Five days ago, the Palestinian people received a gift from the people of South Africa. Last Tuesday, a massive 6-meter tall bronze statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled in Ramallah. (That’s about 20 feet to us Americans.) The occasion was met with much fanfare, and the ceremony was led by the current president of the Palestinian Authority, […]
Month: April 2016
This election is a reality show, and Bernie isn’t a contestant
Hillary Clinton supporters seem to miss a fundamental difference between her and Bernie Sanders. It’s called integrity. Integrity is a value that is fundamental to the development of trust, and thus, when one is seeking a relationship with a people, trust becomes a rather imperative value. In order to build trust, one must implicitly and explicitly […]
Mental health & our Arab community
Growing up in an Arab family is fun. There’s great food, noisy gatherings, and parties that are so wild you’d swear the world is ending. But there also comes a distinct stubbornness. When you’re Arab, numerous expectations are placed upon you. In many cases, your choices of a career and significant other are heavily influenced. […]
Bernie is the real hope and change
In 2008, we said, “This is the most important presidential election in a lifetime.” We were wrong. In my role as a surrogate for Bernie Sanders in his presidential run, I get to talk to voters about why they should cast their ballots for the senator from Vermont. Last week, I joined a few other […]
Be Proud of Who You Are
In today’s society, all minorities are scrutinized. Walk into a room, and you’ll see a TV displaying a news anchorman disparaging Muslims as terrorists. Turn on a news radio station, and Donald Trump’s speech about building a wall to keep immigrants like Mexicans out of our country will be blaring. We live in a world […]
Hillary strikes out in New York
New York, its time to talk baseball. It’s the World Series. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning and the bases loaded. Who do you put in the batter box? Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) or Derek Jeter (The Captain)? If you chose A-rod, then vote for Madam Secretary, because as great as A-rod’s record is, with […]
Gaza, darkness, and romance
Honestly, if I had to tell one story about my country, it would be about politicians. They literally sacrifice their lives for us. I am serious. In my free time, I watch the news, and I like to think of the Palestinian cause and our political system. Just kidding. I never watch the news. It’s […]
Why I will never have a daughter in Gaza
Here are a set of assumptions you might make about me after reading the above title: She is too feminist. She’s short and ugly. She likes the word spinster. She’s a liberal, too busy questioning marriage. She’s a philosopher. She’s a drama queen. She doesn’t want her daughter to see President Trump. Well, some of those things are accurate, but none are the […]