The life of a Palestinian can be pretty depressing. We have to deal with dispossession and the refugee life. Then there’s all the racism. And don’t forget the media misrepresentation, military occupation, checkpoints, and seizure of resources. Being Palestinian is relentless. There are no breaks. Just when it looks like everything’s OK, someone calls us […]
Bibi Entertains Us at the UN
This week, Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations. As a Palestinian, I tuned in. It’s my duty. Plus, I say the guy’s name at least 3-4 times a day (I won’t tell you how), so the least I could do was to listen to his speech. […]
Intro to Arab Democracy
Well, America, welcome to democracy in the Arab World. This is what it looks like. Breaking News: Arabs are not that crazy about America. Yes, you helped get rid of some of their dictators. But you still unconditionally support some of the worst. So this is the democracy you’re going to get. Try to imagine […]
Can’t We Just Say ‘So What?’
Some idiot made a film depicting an image of the prophet Muhammad. So what? He even called the Quran “a mix between some versions of the Torah and some versions of the New Testament” and a bunch of “false verses.” So what? The film depicts Muhammad pronouncing the first Muslim animal to be a donkey. […]
All He Saw Was the Beard
Sunday’s attack on a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin was horrific. The attacker killed six worshippers and turned his gun on officers before being shot to death by police. Most of the male adherents of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in India in the 15th century, wear long beards and turbans. The gunman, […]
Romney: Hitting the “Palestinian Punching Bag” again
From +972Mag, where this appears as an op-ed analysis: Look, as a Palestinian, I’m used to hearing racist epithets thrown my way. I’ve heard Abba Eban say that Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” I’ve heard Menachem Begin call us “beasts.” Ehud Barak called us “crocodiles.” Ariel Sharon once said he would […]
Muslims Deeply Penetrating America!!
Michelle Bachmann has a funny way of saying “Happy Ramadan.” Last week, the Minnesota congresswoman disclosed that she and four of her Republican colleagues had sent a letter to federal agencies asking for the investigation of what she believes is the significant infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into American government, most namely the State Department. […]
64 Years, and We’re Still Here
It’s May 15 again, and we are still here. We haven’t gone anywhere. Though, if you’ve been watching the news lately, you might think we no longer exist. We are nowhere to be found on the airwaves of CNN these days. It’s not like we haven’t been doing anything. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been […]
60 Minutes of Truth
A weird thing happened last week. A major American media outlet told the truth about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. This, of course, upset many supporters of Israel. Truth is Israel’s kryptonite. On April 22, “60 Minutes” ran an in-depth piece on the plight of Palestinian Christians, pointing out that Christians have been […]
Israel’s Text Messages Revealed!
I’m not saying Israel has anything to hide, but this doesn’t look good. In the past few days, Israel has cut off all contact with the United Nations Human Rights Council. This move came after the UNHRC voted to send a fact-finding mission to the West Bank and East Jerusalem to assess the effects of […]
They Tried To Make Her Go To Rehab, She Said No, No, No!
I’m a Palestinian, so I watch the news all the time. And I’ve been intensely watching for the past week. And it’s been ridiculous. Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, DC and had a sit-down with President Barack Obama. They seemed happy to see each other… kind of. Netanyahu came into town to address the American Israel […]
Rick Santorum Needs You… To Be Dumb!
Today, my state of Michigan is holding its Republican presidential primary. Both frontrunners have gotten into hot water, Mitt Romney for making some silly comments that suggest he might be out of touch with regular Americans, and Rick Santorum for… well, for just being ridiculous. Over this past weekend, in Troy, Michigan, to an audience […]
NYPD Alert: Beware of Muslims!
We have recently learned that the New York Police Department has been monitoring Muslim students throughout the northeastern United States. They have been specifically concentrating on following the activities of members of Muslim Student Associations on a few campuses. These MSAs are suspiciously located on campuses throughout America, recruiting young Muslims into their ranks. According […]
House Hunting in Jerusalem
I love watching reality TV. Whether it’s “Cupcake Wars,” “Storage Wars,” or “Shipping Wars,” I just can’t get enough. And no, I don’t just like them watching them because I’m an Arab and they all have the word “war” in them. A particular favorite of mine is “House Hunters.” In this show, the cameras follow an […]
I Love My Mom
We don’t get to choose our moms, so I consider myself pretty lucky. She has been unconditionally loving and supportive. Most moms are like that. She has been proud when I have done well. Most moms are like that too. And she has let me know when I have messed up. I think just about […]
Cosby, MacGyver, & the News
I’ve always been prone to lose things. It’s probably because I enjoyed a fairly privileged upbringing. I grew up middle-class and fortunately never really wanted for anything. My siblings and I didn’t grow up spoiled, but we had all that we needed and more. Sure, it took a long time to get my dad to […]
Star Spangled Banter
About a month ago, I attended the annual banquet of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Dearborn, Michigan. Over 1000 people from all faiths, ethnicities, and walks of life attended. Politicians came to stomp, and, as you can imagine, members of our community got dressed up for the occasion. There’s no need to go to […]
The Arab Year in Review
2011 was a busy year for Arabs. According to my calculations, we were on CNN at least once every day. On MSNBC, same thing. When it came to Fox News, we were on 75 times a day. They clearly love us the most. In fact, we made it onto the newscasts even when we had […]
Me, A Victim of Anti-Semitism…
This week, I experienced a kind of confusing racism I never could have imagined. Since I am proud of my heritage, I celebrate Christmas because it is the birthday of the most famous Palestinian of all time. In the spirit of the season, I bought each of my two sisters a Tommy Hilfiger bag from […]
Happy Birthday Jesus… You’re One of Us!
Well, another Christmas has come and gone. To Palestinians, this holiday is really special. Jesus was one of us. We’re pretty proud of that. I’ve been to Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem many times, and Palestinians are looking after Jesus’ stuff pretty well. Now, for me, Christmas is really cool. As I’ve mentioned before, both of […]