Land of the cursed

A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine sent me a story he had received from someone by email, asking if I could publish it. It was the first-hand account of a Palestinian man, his Gaza-born wife, and their family, all of whom were born and raised in the West Bank. It was the story of their attempt to cross the Allenby Bridge into Jordan for a much needed break, and to visit with some relatives in Amman.

They soon learned that the curse of being Gazan-or in this case, or even being related to someone born in Gaza- followed them even to the West Bank.

Last year I reported on the issue of the 50, 000 some Palestinians living a life of legal limbo in the West Bank and Gaza (and abroad) because one of their family members lacks a hawia- the Israeli-issued ID card used to maintain control over the Palestinian population registry. In my own case, Yassine has not yet been granted a hawia, even though I applied for him in 2004. This is nothing compared to the tens of thousands who have been waiting since the mid 1990s.

Similarly, because Israel continues to control the Palestinian population registry (yes, even after Disengagement), it controls Palestinian movement; Palestinian life; and it tears that movement and life and the families that would want to enjoy them apart.

Gaza Curse

By: Mohammed AlMbaid

Dr. Mohammed AlMbaid is a Palestinian citizen living in Ramallah with his family. Dr. AlMabid is a governance and public administration expert with a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning.

I am a Palestinian father of three young children Nahla, Yousef and Mariam. My wife Rania, was born in Gaza city and we all live in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah .

On 12 June 2008 , two of my children, Nahla and Yousef have cried as never before, they were punished for a crime they did not commit and could do nothing about; their mother’s birth place is Gaza .

Nahla who is nine years old just finished her 4th grade and Yousef who finished his 1st grade were so excited because I agreed to reward them for their high achievements in their school year. I decided to take them with me to the Jordanian capital Amman to spend few days with their aunt, from mother side, who live there with her husband, and two young children. Nahla and Yousef have been dreaming of this day for a year. They even planed what they will wear, which places they want to visit and restaurants they will eat at including McDonalds and KFC.

We left Rania and our youngest daughter, Mariam, who is less than 2 years in Ramallah. Leaving them behind was not our choice. The Israeli occupation authorities who still control entry and exit to and within Palestinian territories and almost every aspect of Palestinian life, have not recognize Rania as a resident of Ramallah. Our three children however, were all born in Ramallah, the same city where we have been living since we got married 10 years ago. So, in a “normal” world and in accordance with local and Israeli regulations, our children should be automatically getting a Ramallah residency.

On our way from Ramallah to Jericho , where we cross the Allenby Bridge to Jordan , I got a call from a Gazan friend. When I told him I was taking two of my children to visit their aunt in Amman he commented “you and your children are lucky, my children could not leave Gaza due to siege, at least your can.” We exchanged a laughter and I ended the phone call by saying “you guys in Gaza are cursed, I am glad my children are not from Gaza ”

At least, this is what we thought until we arrived at the Israeli side of the Allenby crossing between Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories when the Israeli women solider stamped my passport allowing me to cross, but refused to allow Nahlah and Yousef to cross. According to her “in our computers, they are from Gaza ”. I was shocked to say the least; because this is the first time I hear this. How could that be? They are my children, born in Ramallah and have been living there since then. How and why they are registered as Gaza residents is beyond me. I tried to talk to the Israeli border police to explain the situation, but she was not very responsive. In fact, she was barely willing to talk to me indicating that it is my problem and I have to deal with it. As she was talking to me with a very straight and angry face, my two children were crying very loudly as they were afraid they will not be allowed to cross to Amman . This was their worst nightmare and it happened. Nahlah and Yousef were turned back and I had to return with them at 6 PM after the bridge was closed.

I did not know what to tell my children except that it is occupation in its most brutal face. As this madness was taking place, it came to my mind what and how my children were feeling and how such incidents may affect young people’s perception of the Israeli neighbors. It made me think whether the Israeli occupation authorities really recognize the devastating impacts that such policies -discriminate and racist that go against all international and national human rights conventions- have on Palestinian children, their psychology, their perceptions of the Israel as an apartheid state, the cruelty of its army and inhumane actions committed by its soldiers and entire governmental apparatus.

Since their birth, Rania and I have been very conscious about teaching our children to respect other people and their differences. We have numerously and persistently explained the difference between Occupation authority and Jewish people. We explained that our problem is only with the occupation no more, no less. While observing and listening to the discussion I had with the border policy and realizing how helpless her father was, Nahla hugged me and whispered in my ears “I hate these people, why can’t they allow us to go, we did nothing wrong.” Listening to Nahla made me very angry as I felt more helpless, how can I explain or justify that. I could not explain it. The situation is ridiculous and humane.

Now that I am back to Ramallah, I feel more helpless and disempowered for not being able to do anything about my children’s residency or that of the more than fifty thousands of Palestinian families that one or both parents are from Gaza , enduring the same or worse problems. The worst aspect of this saga is that no Palestinian Authority can do anything about it. The whole situation is in the hands of the Israeli occupation authority. And there is no indication they will solve this problem unless they are pressured to do so. I know neither I nor any other Palestinian can change it.

The story of Nahla, Yousef, Mariam and Rania and the stories of more than one and a half million Gazans living in the biggest prison on earth, the Gaza strip, and the other Gaza-related families like mine, should be brought to the attention of every human being who believe in justice, freedom and human rights.

I ask for your solidarity and support to stop this madness perhaps we can lift the curse from Gaza .

Interview with the MOSAD

This is a little late in coming, but here it is anyway. Its an interview I did with former MOSAD spy chief cum Labor politician Danny Yatom (in person). It was published on Aljazeera's english site in two sections (parts 1 and two) but I'm going to include the complete uncut interview here for those interested, let me know.

Pain at the pump? Think of Gaza.

If you are in the US, you are bound to be feeing the "pain at the pump" as the news networks like to put it.

I was talking to my father today in Gaza. "How's the car doing? Did you fix that loud noise its making?" he asks, ever the concerned parents.

"Yes, its purring like a kitten now, and I'm $400 poorer. Lucky car. But the gas is $4 a gallon now."

"Yeah well we don't have guess, don't complain."

In fact, he was quick to point out that gas is in such short supply now in Gaza that its selling on the black market for 600 Shekels per 20 liters, the equivalent of $35 per gallon. Yes, you read that correctly: ONE GALLON= $35.

Of course the real problem is not for the average "consumer", since Gazans are not really "gas guzzlers"; it is for the things that fuel powers- everything from water pumps to hospital generators.

A brief email from my dad and some pictures he took:

Dear Laila:

I attached some pictures of GAZA today. Almost no cars in the streets as there is no Gas ( my car is parked ), little diesel by ration to taxis. People started using biodiesel ( cooking oil instead of Diesel ) which causes irritation to the skin, eyes and breathing. People use masks when they walk to minimize the smell. Streets are clean as you can see, 100 times cleaner than Cairo. Food supplies are twice as expensive.

Taxis are scarce now. but if you find one it costs double or triple what it used to be. Public taxis run on bio-diesel now because of shortage of fuel. 2 NIS per person. Private taxi costs 20 NIS in town. People walk a lot more now.

I attached photos of empty streets of Gaza because of the fuel shortage and people standing in long lines to receive coupons to get Gas by ration ,just like what happened in Europe during the second world war.

Baba


The sign reads: "Travel...Education...Medical treatment...Hajj...Humanitarian needs..why have we been prevented from them?"

Obama for Israel!!

I know I shouldn't be surprised or anything, but really...did the transition from clinching the Democratic nomination to all out AIPAC prostitution have to be so stark? Maybe since I am not an American citizen and don't vote, I'm looking at this from a different perspective (as in, a national of that place you think should remain under siege).

I know its one of those situations people keep hoping will turn out better than it really is, or a lesser of two evils type of thing : "he has to say that, but when he's in office...".

But does he? Polls of past years showed that in fact the majority of Americans were in support of a new US Middle East Policy; one where Israel was not allowed to get away with every damn thing, where it did not get blind support; where American pressure should be utilized to achieve a just and lasting peace. Yet presidential candidate after candidate continue to think otherwise. And what of all that about change?

I mean, c'mon, Jerusalem, the undivided capital of Israel? That's very...how shall we say..Bushesque? Billy Graham? Yesterday? What was that about peace in 2008?

I've said it once and I will say it again: American politicians are stauncher Zionists than Israelis. As Sharon once said, Bush can be a mouthpiece for Israel. Or something like that. And now, we have Barak..er...Barack.

AN ADDENDUM TO THIS POST:

An excellent piece by Daoud Kuttab on the same topic in the Huffington Post, where he asks "what happened to the Anti-Lobby Nominee?". An excerpt:

America's black nominee who would have supported divestment on racist south Africa blasted international divestment calls on Israel, and libeled Arab oil producing countries by saying that "petrodollars are responsible for the killing of Amerihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.italic.gif
insert italic tagscan soldiers and Israeli citizens." How pathetic.

If there was a time that a presidential candidate should have had courage to change course on the way Washington is run this was the time. If there was a group that deserved a more honest speech it was this. Obama failed in both tests. This is a shame.

Even John Stuart had his say

She talks, she walks...

ok so she doesn't quite talk (more like squeaks). Or walk. but it was a catchy blog entry title, no?

I did snap these pics of her attempting to crawl-she's really anxious to get moving and exploring! So much to see and do, why limit yourself to a play gym?

Nakba at 60 and my blogger suspension

I just want to start by saying that the reason for my absence of the past few days (besides the obvious preoccupation of motherhood!) is that Blogger suspended my blog and I had to request a review to get it unlocked! I received an email telling me that "Your blog, at http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/, has been identified as a potential spam blog" and that though this was likely an error I had to request a review. Eventually, it was unlocked.

However I was curious and obviously upset, and upon further investigation, I found that several Palestinian and Pro-Palestinian blogs have suffered a similar fate-they blogs being targeted as "potential spam blogs". Some took months to get unlocked.

According to Haitham Sabbah, "Zionists are sending claims about pro-Palestine blogs and signaling them as spam blogs so that Google closes them. Some of these blogs got reviewed and cleared in few days, other stayed blocked for few months. there is no guarantee that Google will review the blog within certain period."

Cyber-terrorism, perhaps, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba? If so, shame on Google, shame on blogger.

In other news, my parents remain in Egypt. They are making their way tonight to the border to attempt to get in on the single day of 3 days (the first in almost a year) that the Crossing will be open for passage into Gaza.

Meanwhile, with Gaza's only power plant forced to shut down for lack of fuel, Gaza is suffering blackouts once again. The dead are being carried to morgues and cemeteries on donkey carts now. Cars are no longer in use. Light--and hope--are being shut out of people's lives. A bag of flour is now 160 shekels, with many bakeries threatening to shut down. Meats have doubled in price. Fida tells me in Rafah, people are seen going door to door begging for morsels of food.

I hope to post a more personal reflection on the Nakba in the coming days.

Waiting for the rainfall

I have a small garden behind the townhouse I rent. Nothing terribly impressive. In fact the soil is so acidic that it is inhospitable to most plants. Its mainly red clay, not unlike Gaza. Good for cucumbers and the like. But mainly, just mint grows in my garden. Lots and lots of mint, interspersed with some thyme.

And a small Loquat tree.

Last year, my sister in law's Syrian father gave me the Loquat sapling from a larger tree that he smuggled in from Syria more than twenty years ago as a seedling and transplanted in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Now, two decades on, I transplanted it in this small, acidic mint garden of mine.

The insects ate of the leaves what the tired soil did not. But it is spring, and somehow , new life has been breathed into it. new leaves are coming out. It has survived.

But today, as North Carolina faces a continued drought, I contemplated for a moment whether I should even be watering this sad little garden of mine. Or the brave little Loquat tree.

My mind travels. In Gaza, due to the Israeli imposed power shortages, nearly 20% of Palestinians there receive water sparingly, for only 3 to 5 hours every four days.

The fuel shortages have cut the energy supply by 31%, and have caused the suspension of garbage collection in Gaza City for the past two weeks.

And last week, 21 more dead. Five children, a farmer, a young cameraman, hit by a Flechette shells ...but who cares.

I decide not to water my the mint; or the Loquat. They can make do with the occasional rainfall.

Last week my parents left to Egypt to try and return to Gaza. They were stuck here for 9 months. They grew tired. So they figured they'd change pace, and grow tired somewhere else; And wait; and wait some more, for the border to open, So they can return home;as if borders open on their own.

And if after a month of waiting, or maybe two, there is no hope in waiting, they will return here to wait again.

And contemplate the ethical dilemmas of watering a mint garden during a drought.

Meeting Khaled Meshal

Well, not me, though I did translate a 13 page interview with him for UK Channel 4's in December. But it seems former President Carter is.

"I think someone should be meeting with Hamas..." Carter said on ABC this week.

"If Israel is ever going to find peace with justice concerning the relationship with their next-door neighbors, Hamas will have to be included in the process."

At least someone is willing to acknowledge that there is no ignoring them anymore if a meaningful and sustainable resolution is to be reached.

In their most recent report, the International Crisis Group found that "The policy of isolating Hamas and Gaza is bankrupt" and has in fact backfired.

Now I just wonder if Carter is going on his own accord or whether he was sent indirectly by his government as a "feeler" of sorts...

A Noor milestone!

ok, I'm pathetic, but I just had to post about this: Noor rolled over by herself today!! I'm so proud of my little girl, she's growing up at 3 months! Next thing I know she'll be off to college!! aah!

In the Big Easy

I'm in New Orleans with Noor this weekend to present Tunnel Trade at the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival.

Several other Palestinian films being screened include Bilin my Love, Driving to Zigzigland, Digital Resistance, and the Truth from Palestine.

I am staying with a Lebanese family who live in-yes its true-the West Bank (suburban New Orleans west of the Mississippi).




Hana is an oncologist and Mustapha is a Pediatrician. They have three children-aged 13, 14, and 17. They graduated from AUB and came to specialize in the US in the late '80s. Hana's house in Beirut was just overlooking the camps of Sabra and Shatila, where she says she used to volunteer. "I remember carrying corpses of mutilated children-of children... in my arms."

She says she remembers seeing [Mahmoud] Abbas, corrupt even then, driving into the camps in his black Mercedes to meet with Fatah's Force 17, pushing his way through the crowds.

"Now, when I hear talk about 'negotiations' and about Abbas doing this or that, I am nauseated. I am really nauseated in every sense of the word. What have they turned into? They are basically policing for the Israelis."

Noor takes Istanbul!

We've just returned from back to back transatlantic trips so taking me some time to update the blog (I'm in the process of a major overhaul-perhaps even moving to a website. Gazamom.com?)

Istanbul was fascinating, especially to see how its changed over the past ten years (last time I was there was '96). Namely, just how insanely-disproportionately almost-expensive its gotten. I'm still not sure how to figure it- but Turkish apricots are actually cheaper in the US than they are in Turkey.

We got a glimpse of a pro-Kurd demonstration in front of our hotel (protesters were subsequently tear-gassed).

The exhibit was also a success and garnered much attention from the local media. Some pictures on the curator's flickr account here.

But without doubt, the highlight of the trip was Noor! I always knew the Turkish people were warm and affectionate, but I no idea just HOW MUCH they loved children!! There wasn't a passerby, receptionist, waitress, coffee drinker, or couple who didn't stop to coo at her. Before we knew it, she was being whisked out of our hands by total strangers- and I can't even tell you how many cell phones' her picture is on now! Incidentally, the shot of the women with headscarves was taken about two weeks after the headscarf ban reversal in Turkish universities. Theirs was one of hte only ones to implement the reversal-most are challenging the decisions in courts.

I also had the chance to meet up with some readers from my blog (Aicha Qandisha and Zeynap Alp) who treated me like a long-lost sister!

Here are some highlights:

"Unrecorded" in Istanbul

I'm in Istanbul this week to present the You Are Not Here urban tourism mashup project that I narrated and helped present last year in Rotterdam, this time at a gallery in Istanbul. The exhibition is called "Unrecorded".

Noor has come along for the ride, Yousuf (much to his dismay) has been left behind this time.

I'm writing to see if any readers of my blog happen to be in Istanbul (I seem to remember at least one) and wouldn't mind meeting up, maybe giving me the local scoop. I'm at a bit of a loss seeing as how I speak no Turkish (maybe besides the words that happen to overlap in Arabic...tamam, kofte, meydan, etc).

My mother is traveling with me. We continue to keep abreast of the situation back home. Last time we spoke with my cousin Sunday morning, usually the optimistic and cheerful type, all was not well. "Our lives are difficult; so very difficult. We are living in dark and desperate times" he said solemnly. He said a building next to his was leveled-with all the occupants still inside of it- with no advance warning. And that because cement has run out, bodies are being buried with no gravestones to mark them.

The Gaza Genocide

We celebrated Yousuf's fourth birthday today. We ate cake. And we counted the bodies. We sang happy birthday. And my mother sobbed. We watched the fighter jets roar voraciously on our television screen, pounding street after street; then heard a train screech outside, and shuddered. Yousuf tore open his presents, and asked my mother to make a paper zanana, a drone, for him with origami; And we were torn open from the inside, engulfed by a feeling of impotence and helplessness; fear and anger and grief; despondence and confusion.

"We are dying like chickens" said Yassine last night as we contemplated the media's coverage of the events of the past few days.

Even the Guardian, in a wire-based piece, mentioned the Palestinian dead, including the children, in the forth to last paragraph.

In fact, a study by If Americans Knew found that the Associated Press Newswire coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict significantly distorts reality, essentially over-reporting the number of Israelis killed in the conflict and underreporting the number of Palestinians killed. The study found that AP reported on Israeli children’s deaths more often than the deaths occurred, but failed to cover 85 percent of Palestinian children killed. A few years ago, they found that the NY Times was seven times more likely to comment on an Israeli child's death than a Palestinian one's.

Is it only when Israeli deputy minister Matan Vilnai used "shoa" to describe what will come to Gaza that some media outlets took note. Here was an Israeli government official himself invoking the Holocaust, of his people's most horrific massacre, in reference to the fate of Gaza. But it was not necessarily because Gazans may suffer the same fate that they were perturbed, but rather that this event, this phrase-genocide or Holocaust- could be used with such seeming levity; that using such a loaded term may somehow lessen the true horror of the original act.

It is as though what has been happening in Gaza-what continues to happen, whether by way of the deliberate and sustained siege and blockade, or the mounting civlian death toll, is acceptable, and even encouraged
Illan Pappe has said that Genocide “is the only appropriate way to describe what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip” after much thought and deliberation.

But the real genocide in Gaza cannot or will not be assessed through sheer numbers. It is not a massacre of gas chambers. No.

It is a slow and calculated genocide-a Genocide through more calibrated, long-term means. And if the term is used in any context, it should be this. In many ways, this is a more sinister genocide, because it tends to be overlooked: All is ok in Gaza, the wasteland, the hostile territory that is accustomed to slaughter and survival; Gaza, who's people are somehow less human; we should not take note; need not take note; unless there is a mass killing; or starvation.

As though what is happening now was not a slow, purposeful killing; a mass strangulation; But the governments and presidents of the civilized world, even our own "president" (president of what?) are hungry for historic peace deals and make-believe accords; theatrical summits and quasi-states; so they say, “let them eat cake!” And we do.

Breaching the other border: on non-violent resistance and mass mobilizing in Gaza

As gas ran out over the weekend in Gaza again, Haaretz reported "fears" amongst the Israeli military establishment of a mass civil protest, this towards Gaza's border with Israel.

The Army apparently "beefed up troops along the border with Gaza, fearing thousands of Palestinians may march on the border in protest Israel's economic sanctions."

Many people have been calling for such a mass march, seeing it as the most effective way to break the blockade and draw global attention to the plight of Gaza.

Apparently, so does Hamas now.

Some 40,000 Palestinians are expected to march along the Gaza Strip's border beginning at 10 A.M. on Monday, including women and children.

The felling of the Rafah wall was powerful, but just a temporary respite and ultimately a distraction from the underlying issue; Gaza cannot continue to hover just above the brink of disaster, surviving from truckload to truckload of aid, from trickle to trickle of fuel; and even if it does, it does not change the fact that the occupation is still in place; that the "status quo" of "accepting a harmless slavery, in fullest liberty!" to quote Mahmoud Darwish, is no longer acceptable.

And unless it can be followed through with international action and a change in government policies of major powers, so too will a mass march towards Erez. However I still feel such a march has enormous symbolic power. I think perhaps the Israeli army would fear such an act of massive civil resistance more than anything, because it is not something they can easily "retaliate" against without drawing global criticism (though the world has largely been ok with the genocide Gaza is being subject to so far).

I often get asked why there is not more "non-violent resistance" in Gaza. Its a tricky question to answer-but essentially, I think the thinking has been that the world isn't necessarily listening-or reacting-anyway, so fight "fire with flowers" when you can fight "fire with fire". At least I think this was the common notion when the second Intifada started where Israel was utilizing far more militarized and deadly force

Another perspective on this is that I don't think one can necessarily place the burden of what kind of resistance to choose on a population that is being subject to the military force of the world's fourth largest army (meaning, strategy and effectiveness aside, it comes across as almost self-rightouss to dictate what and how an occupied people should resist).

This is not to say that non-violent resistance has been wholly absent from the Palestinian struggle. The first Intafada is a prime example, but so too was the second Intifada-despite the fact that it was notably much more militarized.

An excerpt from an October 2007 article by Ben White in the electronic Intifada notes that

"It is not just contentment (for the few) or sheer fatigue (for the many) that makes mass mobilization a challenge. Palestinians also fear that two critical elements for the success of nonviolent popular struggle are missing in their case: international coverage and limited repression on the part of the oppressor. As previously mentioned, "popular struggle" has always been a part of Palestinian resistance to occupation and colonization -- but receives only a fraction of the press coverage afforded to violent resistance."

I have noticed that the tide's a changing though. Hamas seems to be making a more concerted effort at such mass mobilization in Gaza, while making it clear that they shall not relinquish their "legal right to other forms of resistance" (quote from an interview with Khaled Meshal that I will post soon).

A prime example was the felling of the Rafah wall-initiated by a group of women and children. So to was the effort of dozens of unarmed women of the Islamic movement (including MP Jamila Shanty) to shield and help rescue several fighters under siege in a Beit Lahiya mosque a year and a half ago.

Two of the women were killed by Israel.


And notably-Hamas was the first Palestinian group to initiate a "no arms" policy in their public protests.

The Rafah Border "Breach" and the media

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to comment on the felling of the Rafah Wall and the media's coverage of it for Aljazeera's Listening Post, one of my favorite programs by the way (which I contribute to on a semi-regular basis). You can watch the video below (also watch for the brilliant piece of Burmese media activism following the Rafah Wall segment!).

In short, my point was that the Western media tended to view the felling of the wall as something of a "jail break", and the Palestinians filing across as swarming insects, and at best, a deprived people out on a shopping spree. The tone of coverage tended to shift more towards the negative as days progressed. I even received a series of interview questions from an Italian journalist in which she said many journalists were commenting on how the “poor and hungry” Palestinians were returning from Egypt “charged of Televisions and Computers and Mobile Phones” .

Suddenly, attention shifted from the event's proper historical and political context...of decades of isolation and occupation; of continued Israeli control over Gaza and its borders; of a deliberate and sustained siege, ongoing for not one year, but over a decade now in varying degrees... to Palestinian shopping habits and auditing their degree of need. Of course, underlying all this is the fact that you cannot resolve a situation by simply providing Gaza's population with humanitarian supplies, enough to sustain them for a few weeks at at time, enough to prevent and international outcry, enough to prevent death and starvation without addressing the continued occupation.

The same way you cannot resolve Israel's security dilemma's by simply demanding an end to rocket attacks, and keeping the borders closed, and occupation ongoing at the same time; as though that status quo-of simply not attacking Gaza in response but continuing the siege and the occupation- is acceptable to Palestinians.

And of course while the "border breach" brought temporary respite, it certainly did not resolve the deeper seeded Gaza crisis. Beyond the dramatic images of the border pilgrimage, the mass media is no longer interested in this issue. As far as they are concerned now, the situation has been resolved-Gaza's found a way out, so why the fuss?

Talk at Columbia University

On Thursday, for anyone in the NYC area, I am participating in a panel as part of a teach-in on Gaza at Columbia University. So much for Maternity Leave (Noor, incidentally, is coming with me)! Here is the pertinent information:

"GAZA: The Biggest Prison in the World?"
A Panel Discussion

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 14th 5:30-7:30pm
Location: 702 Hamilton, Columbia University

The Gaza Strip has been consistently described as the biggest prison in the world, with approximately 1.5 million people living in 139 square miles enclosed entirely within security barriers, where all movement in and out of Gaza, whether of people or of essential goods, can be cut off at any time byblockades.

Please join the Arab Student Association for a panel discussion that will explore the ongoing crisis on the ground, bringing together academic, journalistic and humanitarian perspectives.

Panel members:

Rashid KHALIDI: Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies in the Department of History and Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University

Idith ZERTAL: Professor of Contemporary History, Institute of Jewish Studies, The University of Basel, Switzerland

Andrew WHITLEY: Director of the Representative Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in New York

Laila El-HADDAD: Laila El-HADDAD: Palestinian journalist, filmmaker and photographer based between Gaza and the U.S. and writes principally for the al-Jazeera English website and the Guardian Unlimited. Frequently contributes to the BBC World Service, her work has also been published in the New Statesman, the International Herald Tribune, and and Le Monde Diplomatique. She recently co-directed the short film "Tunnel Trade" and maintains her own widely read blog.

MODERATOR: Nadia ABU EL-HAJ, Associate Professor, Department of
Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University

Should I be worried?

Acupuncture or torture? I'm not sure! But I found Yousuf's teddy bear pierced with toothpicks!

Pictures of Noor

I know these are late in coming...but I suppose a few sleepless weeks can do that to you ! That and having to update all the various sites...facebook, skype, etc. etc. !

More posts to come.















































































































Yousuf shows Noor how to make the Spiderman sign with her hands!

Gaza: From Prison to Zoo

Excellent article by good friend Darryl Li following his most recent visit to Gaza. In it, he describes the inhumane new Israeli policy of "essential humanitarianism":

In place of any legal framework the state has proposed – and the court has now endorsed – a seemingly simple standard for policy: once “essential humanitarian needs” are met, all other deprivation is permissible. If it is possible to ration fuel for hospitals and the sewage network, then Gaza’s economy need not play a role: “We do not accept the petitioners’ argument that ‘market forces’ should be allowed to play their role in Gaza with regard to fuel consumption.”

This logic reflects the radical transformation of Israel’s policy of blockade since the summer of 2007: from frequent and crippling closure to indefinite blockage of all but “essential humanitarian items.” Israel has shifted from trying to punish the Gazan economy to deciding that the economy is a dispensable luxury.

The policy shift is akin to treating Gazans not as prisoners but rather as animals; the Occupier as zoo-keeper, rather than prison warden.

The metaphor of the Gaza Strip as the world’s largest prison is unfortunately outdated. Israel now treats the Strip more like a zoo. For running a prison is about constraining or repressing freedom; in a zoo, the question is rather how to keep those held inside alive, with an eye to how outsiders might see them. The question of freedom is never raised.

The ongoing electricity crisis helps to illuminate this shift, so to speak.

In 2006, Israel decided that the best way to punish Gazans for the capture of one of its soldiers was a one-off, spectacular act of violence that would lead to widespread deprivation. Now it seeks similar results – the loss of electricity and the resulting disruption of everyday life – through more calibrated, long-term means. This shift in approach is akin to the difference between clubbing an unruly prisoner over the head to subdue him and taming an animal through careful regulation of leash and diet.

The Israeli court is complicit in all of this, acting more, he says, "as administrator than as adjudicator, a partner in the calibration of how much pain Gazans are to be made to feel."

Read the rest here.

Noor's first protest!

I know I have to post more (newer) pictures of Noor...most of my days and nights are consumed with either nursing or attempting to sleep (or in some cases, both at the same time!) and yet somehow I have found myself committing to a variety of talks, interviews, and articles when I should be on "maternity leave" (right!).

Last weekend my family and I participated in a small vigil/protest to end the siege on Gaza. Noor attended too-though she slept through it! Yousuf insisted on placing a sign on her car seat.

Down goes the wall

Last night I received a text message from my dear friend Fida-"its coming down-its coming down!" she declared ecstatically. "Laila! the Palestinians destroyed Rafah wall, all of it. All of it not part of it! Your sister Fida."

More texts followed, as I received an periodical updates on the situation in Rafah, where it was 3 am.

"Two hours ago people were praising God everywhere. The metal wall was cut and destroyed. So was the cement one. It is great Laila, it is great" she declared.

For the first time in months, I sensed a degree of enthusiasm, hope...relief even, emanating from thousands of miles away, via digitized words, from Gaza. Words that have been all but absent from the Palestinian vocabulary. Buried. Methodically and gradually destroyed.



[Palestinians stock up on fuel in Egypt's Arish. Picture by Fida Qishta]

Of course the border opening will only provide temporary relief, and the ecstasy it generates will be fleeting, as it was in 2005 when shortly after Israel's Disengagement, the once impervious and deadly, sniper-lined border became completely porous. It was an incredible time. I will never forget the feeling of standing in the middle of the Philadelphi corridor, as it was known.

Of standing there with hundreds of thousands of other Gazans, savoring the moment of uninterrupted freedom, in this case, freedom of movement. Goats were being lobbed over the secondary fence; mattresses; cigarettes; cheeses. Egyptians took back bags of applies from northern Gaza, and comforters. For two weeks, it was the free market at work.



[The Rafah Wall, from the Palestinian side. Picture by Laila El-Haddad]

Once a nesting ground for Israeli tanks, armored bulldozers, and the like-all of the war metal-the face of the occupation- that became synonymous with destructions and death for us in Gaza, and particularly for the resident's of Rafah, Philadelphi had so suddenly become nothing but a a kilometre of wasteland, of sand granules marking the end of one, battered, besieged land, and the beginning of the rest of the world.

But traveling this short distance had previously been so unthinkable, that the minute it took to walk across it by foot was akin to being in the twilight zone. You couldn't help but feel that at any moment a helicopter gunship would hover by overhead and take aim.

It was then that I met a pair of young boys, 9 and 10, who curiously peered over the fence beyond the wall, into Egypt. In hushed whispers, and innocent giggles they pondered what life was like outside of Gaza and then asked me: Have you ever seen an Egyptian? What do they look like? They had never left Rafah in their lives.



[picture by Laila El-Haddad]

And so once again, this monstrosity that is a source of so much agony in our lives, that cripples our movement and severs our ties to each other and to our world, to our families and our homes, our universities and places of work, hospitals and airports, has fallen through the will of the people; and sadly, once again, it will go up. Of course, Mubarak has tried to take credit for this, blabbering something about how they let them open it because Gazans were starving, while arresting 500 demonstrators in Cairo for speaking their mind against the siege.

The border opening also will not provide Gazans with an opportunity to travel abroad, b/c their passports will not have been stamped leaving Gaza, but it will at the very least give them some temporary respite from the siege. I emphasize temporary because this too, just like Israel's on again-off again fuel stoppages is not going to resolve the situation. Allowing in enough supplies to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, in the words of the Israeli security establishment, somehow makes sense in the logic of the occupation; as does escalation; and cutting fuel in response to rocket attacks. And Israelis can all learn to forget Gaza, at least long enough to feel comfortable.

People often ask me why such things-meaning people powered civil protests that can overcome even the strongest occupation- don't happen sooner, or more often, or at all for that matter. We underestimate the power of occupation to destroy a people's will to live, let alone resist and and attempt to change the situation. This is the worst thing about occupation, whether a military occupation like Israel's, or a political one like Hosni Mubarak's in his own country. And it is only when you can overcome the psychological occupation, the occupation of the mind, that the military occupation in all its manifestations can be defeated.

My new year's surprise!

Well, I was planning on posting my latest article in the Guardian Unlimited-reflections about Gaza in 2007. Instead, I got my own little new year's surprise-we welcomed (drum roll please....) little Noor into the world at 1:36pm January 1 ! 13 hours too late for a tax deduction, as Yassine will note :) This girl sets her own rules form the get go.

I would like to post in length about the experience, but I am sure you will forgive me if I seek a little rest :) In brief, let's just call it an unplanned natural delivery! I ignored my own body's signals that I was in labor (not to mention my husband's!) and convinced myself it was nothing, until I was quite in its advanced stages.

We rushed to the hospital, and by the time we got there, little Noor was about ready to pop out of the oven. It took only about an hour for her to show up. Of course I was confronted with the grim news from my doctor and nurse as I screamed my way into the delivery room (epidural please! now!!!) that there was simply no time for pain medication at that point. Talk about nature taking its own course!! All they could manage to give me was a small dose of morphine, which only made me dizzy and gave me delirious recollections of the doctor having a conversation about sushi and pregnancy with Yassine as I pushing ("just think" he said, attempting to comfort me, "you can have sushi again!").

Anyway, I will save you all the painful details, just suffice to say it was certainly all worth it when I saw her precious little face. And Yousuf, of course, is already assuming the role of older brother like a pro-including schooling her in the ways of spiderman (he attempted to pose like Spiderman in all his pictures with her :)).

And for those of you wondering, yes, we took the laptop with us to the hospital :)

Caroling against conflict diamonds

And by conflict, I mean the conflict.

Such is the latest initiative of the conscientious Adalah-NY (the Coalition for Justice in the Middle East), who adopted one of the campaigns of the Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel in New York City. For weeks now they have been organizing regular protests against Israeli diamond and real estate mogul cum settlement financier Lev Leviev in front of his newest Jewelry store in NYC.

The group is organizing an encore performance on December 29.

Leviev, one of Israel’s wealthiest businessmen, is helping to build the Mattityahu East settlement on the lands of the village of Bil’in with partner Shaya Boymelgreen, the Zufim settlement on the lands of the village of Jayyous, and the strategic West Bank settlements of Har Homa and Maale Adumim around Jerusalem which divide the northern West Bank from the Southern West Bank.

Check out video of some of their "alternative caroling"-great stuff. More posted on their site.

How about some Hannukah paper for that Eid gift?

Eid ul Adha was upon last week (or as we refer to it in Gaza-the meat Eid-)and this time it happened to coincide with the holiday season here in the US. So in shopping for a Eid gift for Yousuf, I had to deal with puzzled looks down south when I explain that we don't celebrate Christmas, but taken a step further, when I explain that actually it was also the Muslim Eid. I'm not trying to be facetious here, really. I'm just relaying conversations as they happened, and you be the judge.

Example:

Woman at checkout counter in toy store: "Oh what a lovely choice! Now is that a Christmas present for your son, or a birthday present...what kind of wrapping paper would you like?"

Me: "Actually, its a Eid present. Eid is a Muslim holiday. It happens to coincide with Christmas this year".

Woman: "I see. Well we have Hanukkuah paper right here!"

You get my drift (this is a true story by the way).

I had an equally enlightening conversation with our neighour's grandson, who was in the process of showing off his new bike to Yousuf.

Jacob: "What did you get for Christmas Yousuf!"

Me: "Actually, Yousuf doesn't celebrate Christmas, Jacob. He celebrates Eid."

Jacob: "Well we celebrate Christmas. and I got a cool new bike."

"Yes, I know that, Merry Christmas. Our Holiday is called Eid."

"I thought you speak Spanish"

"We speak Arabic, but that's not the point...."

"Well, i got a bike for Christmas. What did Yousuf get?"


I rest my case. I'm not asking for much here, am I? Is a simple "oh-what's Eid?" too much to expect?

I'm not sure if I should blame the schools in this case, the media, the people themselves, even the Muslim community. Maybe a little bit of each, coupled with the fact that it is just easier to ignore anything having to do with Islam here. Either way its a little startling that so few people actually have any clue about what Eid is-compared with, say, Boston, where we used to live. I even took the initiative myself in one case, and attempted to email a supermarket chain I'm very fond of (Trader Joe's) explaining that it was also Eid and suggesting they add a "Eid Mubarak!" to their flyers along with "Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas".

The response: Thank you for contacting us. We will forward your comments to Marketing and get back to you". Needless to say, they never got back to me. But I'm still holding out hope.



Yousuf decorating cupcakes with friends this Eid.

Thing you should never say to a very pregnant woman!

As I near the end of my pregnancy, I've taken some time to reflect... and I've come up with a list of grossly insensitive things that you (yes, YOU...husband, friend, sister, brother, random person standing next to a pregnant woman on the subway) should never say to a very pregnant woman. So future fathers, uncles, cousins...take note (and yes, several of these things have actually been said to me! And I'm pretty petite as far as full-term pregnant woman go):

1. Weren’t you wearing that yesterday? (Also see: Don’t you have anything else to wear?)
2. Wow, look at that, your belly button is popping out!
3. Wow, you’re really getting big!
4. Is something wrong with your face or is it normally that swollen?
5. Do you need help with those dishes (said unenthusiastically)?
6. Boy your house is a mess.
7. Didn’t you just go to the bathroom?
8. You think you can’t sleep now, wait till the baby arrives!