeing Israel using its political and military power to keep Palestinians in the prison, with no way to grow and finding any opportunity to kill these people.

Do you know what was the real reason for this conflict? Israel started removing Palestinian settlers from Jerozolima

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Bernie Sanders wrote a column about this conflict in New York Times. He is of Jewish origin, so people take him serious. People are starting to have enough of Netanyahu retorics.

www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/opinion/bernie-sanders-israel-palestine-gaza.html

Bernie Sanders: The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government

Mr. Sanders is a senator from Vermont.
“Israel has the right to defend itself.”
These are the words we hear from both Democratic and Republican administrations whenever the government of Israel, with its enormous military power, responds to rocket attacks from Gaza.
Let’s be clear. No one is arguing that Israel, or any government, does not have the right to self-defense or to protect its people. So why are these words repeated year after year, war after war? And why is the question almost never asked: “What are the rights of the Palestinian people?”
And why do we seem to take notice of the violence in Israel and Palestine only when rockets are falling on Israel?
In this moment of crisis, the United States should be urging an immediate cease-fire. We should also understand that, while Hamas firing rockets into Israeli communities is absolutely unacceptable, today’s conflict did not begin with those rockets.
Palestinian families in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah have been living under the threat of eviction for many years, navigating a legal system designed to facilitate their forced displacement. And over the past weeks, extremist settlers have intensified their efforts to evict them.
And, tragically, those evictions are just one part of a broader system of political and economic oppression. For years we have seen a deepening Israeli occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and a continuing blockade on Gaza that make life increasingly intolerable for Palestinians. In Gaza, which has about two million inhabitants, 70 percent of young people are unemployed and have little hope for the future.

...

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Bernie Sanders in 2017

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Omar Suleiman (imam)


Dr. Imam Omar Suleiman (born 1986) is an American Muslim scholar, civil rights leader, writer, and public speaker. He is the Founder and President of Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, and an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University. He is currently the Resident Scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center and the Co-Chair Emeritus of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square, a multi-faith coalition of clergy for peace and justice.

His opinion pieces have appeared in CNN, USA Today, The Guardian, HuffPost, and The Dallas Morning News among other outlets.

Early life and education

Suleiman was born to a Palestinian family in New Orleans in 1986.

His studies of the Islamic tradition have taken Suleiman across the Muslim world to countries including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia. In addition to receiving traditional certifications in the Islamic sciences, he received a Bachelor's in Islamic Law, Masters in Islamic Finance and Political History, and completed doctoral studies in Islamic Thought and Civilization from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Career

Upon returning to New Orleans, he served as the Imam of the Jefferson Muslim Association for 6 years, and as director of the “Muslims for Humanity” Hurricane Katrina relief effort in late 2005. It was at this time that he received national recognition for his community service, interfaith, and social justice efforts. He co-founded the East Jefferson Interfaith Clergy Association and was awarded for outstanding civic achievement by the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans in 2010.

In 2016, Suleiman founded the Muslim think-tank, Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He is also the founding director of MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs) - a non-profit umbrella organization that aims to create more inclusive Muslim communities that better cater to the disabled and their families.

He is (as of May 2019) Professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University.

He was (as of August 2018) Resident Scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center and Co-Chair of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square.

Omar Suleiman also starred in the award-winning Inspiration Series which aimed to impart moral lessons from the life and example of the Prophet Muhammad through a drama mini-series. The series was widely viewed globally, and would go on to win the award for Best Movie at the 2016 International Contribution to Dawah Awards in Dubai.

Activism

Suleiman has engaged in social justice organizing and activism on a host of progressive causes. He stated that Donald Trump's presidency "fatigues" American citizens. He also "considers [himself] a student of Malcolm X" and believes that "his most important contribution to the revolution is his idea that the greatest casualty of the subjugation of African Americans was the loss of black consciousness.” He has expressed that "America is a work in progress, and the most patriotic Americans are those that demand it live up to its promise." He also believes that "Muslim theology can be a source of liberation."

In July 2016, he marched with demonstrators in Dallas against the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. These demonstrations would eventually be punctuated by a deadly shooting in which five police officers were killed in retaliation for police shootings of African Americans. Suleiman recalls "an eternity of gunshots" ringing out just as the march came to a close. In the wake of the shooting, Imam Omar Suleiman was invited to lead the invocation at a memorial service for the slain officers attended by President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, as well as President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.

Since 2015, Suleiman has frequently visited Syrian refugee camps delivering aid with the Muslim humanitarian relief group, Helping Hand for Relief and Development.

Suleiman led airport demonstrations in Dallas in reaction to the Trump travel ban, which has since come to be known as the “Muslim ban" due to its restricting immigration from 7 predominantly Muslim-majority nations, as well as Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslim entry into the United States following the 2015 San Bernardino attack, and again after the Orlando nightclub shooting.

In 2017, Omar Suleiman was arrested on Capitol Hill protesting outside of the office of then-House Speaker Congressman Paul Ryan. He had been participating in sit-in demonstration calling for comprehensive immigration reform. He later led a group of clergy to the U.S.–Mexico border to protest in solidarity with and meet migrants affected by Trump's family separation policy.

He has also worked to assist families of victims of police brutality, voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and underscored the importance of anti-racism work more broadly.

Threat from ISIS

In March 2017, ISIS called for his assassination, among a number of other prominent Western Muslim faith leaders, in a propaganda film titled "Kill The Apostate Imams." The call was in response to a video Suleiman produced with Pastor Andrew Stoker of First United Methodist Church Dallas titled "An Imam, a Pastor and a Dream,” in which he calls for unity between Christians and Muslims in the United States and around the world. Suleiman responded to the threat stating, "I believe that their venom needs to be condemned. They’ve hijacked my religion."

Recognition

Imam Omar Suleiman has been noted for his work in the fields of community service, interfaith dialogue, and social justice, and was awarded for outstanding civic achievement by the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans in 2010.

He was featured as a “rising star” in Ozy Magazine and dubbed "The Religious Leader Dallas Needs" by the D Magazine.

Suleiman was also the subject of a BBC documentary in 2016 highlighting the experience of Muslims in Texas facing rising Islamophobia, and a 2017 PBS documentary showcasing his work with Syrian refugees.

On May 9, 2019, Suleiman served as the congressional guest chaplain upon the invitation of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and delivered the day's opening invocation.

In addition to being recognized by CNN as one of 25 Muslim American change-makers, Suleiman was also included in The Muslim 500 - an annual ranking of the world's most influential Muslims compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan.

In observation of Frederick Douglass' bicentennial, the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University and Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives recognized Omar Suleiman among 200 honorees whose work was deemed to best embody the legacy of the abolitionist’s commitment to social change.

Books

- Prayers of the Pious, 2019.
- Allah Loves..., 2020.
- 40 on Justice: The Prophetic Voice on Social Reform, 2021.
- Angels in Your Presence, 2021.

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Najla Said



Najla Said (born 1974, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is a Palestinian-American author, actress, playwright, and activist. Through her literary and academic work, Said has confronted racism, stereotyping, social and economic inequality, and among others, the specific challenges that face immigrant and second-generation Americans.

Life



Said grew up on the Upper West Side. Her father was the noted postcolonial scholar and public intellectual Edward Said. She graduated from the Chapin School and Princeton University and trained at The Shakespeare Lab at the Public Theatre.

In 2010, Said featured in a one-woman off-Broadway play, Palestine.

In 2013, Said discussed Arab identity politics with Salon magazine and her approaching of the subject in her book Looking for Palestine.

Works

- Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family. Penguin Group US. 1 August 2013. ISBN 978-1-101-63215-4.
- "Najla Said: An Open Letter to Shakira: We Are Not All Israel". Guernica. June 24, 2011.

References

- "From the Upper West Side to the Middle East: Najla Said on Her New Memoir, Looking for Palestine - Culture - Music, Movies, Art, Profiles, and More". Vogue.com. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
- "He Said, She Said: Najla Said's "Looking for Palestine" - Los Angeles Review of Books". Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- Felicia R. Lee (February 8, 2010). "Identity Found: On West Side via West Bank". The New York Times. "“Najla’s play is important because it adds a personal dimension to the difficulties of communication in a life that has many different reference points,” Mr. Barenboim said..."
- "Najla Said: "My Arab-American story is not typical in any way"". Salon magazine. 28 July 2013.

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Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself. That’s a fact. The same is true for Palestinians - that point seems to get missed.
Palestinians are, at best, third class citizens in the nation of their birth. The Israeli government, on an ongoing basis, declares parcels of land on which Palestinians live to be either of military or archeological importance, causing residents to be evicted. Sometimes there’s a court case, and almost always, the Palestinians lose. Yet months or weeks later, that same “important” land suddenly becomes home to a brand-new Israeli settlement. As more and more Jewish settlers take over land on which Arabs lived, the Occupied West Bank becomes de facto more Israeli and, in the explicit hopes of the Israeli government, more Jewish. This is a long-standing and deliberate attempt to force Arabs - who have lived in that land sometimes for hundreds of years - out. It is an attempt to dilute their presence, because to have Arabs as full participants is, in the opinion of the Israeli government and courts, diluting Israel.