Many of us read the now quite-widely circulated article yesterday in The Daily Beast attacking Bernie Sanders for being “too tired” to answer a question by Syrian-American Ismael Basha after last Sunday’s Democratic debate in Flint. The issue of Syria has divided many in the Arab American community over the past five years. Some stand […]
An Arab American in the voting booth
Growing up Arab in America colors the lens of my worldview. Regardless of where your “Arab in America” journey began – the ghetto, the burbs, or farm country – we all seem to share a common, possibly even intrinsic, obligation to protect our ancestry and share our culture. Doing so validates our experiences, corrects that […]
The Case for Trump from a Palestinian
I must preface this with the statement that I am not a Donald Trump supporter. I am writing this article to simply make an argument why Donald Trump would be the best candidate for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, from a Palestinian point of view. Looking at the remaining Republican candidates in this presidential race, Donald Trump is the […]
This Arab is voting for the Jew
Many of us read Professor Steven Salaita’s hard-hitting oped in Salon ten days ago, where he declared, quite loudly and articulately, that he won’t be voting for Bernie Sanders. He succinctly laid out American politicians’ long-standing and very consistent policies of bowing to the interests of the Israeli lobby, to the constant detriment of Palestinian […]
A letter to Beyonce from a Palestinian
Dear Beyonce, I watched your Super Bowl performance last Sunday. I heard your words. I was excited. Ecstatic. Encouraged. I watched pundits on cable news networks talk about how you were “making a statement.” Someone even said you were being “unapologetically black.” I loved it. Much to my surprise, however, your contentious performance at our […]
The Republican party, too white to win
In the 1988 American presidential election, 60% of white voters cast their ballots for Republican candidate George H.W. Bush. He ended up winning 426 electoral votes. In order to take the presidency of the United States, a candidate must win in the electoral college. Don’t make me explain the electoral college to you. Ok, fine, […]
Jesus, the radical Palestinian activist
We Palestinians see ourselves in the shadow of Jesus. Two thousand years ago, Palestinians were the first followers of his message, and whether particularly religious or not, we take that lineage quite seriously. We are the protectors of his traditions, the original stewards of his good news. And we are pretty proud that we’re the […]
What is Trump’s secret to success? 2042!
Theories abound as to why Donald Trump has enjoyed such a meteoric political rise. Is it because he appeals to working-class Americans frustrated about their future? Is it his strong stances on security? Has he risen to political fame simply because he’s, well, famous? Trump has vowed to make “America Great Again,” albeit with few concrete details as […]
Laquan the Palestinian
He was brash. Reckless. Audacious. Walking right in front of police officers like he had nothing to fear. It was lunacy. His chest out, invincible. It was a defiance of the highest order. Utterly insane. How could he have cared about his own life, his own future, doing such things? It is impossible for me […]
You may yearn to breathe free, unless you’re Muslim
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. The horrific attacks in Paris last Friday by ISIS-affiliated criminals, resulting […]
The lazy reporting around Detroit’s anti-Israel billboard
Late last week, WXYZ Detroit, the local ABC news affiliate here, told us about an eye-catching billboard in the city. The “controversial” advertisement reads “America First,” and underneath that, in much larger letters, “NOT ISRAEL.” The bottom of the billboard notes who footed the bill for it: “Paid for by Deir Yassin Remembered.” Of course, while […]
Wait, Netanyahu said what?
There were warning signs. We all knew he was a little off, but I never thought it would get this bad. I have heard him call Palestinians a “demographic threat.” Of course, labeling indigenous people a “demographic threat” to a colonizing enterprise is pure nonsense. So, I knew he was a little bizarre, but even […]
President Obama, please say something
Dear President Obama, I’m just like you. Sure, I’m an Arab Palestinian, and you’re a white-Anglo-Saxon-black-Kenyan. But we’re both Americans. And we have one more really important thing in common. Like you, I have one Muslim parent. Your Muslim grandparents were Hussein and Habiba. Mine were Muhammad and Laila. I, like you, flirted with Islam […]
A New Generation for Palestine
The generation of our fathers and mothers preserved and protected the one thing Israel has tried for 70 years to destroy. They spoke to us about Palestine. From them, we learned the names of our hometowns (and everyone else’s). We heard their stories of displacement, dispossession, and suffering. And we have honored their sacrifices by […]
Israel, you must be so embarrassed
Israel, things are not going well for you. It’s been 67 years. You’ve tried everything. And we’re still here. It must be so frustrating. And when I say “everything,” I really mean everything. You’ve tried denying us employment, housing, voting rights, mobility, and education. You’ve tried just flat-out killing us. You’ve even tried taking our […]
Palestine, the alternate universe
I am in Ramallah. Restaurants with creative menus and talented chefs abound. You can run into tiny spots with out-of-this-world food, places worthy of a role on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” There’s a Domino’s, a KFC, and a Starbucks (well, it’s called “Stars and Bucks,” but that’s a minor detail). There’s even a […]
Are immigrants stealing American jobs?
I’m an immigrant, sort of. I was born in Jordan in 1977. My mother came to America from her Palestinian hometown of Akka in the 1960s as a teenager with her family. She became a naturalized US citizen during that time. Then, she me met my father during college in California, and they moved to […]
A letter to Lindsey Graham about Mohammad
Dear Senator Graham, What happened yesterday in Chattanooga was tragic. Everyone should agree about that. It should be assumed. The alleged shooter, Mohammad Abdulazeez, was a 24-year-old American of Arab descent. He came to this country with his family as a young child from Kuwait and became a naturalized citizen (like many of us). His friends and […]
Israel can’t survive the world wide web
Something funny happened on the internet this week. On Tuesday, Snapchat featured Tel Aviv in a 24-hour “live story.” Now, for my social media-challenged readers out there (my dad), let me explain how this works. Snapchat is a messaging service that allows one to share a photo or video with a particular person or group of […]
Dear America, this is our ISIS
ISIS a fringe group that believes it is saving the soul of the Islamic world. It believes that its lands have been poisoned by outside, corrupt, polluted forces. It sees itself as the true representative of true Islam, however unhinged from reality that view may be. It carries out this worldview through domination and violence. […]