The Half Breed Report

Reteaching Gender and Sexuality

2010-11-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

Reteaching Gender and Sexuality from Sid Jordan on Vimeo.

Giving Thanks. And not.

2010-11-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for all the social justice activists and scholars in the world, especially the ones who remind us that for every story, there is a backstory. I am thankful for Jewish anti-Zionist activists who courageously speak out on behalf of those who have been silenced. I am thankful for my mom, my first teacher and my first social justice role model.

Today I am not thankful for abusive state power. I am not thankful for ethnic cleansing. I am not thankful for corporate greed. I am not thankful for a holiday based on genocide. I am not thankful for a holiday that encourages amnesia, obesity and the continued subjugation of the majority of the world's people, animals and resources.

Mumia Abu-Jamal on "thanks-giving:"

IDF Comes to the USA

2010-11-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

The recent fury over the new TSA "pat down" procedure for anyone who "fails" the metal detector walk-through at US airports is ludicrous. Not because the reaction is absurd, but because of the pure naïveté of the US population.

Wake up, America. You asked for this. You asked for this by demanding a US Imperial war to fuel the already raging fire in the Middle East. You asked for this in your support for the Patriot Act and the subsequent suspension of civil liberties. You asked for this through your outrage over terrorism. You begged and pleaded for the TSA to keep you safe. Well, there you have it. How safe do you feel now?

The irony here is that it reveals just how sheltered the US population has been. Sheltered from war in their backyards, sheltered from biopolitical management, sheltered from things like checkpoints and invasive pat downs, sheltered from things that are every day norms in much of the Middle East.

Watch the video here:

The child in the above video seems to be about 6 to 8 years old. When I was 7, I traveled to the West Bank with my mother. My grandmother had just passed away, I had never been out of the country before, I had never seen guns up close and personal, I had never even seen on-duty military personnel before. War, occupation, violations of human rights and civil liberties where things that I was peripherally aware of given the political leanings of my home town and the political activism that my mother was so active in, but were never things I had experienced myself. And why should I have, I was a 7 year old living in the U.S. of A., home of the brave, land of the free, whatever that even meant. But it was in the "simple" attempt of crossing the border from Jordan into occupied Palestine that war, occupation, and biopolitical violation and management ceased to be a topic of discussion and instantly became a corporeal reality.

We had waited at the Allenby Bridge for hours. It was the height of summer and it was blistering hot. I remember waiting, waiting, people arguing, waiting, feeling anxious, waiting....waiting....waiting. And suddenly, my mother and I were ushered into a small and empty room. There were two IDF women in the usual fatigues. One was holding a semi-automatic (standard issue IDF accessory). I don't remember the specific words they said to me. I don't remember my mother giving me any instructions. I remember feeling my heart racing. I started to undress. Unsure if they really meant for me to take off all of my clothes, and nearly paralyzed with fear, I didn't completely undress. I took off my shoes and socks, my pants and my T shirt. I was left in underwear and an undershirt. I was terrified. Suddenly, it felt cold, despite the fact that the temperature was in the upper 90s. I was literally and figuratively frozen. One of the IDF women said something to me. My mother interjected, loudly. They argued. I don't remember much after that, but I know that I did not strip completely naked, even though the ultimate goal was a strip search.

What is different between my strip search encounter and the above American boy's encounter is that the TSA at least put up a better front. At least they perform "good intention" by giving you the courtesy of a pat down. I say this because there is a world of difference between someone physically patting you down under the auspice of anti-terrorism measures, and someone instructing you to strip at gunpoint. The violation of the former, as fucked up and horrible as it is, can be justified as a "preventative measure." The latter violation is intended as pure intimidation and humiliation. My strip search encounter occurred in the summer of 1990 at the border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. Suicide bomb attacks within Israel
were relatively new (in fact at that point, only one had occurred), so the contemporary rationale for Israel's drastic security measures was not even on the table yet.

Returning to the issue at hand with the TSA, let this be a wake up call for people in the US as to what kind of situation US Imperialism has produced for people in other countries. Let this be a moment of clarity as to the kind of world US imperialism and Israeli subimperialism has produced. Let this be a revelation that support for war and occupation abroad ultimately does bring war, occupation and biopolitical violation home to the U.S. of A. Please, oh please, let this be a realization that the US is not exceptional, that it is not exempt from authoritarianism, that it is not exempt from Marshall law-esque behavior. Please, oh please. Open your eyes. This is not a nightmare, this is real life.

The Beginnings of the End and the Beginnings of the Beginning

2010-07-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Looks like a one state solution is possible in my lifetime. Hopefully it will be possible in time for my mom's lifetime as well, so that she can finally go home after 43 years in diaspora...

Hyperreality: The New Pentagon Papers

2010-07-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning in what felt like an Oliver Stone film.

Stumbling into the living room and flipping on Pacifica Radio to catch the second half of Democracy Now was like waking up to hyperreality. Or like that curious thing that happens sometimes when you wake up, turn on the radio and flowers burst out of it. Then you realize you're still dreaming and wake yourself up (for the second time?). Rubbing my eyes and debating between coffee and tea, my brain started to tune into what was actually being said. What's this? Wikileaks? Daniel Ellsberg? Afghanistan? Something very important happened while those of us in California were still in dreamland (the actual dreamland, not the hyperreal one).

They're calling it The New Pentagon Papers. Over 90,000 classified documents on the war in Afghanistan. Possibly implicating the US in war crimes. Probably accusing Pakistan of double crossing the US. And most definitely a blow to the Pentagon's grossly inflated ego.

The Old Pentagon Papers:

The New Pentagon Papers:

Israeli Homonationalism and My Burgeoning Career Propspects...or Not.

2010-07-24T13:30:00.001-07:00

I feel like I could write my entire dissertation on Israeli homonationalism. I also feel like that would be voluntarily signing myself up for the blacklist. Then again, as Ali Abunimah likes to point out: "Some of the finest people are to be found under the bus."

I busted ass to get into this PhD program with the intention of studying queer Arab American identity politics and visual culture. So why now am I so invested in Israeli homonationalism? Zionism, my dear Watson.

Do I risk (job) security for the sake of pursuing what I desire? Or do I sacrifice my desire for the sake of security? Check back in with me in about 3 years and we'll see which road I will take...

ACTION ALERT: STOP ZIONIST PINKWASHING OF ISRAELI APARTHEID

2010-06-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be aware of the current debate raging about the pinkwashing of Israeli apartheid and the Zionist movements infiltration of the US Social Forum (the largest North American progressive activism conference, being held in Detroit this coming week).

For those who aren't aware of what's going on, here is the nutshell:

Recently there have been numerous and prolific Zionist PR campaigns which appropriate queer subjects and queer rights issues as a means to promote Zionism and essentially pinkwash Israeli apartheid. An overtly Zionist organization called Stand With Us misrepresented themselves in their application to give a workshop at this years US Social Forum, and were accepted into the conference. Stand With Us is a vicious Zionist propaganda machine and in giving a workshop at the US Social Forum, they not only completely subvert the purpose of the forum, but disseminate xenophobic, racist, hate filled ideas under the guise of progressivism. To see what kind of propaganda I am referring to, please visit this link. You will see links to numerous fliers created by Stand With Us, fliers which defend the demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, among others insidious things.

There is a strong movement of anti-Zionist queer Jews, queer Arabs, and progressive straight allies who are standing up to say

QUEERS WILL NOT BE USED AS PUPPETS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND APARTHEID.

For more information on what has been going on and how you can get involved, please see the info below. My apologies if this message is very long and convoluted, the below is a mish mash from numerous emails and press releases.

• the description for the stand with us workshop on "LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East" apparently taking place at the ussf. for a taste of their racism, see their gay rights in palestine flyers

• the hilem/al qaws/pqbds (queer arab groups in palestine and lebanon) statement regarding the workshop

• the US Palestinian Communities Network (USPCN) and International Jewish Anti -Zionist Network (IJAN) response to their conversations with ussf organizers on the topic of justifying the presence of the stand with us workshop (see below)

• email addresses of social forum organizers (see below). i encourage you to write them and call out their complicity in zionist pinkwashing at the ussf.

• some action ideas for dealing with the workshop (if you will be attending the USSF)

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WIDELY

Action ideas:

* dedicate a small group of people to be present at the stand with us workshop to enact whatever plan of action is decided on. it was recommended that the group be 10-15 people so as not to distract from the many other pro active palestine related workshops taking place simultaneously.

* hand out the statement by queer arab statement against the workshop (see below). hilem early on asked that the statement be read at the workshop.

* read excerpts from bareed mista3jil, writings by lbtq people from lebanon aloud at the workshop

* give primacy to arab queer voices in designing the response to and refuting this workshop

USSF organizers email addresses:

adele@ussf2010.org, online-support@ussf2010.org, detroitinfo@ussf2010.org, nationalinfo@ussf2010.org, reggmc@me.com, karlos@centerformediajustice.org, jpatters1@yahoo.com, ien@igc.org, balbert@communitychange.org, maria@comitedevivienda.org, josue@mayfirst.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, tammy@thestrategycenter.org, ahmina@emeac.org, stephanie2@projectsouth.org, grulla@swunion.org, mbricker@temple.edu, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, amakisi@gmail.com, wkatzfishman@igc.org, michael@ggjalliance.org, genaro@swunion.org, priscilla@grassrootsfundraising.org, alfredo@mayfirst.org, youthussf@gmail.com, william@ussf2010.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, adrienne@ussf2010.org, sylvia@ussf2010.org, victor@ussf2010.org, adele@ussf2010.org, sha@ussf2010.org, bloewe@onpointconsortium.org, akudo.ussf2010@gmail.com, roberto@ussf2010.org, mallory@ussf2010.org, youthussf@gmail.com, reggmc@me.com, karlos@centerformediajustice.org, jpatters1@yahoo.com, ien@igc.org, balbert@communitychange.org, maria@comitedevivienda.org, josue@mayfirst.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, tammy@thestrategycenter.org, ahmina@emeac.org, stephanie2@projectsouth.org, grulla@swunion.org, mbricker@temple.edu, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, amakisi@gmail.com, wkatzfishman@igc.org, michael@ggjalliance.org, genaro@swunion.org, priscilla@grassrootsfundraising.org, alfredo@mayfirst.org, youthussf@gmail.com, adele@ussf2010.org, reggmc@me.com, bill@scupe.com, Cwilliams@im4justice.com, williams_q50@yahoo.com, tapeka1972@yahoo.com, dbundu76@yahoo.com, amakisi@gmail.com, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, lmn@lppals.com

KEY POINTS

> Dear fellow organizers,
>
> On behalf of USPCN and IJAN, both members of the US Social Forum National Planning Committee (NPC), we would like to issue the following update regarding the workshop currently scheduled by StandWithUs. This overtly Zionist organization claims to speak on behalf of LGBTQQI liberation in the Middle East while at the same time actively supporting the Israeli agenda that directly oppresses these same communities. This lack of transparency is an attempt to pinkwash Zionism at the Social Forum. StandWithUs has also been responsible for maliciously disrupting and attacking the work of Palestinians, academics, and solidarity activists across the United States. As of right now, we are still waiting a formal decision from the NPC, and want to share with you the strategy that we are leaning toward and our reasoning.
>
> We urge those interested in the building of joint struggle between the movement for justice in Palestine and other anti-racist and anti-war movements in the United States to not allow the slipping of this workshop between the cracks to undermine the Social Forum. Nothing would please StandWithUs and the Zionist network that StandWithUs is part of more then to divide the Palestinian, Palestine solidarity, Arab and anti-Zionist networks from the Social Forum and visa versa.
>
> The inclusion of this workshop in the social forum is not a reflection of a lack of commitment to Palestinian rights and self-determination. Through the submission of a misleading description of the workshop, StandWithUs is setting up the Social Forum and attempting to divide us.
>
> The letter from Helem, Al-Qaws, ASWAT, and PQBDS that condemned the StandWithUs workshop and requested an explanation from the Social Forum as to how this workshop made it into the program, reflects the perspectives that USPCN and IJAN have shared with our fellow US Social Forum (USSF) National Planning Committee (NPC) members. IJAN and USPCN issued the attached joint statement to the NPC.
>
> Through conversations with the NPC, the orientation to the StandWithUs workshop will:
> · Have consistency with the anti-racist, anti-homophobic and anti-colonial commitment of the NPC
> · Have consistency with the NPC invitation to the US Palestinian movement to participate in the USSF planning process
> · Reduce the potential for targeting of the USSF or organizations on the NPC by Zionist organizations
> · Reduce the potential for Zionist organizations to divide the movement in the United States
> · Reduce the potential for the Zionist movement to create antagonism toward the US Social Forum
> · Act with genuine unity based on a shared understanding of the racism involved in Zionism, what anti-Semitism is and is not, and the tactics used by Zionist organizations
> · Build our unity and not allow any organizations or sectors whose interests oppose those of the USSF to divide us
> · Not fall into a trap that intends to use this to attempt to delegitimize all of the justice for Palestine work that is happening at the Social Forum.
>
> To be clear, the presence of StandWithUs at the US Social Forum demonstrates the acute need for us all to continue making meaningful alliances and inroads with the Progressive Left in the United States. The presence of USPCN and IJAN on the National Planning Committee of the Social Forum is evidence that we have come a long way, particularly since the 2007 US Social Forum.
>
> We are looking forward to a Palestine Track that boasts over 50 workshops, the presence of Jamal Juma'a at the international plenary session, two Palestine Tents, and three People's Movement Assemblies, one of which represents an unprecedented gathering of committed BDS activists from all over the country. However, more work needs to be done in order to institutionalize the idea of Palestinian equal rights into the US Social Forum planning process and the broader agenda of the Progressive Left.
>
> StandWithUs was able to get one workshop on the Social Forum's agenda because they intentionally obscured the true nature of their workshop, which went under the radar due to the lack of familiarity of the USSF proposal review committee with the organization. And, thirdly, due to the lack of staffing for the US Social Forum that would make it possible for the committee to do more background checks on organizations and run the proposals by those involved in the planning that were more familiar with any given area of struggle.
>
> These are changes that USPCN and IJAN are strongly suggesting for future US Social Forums. However, they do not represent a lack of commitment on behalf of the NPC to justice in Palestine and Palestinian liberation.
>
> In considering how to handle the fact that this workshop is included in the agenda, it feels important to consider the intention of StandWithUs, and the Zionist network they are coordinating with, in organizing a workshop as part of the social forum.
>
> As laid out in an article that just came out in the Jewish Detroit News, StandWithUs is part of the counter-organizing in response to the success of the Palestinian, Palestine solidarity and Jewish anti-Zionist organizing happening around and at the Assembly:http://djn.pressmart.com/JN/JN/2010/06/17/ArticleHtmls/17_06_2010_021_001.shtml?Mode=1 .
>
> This article gives us a better sense of the extent of organizing they are doing and the context we are going to be working in:
>
> "Locally, the JCRC, ADL and American Jewish Committee have brought Jewish groups together to inform them of the AZ conference and prepare a unified statement of support for Zionism.
>
> Conference calls have been held that include the gamut of Jewish organizations both liberal and less so - "A to Z" or "Ameinu to ZOA" is the way AJC-Michigan's Kari Alterman describes it - including the Washtenaw Jewish Federation and Ann Arbor synagogues as well as national organizations like J Street, which has a special cache with progressive groups. Ideas and information are also shared through an Internet discussion group. An action plan for the U.S. Social Forum still is in development."
>
> We have to understand this workshop as an attempt to find a leverage point with which to attack the Social Forum for supporting the organizing of USPCN, IJAN and many other groups working for justice in Palestine. Currently, they have nothing but the usual empty accusations that the US Social Forum, USPCN and IJAN are anti-Semitic.
>
> Not having the workshop there is right on principle and there is no disagreement with this on the NPC of the USSF. However, USPCN and IJAN are willing to give up the immediate satisfaction of preventing this workshop from occurring if it means not giving the Zionists the satisfaction of being able to use claims of censorship to a media all too willing to take this up at the expense of covering the challenges that the Social Forum makes to US racism, capitalism and imperialism.
>
> We are not convinced that canceling the workshop is the best course of action in achieving the ultimate goal: to nurture, develop, and solidify a commitment to proactively defending and safeguarding the rights of Palestinians within the Progressive Left. As anti-Zionist and Palestinian activists, we feel an obligation to finding a solution that is both right and effective.
>
> To put things in perspective, the US Social Forum has, without hesitation, supported and defended the visibility and strength of justice for Palestine across the Social Forum. StandWithUs currently has one workshop at the Forum, which was the result of a breakdown in process and lack of clarity based on the organizing we have not yet been able to do but are closer to achieving then ever.
>
> Over the next couple of days, we look forward to developing a decisive and productive solution that reaffirms the Social Forum's commitment to the decolonization of Palestine.
>
> We hope you will support us in the direction that we believe will bring long term broad and strong solidarity with Palestine and broader anti-imperialist movements in the region.
>
>
> Yours in solidarity and struggle,
> USPCN and IJAN

SAY NO TO PINKWASHING AT THE USSF!

We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled “LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East” (http://bit.ly/c3MLLA).

Stand with Us is a self-declared Zionist propaganda organization which describes itself as “an international education organization that ensures that Israel's side of the story is told in communities, campuses, libraries, the media and churches through brochures, speakers, conferences, missions to Israel, and thousands of pages of Internet resources" (http://bit.ly/b9eAc4).

Stand with Us has no connection with the LGBT movement in the Middle East apart from ties to Zionist Israeli LGBT organizations, yet it claims to speak for and about our movements. It has no credibility in our region, and as organizations working in and from the Middle East, we condemn its attempt to use us, our struggles, our lives, and our experiences as a platform for pro-Israeli propaganda.

Since Israel’s brutal wars on Gaza and Lebanon in 2006 and particularly after the recent unprovoked attack on the flotilla of activists going to Gaza, the Israeli government has found itself increasingly marginalized by international condemnations and weakened through the growing success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. To remedy this, it has launched a massive PR campaign using organizations such as Stand with Us to convince the world that Israel is not a brutal settler-colony state, but rather a free democracy where human rights in general, and LGBT rights in particular, are respected and upheld. Stand With Us deceptively uses the language of LGBT and women’s rights to obscure the fact that institutionalized discrimination is enshrined within the state of Israel.

Our struggle is deeply intertwined with the struggle of all oppressed people, and we cannot accept that we are being used as a tool to discredit the Palestinian cause. Stand with Us would have everyone believe that the Palestinian cause is an unworthy one because of the homophobia that exists within Palestinian society, as if homophobia does not exist elsewhere, and as if struggles for justice are predicated on some sort of inherent “goodness” of the oppressed, rather than on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality for everyone,
everywhere. Stand with Us would have us all compartmentalize our beliefs, lives, and identities so that solidarity with the queer struggle would preclude solidarity with others.

While Stand With Us is quick to point out the oppression of queer Palestinians under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, it conveniently forgets that those same queers are not immune to the bombs, blockades, apartheid and destruction wrought upon them daily by the Israeli government, and that Israel's multi-tiered oppression hardly makes a distinction between straight and gay Palestinians.

We refuse to be instrumentalized by anyone, be it our own oppressive governments or the Zionist lobby hijacking our struggle to legitimize the state of Israel and its policies, thus providing even more fodder for our own governments to use against us. If you want to learn about our movements and struggles, engage with us, rather than with those who will use us as pawns in Israel’s campaign to pinkwash its crimes.

The inclusion of Stand With Us at the USSF is an egregious oversight on the part of the forum. We ask the forum to justify this inclusion given that it violates its own principles of anti-racism, uniting oppressed communities, prioritizing marginalized voices, and opposing US foreign policy. The USSF should be held accountable to its own standards. We look forward to hearing its plans to address the situation.

Helem
Lebanese Protection for LGBT
www.helem.net

Al-Qaws
For Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society
www.alqaws.org

ASWAT
Palestinian Gay Women
www.aswatgroup.org

Palestinian Queers for BDS
pqbds.wordpress.com

The Workshop Description, or How they misrepresented themselves and gained entry to the USSF

LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East

Full Description:
The purpose of this workshop is to expose the underground LBGTQI Liberation movements that currently exist across the Middle East. We will seek to explore the cultural context of the status of the LGBTQI community across time and the vast mosaic of cultures that make up the region. After establishing a historical context, we will introduce participants to the stories of young people from across the region striving for acceptance. Some stories are harrowing and gut wrenching, while others are triumphant, but all are inspirational. The end goal is to engage the participants in supporting the cause of LGBTQI Liberation, and to connect them with outlets through which they can offer their support. We plan on having information available on how to connect with the offices of different Middle Eastern LGBTQI non-profits, and will offer material produced by StandWithUs which uses information collected by such organizations as Amnesty International for participants to walk away with so that they can better educate their own communities about the realities of the Middle East.

Organizer Name:
Brett Cohen

Organizer Email:
brett.cohen@standwithus.com

First Sponsoring Organization Name:
StandWithUs

PLEASE EMAIL THE ORGANIZERS OF THE USSF TO REQUEST THAT THIS ZIONIST PROPAGANDA BE BARRED FROM THE USSF

Here is a copy of my note to the USSF organizers:

Dear USSF Organizers: Stand With Us subverts everything which the US Social Forum stands for. It is outrageous that an organization which promotes racism, human rights violations and apartheid will be giving a workshop at a conference which is designed to work against all of those things! Allowing Stand With Us to give their workshop at this years USSF not only severely cripples the credibility of the USSF, but it is the utmost slap in the face to all the hardworking activists who are working for actual peace, justice and equality in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere. As a Palestinian American, a queer woman and an activist, I implore you to pull the Stand With Us workshop from this years USSF line up. QUEERS WILL NOT BE USED AS PUPPETS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND APARTHEID.

"Keffiyeh: From Resistance Symbol to Retail Item? w/ Ted Swedenburg"

2010-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

Horrific

2010-04-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

WikiLeaks video of Iraqi civillian mass murder at the hands of trigger happy US Apache gunners. Warning: graphic.

"That's what they get for bringing their kids to a battle." -US solider in video.

Free at Last, Free at Last, Eff You Sallie Mae, We are Free at Last!

2010-04-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

There you have it folks! The salvation of my generation, and future generations to come!

Obama, of all the groovy shit you've been enacting lately this takes the cake. I think I speak for anyone and everyone who went to college in the past 20 years (sans trustafarians) when I say: THIS ROCKS.

Why the Two State Solution Stinks of Apartheid

2010-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

The following comment was in response to a friend's Facebook link to this article by Roger Cohen on the NYT opinion page :

Hmm, interesting. I disagree with the last statement of a "one state dead end." Two states is a dead end, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many of my relatives and Palestinian friends. As it stands right now, a two state solution would be a repackaged and sanitized version of apartheid, a wolf in sheep's clothing if there ever was one. To create an official Palestinian state would essentially validate that state as a bantustan : "autonomous nation state for. . . ethnic groups."

While a one state solution would appear "dead end" and undoubtedly start out undemocratic, ultimately it is the only viable solution for two peoples whose interests lie in the same piece of land. Pre-civil rights era US never considered a two state solution (save for the American Civil War, and that was just wing nut white people seceding from white people). The very essence of south African apartheid was a "two state solution."

So the question remains: why is a two state still on the table?...

Domestic Terrorism: Further Proof that the People are Fed Up?

2010-02-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

The predominant question after September 11 was "Why do they hate us?"

With this mornings events in Austin, TX, maybe the new question should be "Why do we hate ourselves?" Or rather, "Why do the citizens hate the government?"

I think the pilot of this ill fated attack felt how many, many hard working US citizens feel today: betrayed.

The US government and corporate America have formed a greedy marriage in the past few decades, and have economically cannibalized the citizens of the US. I am by no means in support of this extreme approach to revolutionizing the system. I am, however, in favor of revolution. And with it the complete destruction and reconstruction of the US government's approach to and relationship with money.

Of course, this comes on the heals of Michele Bachmann calling social security a "tremendous fraud." Really? And what about that 700 billion bailout of corporate America? Was that charity?

Speak of the Devil: The Trickle Down Hits SF

2010-02-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

I looked up during my bus ride today to see a blue and white keffiyeh clad San Franciscan sitting a few feet away from me. I tried hard not to stare at him and did my best to get a little camera phone documentation. It's pretty blurry, but you can see the blue and white pattern. Ironically, I was wearing my black and white keffiyeh. I wanted nothing more than to go up to the person and ask them if they knew the significance of the colors on the style of scarf they were wearing. But I didn't think it would make for pleasant rainy morning public transit commute chit chat. At least not until I brush up on my Dick Hebdige.

Although annoying, this sighting was not as jarring as seeing a 14 year old Asian girl last March (2009, on the heals of the Gaza siege) wearing a bright blue and white t shirt that said I ♥ Israel.

Insult & Injury: Israelis Take Cultural Appropriation to the Next Level

2010-02-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

In adding acrid insult to egregious injury, a new style of keffiyeh has hit the market, but this time it does not represent the Palestinian cause. This time it represent Zionism in all its culturally appropriating glory. I'd heard rumors of these scarves but had yet to actually see one. Until now.

This is one of those moments in the long time line of pain and anguish that is the Palestinian struggle in which I feel that Palestine may actually be at risk of vanishing into thin air. That all the beautiful parts of it will slowly be absorbed and chewed up by the Zionist machine only to be spit out as a cheap knockoff for wannabe Euro trash hipsters who have no idea what kind of despicable acts have taken place so that they can wear a cool scarf. Meanwhile the rest of Palestine, the ugly, disfigured, malnourished and persecuted parts, the parts which desperately cling to a seemingly false hope, will slowly but eventually decompose in the shallow graves of murdered children, while their parents and grandparents slowly die off. This is how Zionist propaganda makes me feel.

Over ten years ago my mother gave me my first keffiyeh. Actually, it is my only keffiyeh to date. I have purchased and gifted many a keffiyeh in my life, but this is the only one I will wear and it is irreplaceable. In high school I was afraid to wear it; Any time I wore it in public I was given terribly hostile looks from strangers walking down the street. I am completely honest when I say that in my youth I was terrified of the Zionist ideologues who roamed the streets of metro Boston. I wore it around the house, but shied away from wearing it in public, mostly for the sake of personal safety. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ashamed of being Palestinian, in fact I would talk about my heritage and the cause to anyone who would listen from as young as 7 years old. But I guess in some ways I felt that wearing a keffiyeh made me something of a moving target, which was not something I was comfortable being.

In college, I slowly started to come out of my Palestinian pride closet. I didn't wear my keffiyeh often, but I made a point of wearing it to protests in Washington DC and Boston, and occasionally wore it around campus. It lived a quiet life in my dorm room and friends would often pick it up and try it on, some intrigued by the unique pattern, others curious about its meaning. Some people have a favorite stuffed animal, others have their childhood blanky. But I had my keffiyeh. I would wear it in private to comfort myself, especially when I felt isolated in my political beliefs and social justice convictions. New England was a cold place for pro-Palestinians in the 1980s, 90s and especially post 9/11. While most people I hung around with considered themselves progressive, the line separating progressivism and Palestine was drawn deep in the sand more often than not.

Once I moved to California I shed every last inkling of my New England socio-political self consciousness and wore my keffiyeh nearly every day to keep warm from the chill of the San Francisco fog. This was San Francisco after all, a hotbed of radical progressivism. Freedom, at last!...And then I found out my boss was a raging Zionist.

Suddenly I was back in that horribly anxious predicament of balancing my convictions with my personal style, but it was ten times worse because my job security was now in the mix --at a time when the national unemployment rate was creeping past 10%. I was a freelancer and thus expendable. At work I avoided any and all political conversations with regard to the Middle East, so much so that I had to state on several occasions that I refused to discuss politics at work. However my employer was the sensitive type, a man of great ego and little social skills (like most self-titled professional photographers), and he took it upon himself to instigate conversations on Palestine/Israel based on absurdly random things: such as seeing me eating olives for lunch and exclaiming:

"Oh yes! The food of my people! Why are you eating on the floor? Are you a refugee?"

(I was eating on the floor because I had been banished to the upper level of the studio where chairs were scarce among the hoards of unpaid and disgruntled interns because obscenely rich clients needed their complimentary ass kissing in the studio's kitchen/dinning area).

My benevolent employer went so far to try and instigate a political argument with me that he tried to give me AIPAC literature so that I could "better understand" his point of view. I said I would take it and read it but only if he agreed to reading some of my literature. He declined my offer and so I declined his.

Needless to say, I once again restrained my keffiyeh wearing if only for the sake of freedom from harassment in my place of employment. Was it a selfish decision in the face of the cause? Maybe. Would I have accomplished much if I had made a point to wear it every day to work? Most likely not. Would I have been fired? Again, most likely not. But it was a conscious decision and sometimes I wish I could have had the strength to endure his incessant rudeness and blatant immature chiding, but at the end of the day I just wanted to make ends meet without unnecessary stress.

It's with this history that I feel particularly insulted by this "remixed" keffiyeh. The keffiyeh has represented the Palestinian people for decades. It is a single enduring symbol of resistance and cultural survival. And now it is being appropriated by the very population that oppresses it. It is, as we say in Arabic, haraam.

Apartheid: Anniversary and Apathy

2010-02-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 20 year anniversary since Apartheid was dismantled in South Africa and the announcement that Nelson Mandela would be freed from his 28 year imprisonment. This is an important day. This is a day I wish I could celebrate. This is a day we should all drop what we're doing and honor the triumph of human equality over bigotry and greed. Unfortunately it's not that easy.

Apartheid is alive and kicking in Palestine. And many, many people have said so. Jimmy Carter said it. Israeli journalist Amira Hass has said it. Naomi Klein said it. And most notably, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the champions of the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa in the 1980s, yes, that's right: he's said it too.

One very decisive factor heavily contributed to the end of South African Apartheid: boycott. The international community spoke volumes when it boycotted South African products and academia, and barred the national teams from participating in the Olympics. Apartheid ended in South Africa not because whites were suddenly not racist and the government was suddenly feeling friendly, but because the South African economy was feeling the financial pinch under the consumer goods boycott campaign. Similarly, the boycott of South African academia and the extremely public shaming of South Africa via the rejection of its national sports teams lead to significant ego bruising. There's really nothing quite like public shame as a catalyst for behavior modification.

And yet at present, when protesters interrupted and heckled the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer at the Australian Open last week, it was seen as poor form on the part of the protesters for "bullying the little guy." Undoubtedly "the little guy" is in reference to Israel, the lone democracy in the Middle East! The peaceful victim among savage terrorists! Alas, how rude of them to interrupt a tennis match.

This information is not meant as discouragement, it is meant as an important note for the BDS movement. If the general public insists on being so dense, we must continue to educate. If the international community's memory has faded so quickly, we must remind them of one of the greatest historical moments of the 20th century, and why it is valid today. If Israel continues with its deplorable Apartheid practices, we must continue the struggle.

This video is of Desmond Tutu speaking at The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel: Issues of Justice and Peace, a conference that took place in Boston in October 2007. This video is of the re-broadcast of the speech on Democracy Now.

For more information on boycotting Israeli goods, academia and sports:

The Global Boycott Divestment & Sanctions Movement

The Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign

Boycott Israel Now

Update: A fascinating moment as Ehud Barak uses the A-word in reference to Palestine. Although he fails to see that his ultimate solution for two states is just a re-packaged and politically sanitized version of Apartheid: a destitute and hermetically sealed Palestinian state. Basically, a larger version of Gaza.

Obama Gets Ambushed, Defends with Bushism

2010-01-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

Obama was skillfully ambushed by a Florida college student at a town hall meeting in Tampa last week. For those who were able to follow for the first few moments of his dumbfounded response to the student's elegant and pointed question about Israel's human rights abuses against Palestinians, I hope you were able to catch what could be Obama's first ever recorded Bushism.

After stalling nervously and trying to lighten the suddenly tense moment by randomly drawing attention to an audience member's wardrobe, you could almost see the bullets of sweat forming on his brow as he proclaimed, in his soothing, bass Obama voice:

"The Middle East is obviously...an issue...that has plagued the region...for centuries."

Say WHAT? Did Obama, the renowned and adored orator of the 21st century really just pull a Bushism? Damn right he did. Obama fail.

Here's the link to this painfully awkward moment in Obama history.

"Walking miles in Palestinian feet" on P U L S E

2009-06-30T21:58:00.001-07:00

Claire Messud: Walking miles in Palestinian feet on P U L S E

Israel's "Change" on Palestine

2009-06-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

If it looks like occupation, talks like occupation, walks like occupation, and smells like shit... it's still occupation.

Nothing new under the sun in Netanyahu's "new" position on Palestine, as brilliantly reported by Yaman at KABOBfest.

Gee, Bibi, why don't you just come right out with your "I ♥ Apartheid" t shirt already? Especially since the Human Sciences and Research Council of South Africa recently caught you with your legal pants down.

Anti Choice "Movement"? Try Domestic Terrorism.

2009-06-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Amy Goodman interviews Dr. Warren Hern on Democracy Now in the wake of the announcement that Dr. Tiller's clinic will close indefinitely.

Hern calls the anti-choice "movement" in America what it actually is: domestic terrorism.

So the question remains: why is the war on terror being waged on the other side of the world when the battlefield is in our own backyard?

Obama, now would be a good time to start implementing that change you spoke of...

"From Vanunu to the New Jew" from P U L S E Media

2009-06-06T17:36:00.001-07:00

A heartfelt look at what the state of Israel does to its own people.

"From Vanunu to the New Jew" from P U L S E

Obama in Cairo: Skeptical Praise and Adoring Cynicism

2009-06-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

While watching Obama's Cairo address last week it was easy to tune out and drift away into optimistic La-La Land. After all, he was saying things that have been absent from the American political discourse on the Middle East for nearly a decade. His accolade of Middle Eastern contributions to civilization served as an important re-framing of the American opinion of the Middle East, a move away from ignorance and bigotry and towards acknowledgement and understanding. I will be honest and say that it warmed my heart to hear my president speak so eloquently and adoringly of the Middle East.

Luckily I was still conscious enough to watch with a critical eye. Petty as it may be, his mispronunciation of "hijab" as "hajib" was the first reminder to me that this is an American politician, with American interests in mind, and try as he might to court the Middle East into a friendlier relationship, ultimately it will be his actions that will speak louder than his words.

"People are still suffering in the West Bank and Gaza, and they need a lot more than words to help them," said Raif Hijab, a software engineer from San Mateo, California. He went on "Right now Barack is promise, but promise yet unfulfilled." The question remains: what exactly did Obama promise and is he prepared to make good on it? Obama's Cairo address may have helped many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans to finally feel welcomed and understood within the greater social fabric of the United States. Which is all well and fine on a domestic level. But what of his actual propositions for creating stability and peace within the Middle East as a whole? Despite the charisma and intelligence with which he spoke, the actual substance of the speech was somewhat lacking.

His acknowledgement of the reality of Palestinian suffering was striking to say the least, most notably in his reference to occupation: "[Palestinians] endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own." Dignity, opportunity, legitimacy. These are hopeful words. However, the last phrase of this statement is the most problematic: "a state of their own."

Obama's endorsement of a two state solution is antiquated and naive to say the least. The promotion of Palestinian sovereignty is deceptive in that it gives the illusion of interest in a true and just solution to the conflict. However, the reality is that at this point the offer of a Palestinian state is too little, much, much too late. Any landscape architect or urban planner would tell you that at this point the viability of a Palestinian state is seriously improbable. Obama's advocacy of a two state solution is telling of either of a complete lack of understanding of the physical realities of the occupation, or of a complete disregard for true and lasting peace by the promotion a solution that is doomed to fail. Barring a complete Israeli withdrawal to the Green Line, a two state solution is impractical and impossible. Despite his call for the secession of settlement construction, I highly doubt Obama is willing nor prepared to play hard ball with Netanyahu over Israel's complete and total military and civilian withdrawal from the West Bank and the subsequent and necessary opening of wood-be-Palestine's boarders. The endorsement a two state solution is essentially the sanction of legalized Apartheid.

Obama extended an amicable hand to the Middle East, and that is admirable, especially after the Bush Administration's, dare I say, delicate approach to the region. But his hopeful words are meaningless without policy and action to reinforce them. And that means biting the reality bullet, especially when it comes to Palestine. Hopefully he will wise up before anymore irreparable damage has been done. If not, he will just be another politician speaking from both sides of his mouth.

Stolen Umayyad Artifact Returned, But to the Wrong People

2009-06-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

I nearly fell out of my chair when I read the following article on KABOBfest.com:

"New Yorker Apologizes to Israel For Taking Umayyad Antiquity from Occupied Jeruslame (!)"

Here's my question: what kind of energy was haunting this man for 12 years that he finally was moved to return this stolen item (albeit to the wrong authorities...)? The symbolism of this story makes me queasy, to say the least.

However, it reminds me of a very important moment in my understanding of imperialist art historical practice. I was 7 years old and with my mother at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. We stopped in Germany for a few days to decompress after a long and trying visit to Occupied Palestine, Israel and Jordan. This was my first trip overseas and it was prompted by the death of my grandmother. After the most shocking and terrifying travel of my young life (strip searched by the IDF, witnessing and experiencing Occupation), Germany was a chance for us to regroup and mellow out after such an intense journey. It was the summer of 1990 and the Berlin Wall had been torn down only about six months previously.

The German experience was brief, but vivid: the 12 hour train ride from Frankfurt to Berlin, sitting on a wasp at the countryside home of my mother's friend, throngs of World Cup fans, and the Pergamon Museum. The majority of the museum itself was a blur, except for one distinct part: The Ishtar Gate.

I remember standing in the museum gallery, exhausted from walking all day, probably hungry, probably thirsty, and probably cranky. I stood next to my mother, probably on the brink of letting out a tremendous whine regarding my tired, hungry, cranky feet, when my mother began to speak. No, my mother began to curse.

I shut my cranky mouth and listened. It wasn't an angry tirade, it wasn't a melodramatic monologue. It was a quiet and sad litany.

"They stole it. Look at how much they have stolen from the Middle East? All of this belongs to Iraq and Iran. They took the entire wall."

I watched my mother's face as she cursed the white man and his thieving imperialist ways. It was a forlorn face. It was the face of a woman who valued history, art, the culture of her people, and most importantly, justice. Where everyone else in the museum gallery meandered casually with the general look of impartial tourism, my mother stood in mourning at the feet of the gate of Ishtar. I looked at the gate and I looked at my mother, and then back to the gate. Being 7 at the time, I was small. The wall of the gate was enormous, and the whispers of the museum patrons bounced off of the beautiful tiles, creating an eerie echo effect. Although I didn't have the words for it at the time, this was the culminating moment in my crash course lesson in the methods of Western imperialism.

Me in Berlin, 1990.

RIP Dr. George Tiller 1941-2009

2009-06-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

It was a somber breakfast yesterday morning as I listened to Democracy Now's coverage of Dr. George Tiller's assassination. It felt surreal, as if I was listening to a story pulled from a 20th century archive, or a review of a historical novel. It was when Amy Goodman began interviewing Dr. Susan Robinson that I started to slip. Hearing the tremble in Robinson's voice really got to me and I started to cry into my oatmeal.

Last night as I revisit the Democracy Now segment, I was jarred once again. It is rare to see Amy Goodman, Democracy Now's eloquent host, show visible heartache. Her eyes were red, her face was drawn: she was in mourning.

I honestly cannot believe the kinds of things that are happening in the United States right now. I feel as though I am watching a dark, dark, dark cinematic account of history. But this is not film. And this is not yet history. This is reality and it is unfolding in very real ways, in very real time.

Once again the question of choice is at the forefront of US social debate. The last murder of a women's health care provider was in October of 1998 and the victim was Dr. Barnett Slepian, in upstate New York. In the ten years since Slepian's death there were almost a dozen property crimes (bombings, arson) committed against women's health care clinics, but Dr. Tiller's death marks a return to the anti-choice movement's most extreme form of protest: murder.

In the period between Dr. Slepian's murder and Dr. Tiller's murder, an important film was in the works. In 2007, Tony Kaye's documentary Lake of Fire was released after nearly twenty years in the making. The film, which is jarring and intensely graphic, tells the story of abortion from all sides, from anti-choice activists like Randall Terry, to women's health care providers like Emily Lyons, to academics like Noam Chomsky and most importantly the women who are stuck at the crossroads of this difficult subject. Regardless of your personal opinion on abortion or choice, you will walk away from this film questioning your beliefs and your values.

And so the questions remain to be begged: how do we as women and as men, as doctors and nurses, as spiritual leaders, as politicians, as progressives, as liberals and as conservatives reconcile our values with our actions? Where do freedom and security end and where do truth and justice begin? What is the roll of community in relation to all four? Will we ever be able to put our divergent beliefs aside and live in peaceful coexistence?

This post originated as a blog entry for the Commonweal Institute.

Welcome to the Hotel California: How Will California Survive the Death Match of its Own Current Affairs?

2009-05-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

"...California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of
Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension; in which the mind is
troubled by some buried but ineradicable suspicion that things had
better work here, because here, beneath the immense bleached sky, is
where we run out of continent."

-Joan Didion, from "Notes from a Native Daughter," Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 1965

Sigh, California. I think it's safe to say that the Golden State has recently acquired a tarnished image. With the recent budget implosion and an uncertain fiscal future looming large on the horizon, you can now add constitutional discrimination to the growing list of reasons why California is no longer the promised land of the American imagination. Long gone are the days of Joan Didion's California, a romantic, albeit dysfunctional, picture of late twentieth century hope, prosperity and glut. Goodbye prospect. Goodbye afternoon martinis. Goodbye pioneer spirit. Hello Apocalypse!

In many ways, California is paying for the decadence of it's past. Decadence, the word itself meaning self-indulgence to the point of decay, is exactly what California is guilty of. This, I believe, is the root cause of why California is now the ungovernable state.

Sorry California, your freewheeling days are over.

However, I don't think it's safe to continue the assumption of "as California goes, so goes the Nation." What is truly hilarious in this comedy of errors is that California ceases to be the trendsetting, young bastion of socio -economic fashion that it once enjoyed in the 1990s. In fact, quite the opposite. In certain regards, California is getting its rear end handed to it by the likes of Massachusetts and Iowa. Where California was once driving in the fast lane with the top down, it is now stranded in the breakdown lane with a burnt transmission and a bunch of cranky children in the backseat. Meanwhile Massachusetts, Iowa and a number of other states, continue on in their bumper to bumper rat race towards stability.

Okay, okay. Enough hyperbole.

The fact of the matter is that California is betting against itself in a game of craps. This is true for both the issue of Prop 8 and the issue of resolving the budget. Both situations, although seemingly unrelated, are leaving the entire state (politicians , constituents, visitors, even plants and animals) in a deadlock of failure. Cut services and the people will lose. Raise taxes and the people lose. Uphold Prop 8 and the people (who voted against it, 47% of the electorate) will lose. Reverse Prop 8 and the people (who voted for it, 52% of the electorate, hardly a majority I might add) will lose. The people lose. The people lose. The people, you got it, lose.

Specifically with regard to Prop H8te, California seems to be regressing as far back in time as the 1950s. Wait, I'm sorry, I thought the US Supreme Court already decided that separate was not in fact equal? California, snap out of it! We already had this fight, remember? And for those who are opposed to marriage because it represents a 1950s model of "normalcy," well I have one thing to say to you: the right to marriage has very little to do with "normalcy" and everything to do with equality under the law. This is not about marriage as an institution, this is about equal rights. Besides, this ain't 1950!

And as for the budget, pffft, beats me! Your guess is as good as mine as to how the state will dig itself out of this hole without burying its citizenry under a mountain of deprivation in the process. I just hope I'm not in the way when the landslide comes a tumblin'.

This post originated as a blog entry for the Commonweal Institute.

Gaza Aftermath

2009-05-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

As the toxic dust settles and Gaza begins to fade from popular memory, people's stories are slowly surfacing. Anyone who is skeptical on whether war crimes did or did not occur in Gaza last winter, look at this article and photo essay, "A family lost in white phosphorous shelling," by Eman Mohammed.

Dick Cheney: "I heart torture!"

2009-05-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Dick Cheney,

I'm impressed by the verve of your national speaking tour in the defense of torture. Kudos, my evil robotic nemesis. It takes gusto to go against the grain, even on such morally reprehensible grounds as torture.

If you think waterboarding is such a great thing, why don't you volunteer to have yourself waterboarded on national television? Or better yet, throw in some audience participation with your constituents? I think it would leave a much greater impact than your current radio and tv soap box circuit.

Best of luck in all your future endeavors,

PhotogFauxPas

Ps. Did you know that only 21% of Americans self-identify as Republicans?

Good News from the Center for American Progress: Mellennial Progressivism is on the Rise

2009-05-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently released two encouraging reports on the current state of progressive values and politics in the US, with a bright forecast for the progressive agenda. The first report, New Progressive America: The Millennial Generation, highlights important generational shifts among the American electorate, singling out the Millennial generation (those born between 1978 and 2000) as the key demographic responsible for the country's departure from conservativism. The second report, The Political Ideology of the Millennial Generation, examines the Millennial Generation's subsequent restructuring of core American values. Importantly, the reports do signify a generational trend towards progressivism, but they are not a simplistic ageist critique of the American electorate. While it is certainly easy to equate older Americans with conservativism and younger Americans with progressivism, the true point of the reports is to show the growing disparity between previously dominant value modes and current reinventions of those same values.

For the most part, the values discussed in the CAP report are similar to Commonweal Institute's framework of Freedom/Security, Community/The Commons, and Truth/Justice. Personally I believe that this framework is applicable to the entirety of the US population regardless of political party, and that it is just a matter of interpretation that divides the electorate into partisan camps. While the Millennial Generation maintains this basic framework of American values, they have a drastically more progressive interpretation of how these values are implemented throughout society and government.

For example, where many older and more conservative Americans interpret Freedom as independence from "big government," and possess a more libertarian, live-and-let-die attitude, the CAP report notes that most younger Americans believe "freedom requires economic opportunity and minimum measures of security, such as food, housing medical care, and old age protection." This invariably denotes a new interpretation of the term "security." Where the majority of older, more conservative Americans read Security in more traditional terms -- freedom from danger, safety, domestic and international protection -- younger, more progressive Americans view security in broader, more socially conscious terms such as economic stability and the meeting of basic needs. As such, many older, conservative Americans are more inclined to perceive Freedom and Security as separate values, whereas the new wave of younger, progressive Americans see them as interdependent. This shows a direct correlation between younger voters' beliefs and voting practices and the Commonweal Institute's outline of progressive values, which highlights the dialogical, nuanced nature of progressives' approach to understanding values.

Another startling shift in beliefs between the majority of older voters and the majority of younger voters is their differing opinions on the role of government in American society. The conservative movement has always stood by the dogma that "big government" is bad and "free markets" are good. The CAP report, however, observes that "Millennials, more so than other generations, want a stronger government to make the economy work better, help those in need, and provide more services." Once again this is in the same vein as the progressive interpretations of Security and Freedom, as described by the Commonweal Institute.

In short, this is good news for the progressive movement. By 2020 Millennials will make up roughly 40% of America's eligible voters. This is further evidence that now more than ever it is time to push the progressive agenda so that we can realize and actualize our shared needs, desires, and values.

This article originated as a blog post for the Commonweal Institute.

An Ode to Mom: Palestine, One State & Fait Accompli

2009-05-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

Growing up, Friday evenings in my house were typical. They usually consisted of me and my mess of legos, encyclopedias, journals, watercolors and depending on the era, sometimes PBS on the tube. Regardless of what I was up to, my mother would always stake her claim on the couch with a stack of political reading, the majority of which was on Palestine and Israel. I was, essentially, left to my own devices, which usually consisted of making a mess, making a snack, and sometimes making a racket. But I always kept an ear in the direction of the couch. And here's why.

I could never understand why my mother had this somewhat masochistic habit of reading dreadful and depressing political materials on Friday nights. She would sit for hours, the reading lamp nearly singeing her afro, until her eyes burned with tears or her face flushed with anger. Either way, there was always a steady stream of huffs and puffs, "Bullshit!"s and "Bastards!"s, and my personal favorite, "Fuck it!"s that would emanate from her direction, usually concluded with the loud tossing asunder of said reading materials and the preparation of an angsty cup of tea.

For my mother, this reading was not for the simple joy of emotional torture. She was, and to this day still is, inextricably compelled to continue educating herself on Palestine. In lieu of drafting her own peace accord, obsessively reading about the issue is what keeps her close to it. Having been displaced from her home 42 years ago, and not having returned to see it for the last 19, her connection to her homeland has been forcibly weakened, and her only antidote is reading. This comes as no surprise, seeing as she is a literacy specialist and teacher for the Boston Public Schools by profession. The word is her bible. Literally.

I would watch her as she sat there on the couch surrounded by a sea of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Boston Globes, Christian Science Monitors, ADC Newsletters and numerous stacks of books in many shapes and sizes. Her brow was always furrowed, except when she would come across something of particular dismay, in which case her eyebrows would hit her hairline in disbelief. This was usually accompanied by an aforementioned huff or puff.

As a kid, I didn't get it. I didn't get the incessant need to obsess over something seemingly out of her control. I didn't get her voracious hunger for information on a subject so far removed from the realities of our daily lives. I didn't get her, period. But here I am, a decade or two later, sitting on my own couch, my own brow furrowed, surrounded by my own assortment of Palestine literature, with my own angsty cup of tea and huffing and puffing at nobody in particular. My only wish is that my mom were here on the adjacent couch so that we could huff and puff in dialogue. Alas, it will have to wait until tomorrow morning's phone call.

Tonight's reading consists of Ali Abunimah's 2006 book entitled One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli Palestinian Impasse. It's not exactly the proposal itself that provokes my reactions tonight, it is the recounting of history that leaves me feeling agitated. However, it may also partially be the premise of the book that has me a little more worked up than usual.

For twenty something years the goal of all the Palestine activism I have been involved with has been the creation a sovereign Palestinian state. For twenty something years I have believed, blindly and without pause, in a two state solution. Abunimah's One Country cuts that goal down to its truthful size: a pittance of a peaceful resolution.

My initial response was purely emotional rejection: "impossible!" Huff.

My second thought was curious consideration: "but how?" Puff.

And lastly, rationalism overpowered: "Of course. It's the only way." Sigh. And with that, I resign myself to my cup of tea.

For anyone interested in a feasible plan for peace in the region, Abunimah's book is required reading. Unpretentious, historically clear, humanist and honest, it could very well be the future of Israel/Palestine. Or Palesrael. Or Isrelstine. Or whatever the hell they decide to call if once they've agreed on a true and lasting peace.

Happy Mother's Day. I love you, Mom!

The Keffiyeh: An Engangered Species

2009-04-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgT4MqwKsP8

Zionsim vs. Nazism: UCSB Prof Causes a Fuss

2009-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

UC Santa Barbara Sociology professor William Robinson, who also happens to be Jewish, causes a huge uproar on campus. Read this LA Times article to learn more.

Jon Stewart on AIPAC, espionage and corruption in congress.

2009-04-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Your Government Not at Work - Jane Harman Scandal

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Economic Crisis

First 100 Days

International Museum of Women: Online Exhibit

2009-03-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from my Palestine photo essay is up on the International Museum of Women website. Please visit this link and VOTE on my story! The more votes the story gets, the more attention it will get, and the more attention it will get, the more people will learn about the circumstances of occupied Palestine. Spread the word!

March 21, 2009: Footage of Chaos

2009-03-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

This video begins in the middle of a chaotic period between two majorly violent altercations between police and demonstrators. The video also captures the commencement of the last major violent event, the arrest of the young man who is pictured in my previous posts face down underneath three cops.

It also gives a good view of how the police completely closed off this small area by flanking us from all sides, thus trapping us.

No Justice No Peace

2009-03-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

There are no words to describe the feeling of adrenaline spiking through your system. There are no words to describe the feeling of being pushed by a police officer, someone who is paid with your tax dollars to serve and protect you. Today in San Francisco, what started out as a peaceful demonstration against war and oppression rapidly escalated into a violent clash between aggressive riot police and the substantially outnumbered and unarmed civilian demonstrators. The following is my account of what I witnessed and what happened to me today.

I have been attending protests for my entire life. Until today I had never been pushed, shoved, charged, or otherwise aggressively touched by a police officer. At the very beginning of the march I was wandering in and out of the street as I (and every other photographer for that matter) normally do when photographing at such events, when all of a sudden a police officer came up behind me, placed both his hands on my shoulders and gave me a very firm push off the sidewalk and into the street. Since the street was full of demonstrators, I stumbled into another person. I turned around just in time for him to say "Either walk in the street or walk on the sidewalk, you can't walk between us." ("Us" refers to the flanking line of police who walk alongside the demonstrators to keep them contained). Since the street was full of people, I was still within arms reach of the officer. I told him not to touch me again and that I was trying to enter the crowd. As I was trying to avoid walking into several people and their flags, the officer grabbed my arm and pushed me into the crowd again. I yelled at him to let go of me, took his picture and made my way to the other side of street and towards the back of the crowd so as not to encounter him again.

Several blocks later, I came upon a line of police on dirt bikes. I walked along side the cluster of dirt-bike cops, until I was standing in front of them, but still marching with the demonstration. The moment after I took this picture, the cop on the right hand side suddenly revved his engine and drove straight towards me, with the other two cops next to him following suit. I jumped out of the way as they sped off directly through the path of where I had been standing.

Later on at the rally at Civic Center where the march ended, a group of Palestinian American demonstrators made their way towards the counter protesters. I was curious to see how this would pan out, and since there were at least 30 other people in the designated "no protest zone" (the open street between the ANSWER protest and the counter protest, also the police' favorite hang out), I knowingly stepped off the curb and into a volatile situation. The Palestinian American demonstrators were being corralled by the police and escorted back onto the Civic Center lawn. I managed to take a few pictures before a large policeman came right up to my face, put his hands on my shoulders and proceeded to push me backwards towards the sidewalk, all the while yelling in my face: "Get back! Get back!" I told him to let go of me and I took several large steps back, but he kept advancing and pushing on my arms and shoulders. I yanked my arm away from his grip, yelled at him to stop pushing me and jumped behind the metal fencing that lined the sidewalk. At this point I was so angered by the previous events that I could not resist turning around to call him a pig before I disappeared through the crowd.

Several minutes later, chaos broke out. A young boy who was between 8 and 10 years old was being arrested by the police. I didn't actually see what happened that caused the police to single him out, but I watched as he stood crying between two police officers and two ANSWER organizers who were arguing about whether or not he was going to be arrested.

Meanwhile the crowd of demonstrators who were watching this unfold began yelling and chanting for his release. After about one minute of chanting, the riot police suddenly began charging the crowd with their batons. The police were all yelling "Get back! Get on the sidewalk! NOW!" All while pushing people with their batons. Because there was an old subway entrance on the edge of the sidewalk, there was no place for people to go even if they could have stepped back. The police proceeded to knock people over and violently shove them up against the metal fence of the old subway entrance. There were several demonstrators on the ground, the police were pushing against the demonstrators and the demonstrators were pushing back at the police. People were screaming, cops were swarming around us, and once again a police officer was yelling in my face and pushing me back.

This mob scene lasted for about 45 minutes as demonstrators and police continued to push against each other, disperse, regroup, and push some more. In the end, the demonstrators triumphed by holding their ground in their right to free assembly and freedom of speech. They chanted "Police go home!" For several minutes until the police began to retreat and reposition themselves across the street.

All in all I couldn't help but feel discouraged. How are we supposed to feel safe when the people who are responsible for our safety are intimidating and hurting us? How are we supposed to exercise our constitutional rights when there is a government police force standing by to punish us for it? Who are these people who make up the San Francisco Police Department, and every police department for that matter, who see demonstrators as a menace that needs to be physically squashed for the good of society? Where is the justice?? Where is the peace??

March 21, 2009: 6th Anniversary of Iraq War, Protest San Francisco

2009-03-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

Performance Art by Mothers in Mourning, a Bay Area peace group.

A protester doles out Deception Dollars.

Across the street a counter protest in support of Israel sits comfortably behind their police barricade.

The child in the above photo was about to be arrested by SF Police. After several minutes of arguing, protesters and the police physically clashed. People watched in horror as protesters were slammed against the metal fencing.

The young man in the photo below was trying to reason with a police officer who was violently pushing people. The police clearly felt threatened and proceeded to arrest him. Note the number of police offers involved in the arrest of one individual.

Where is the justice? Where is the peace?

Protest for Palestine, San Francisco, January 2009

2009-01-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

ELECTION DAY 2008

2008-11-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

My earliest election day memory is from 1988. I was five years old and I remember standing in line in front of the huge white church on Mass Ave just outside of Porter Square. It was either bitterly cold or I was too small to withstand standing in line on a cold November evening. Either way, I remember being cold. But I remember the church basement being warm, and playing with the curtain inside the polling booth while my mom filled out her ballot. Another memory from around the same time is being in my kindergarten classroom while my classmates chanted "BUSH BUSH BUSH!" over and over again. The excitement of indoctrinated kindergartner's has stuck with me my entire life, and this, other than being bullied a lot in kindergarten, is one of my strongest memories from that year.

For years I couldn't understand why kindergartner's at a private hippie-centric-Quaker elementary school in ultra-liberal Cambridge, Massachusetts were so possessed by the Bush administration, especially given the fact that Bush's opponent was the current Democratic Governor of their home state (Michael Dukakis). I'm still fuzzy on the details of this, but I can only imagine that it was his chilly and steely-jawed New England personality that left the voters feeling cold that election season. Problems similar to John Kerry's run in 2004, who coincidentally was Dukasis' Lieutenant Governor. Oh you nostalgic Massholes... No one can be JFK. Not even JFK could be JFK. Remember? He died trying.

I digress.

The real purpose of this post is to discuss VOTING. My point being, that you should do it. Not voting is not only neglectful of your rights and responsibilities as a citizen, but it's insulting to those who have worked so hard to grant you the opportunity to vote (Suffrage, anyone?). It's not my place to tell you who or what to vote for, but especially given the gravity of this election in California, I cannot help but take it as a personal insult if you do not vote. So if you're reading this, please just vote.

Guns, Massachusetts Death

2008-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

This used to be true. Several years ago this billboard straddled the a highway in Boston, when Massachusetts boasted one of the lowest rates of gun deaths in the nation. But about 3 years ago something changed. I'm not exactly sure on the year, but I think it was the summer of 2005 when the murder rate (specifically with the use of guns) had sky rocketed to the point of random kids walking down the streets of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan were getting picked off. I'm not talking teenagers here, I'm talking 8 and 9 year olds. Since leaving Massachusetts I haven't been keeping tabs on gun control laws and murder rates there, but this lasted news article brought me back to that worry:

Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show.

I don't feel like making a case for gun control because I myself am still not sure how I feel about it. All I know is that I don't think the authors of the second amendment had this in mind when they wrote it into the constitution.

Global Warming Hits Home

2008-10-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

My Dear Walden.

The Trouble with Barbarism, or, Why I'm Not a Fan of Public Executions

2008-10-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I read an article similar to this one about how Iran will cease it's executions of juvenile "offenders." Today while reading this BBC article on a woman's public stoning in Somalia made me twice as pissed off.

Seriously. Infidelity sucks for most people. But it by no means warrants capital punishment. If you're looking for a reason to add insult to injury in this scenario, I find that particular method of execution to be one of the most reprehensible. That's not to say that the United States practices more "dignified" human rights abuses, because we all know that lethal injection is no picnic. But at least it gives the impression of benevolence in it's passivity and privacy. Stoning someone is barbaric, torturous, and not to mention a bloody mess. How can the people assigned the task of such an act live with their actions? Not only do they have to conjure up a dark, violent and down right psychopathic side of themselves to get the job done, but this kind of behavior is condoned by the state and all the people who show up to watch. "Please be a maniacal killer. It's for the good of society."

It disgusts me.

Good Old Fashioned American Racism

2008-10-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant some Americans are. So ignorant in fact that they don't even realize how blatantly racist their views are. In many ways I think this country is extremely fortunate that the deep seeded bigotry that has been stifled since the Civil Rights Movement (maybe even as early as the Civil War) is being uprooted, slammed onto the dinner table and served up on the silver platter of politics. Maybe now that people are actually being forced to recognize their bigotry they can start to unlearn it. Or, if those old dogs can't learn new tricks, maybe their kids will recoil in horror at their parent's views and grow to be more accepting and open minded...

If you're wondering where this rant originates from, check this NPR clip on McCain's latest racist fumble for the back story. It's hilarious to me that this woman is so terrified of Arabs that the biggest insult she can think of slash reason for her distrust in Obama is that he is one (or so she thinks). And what's even more fun is that McCain validates her use of the "Arab" as a negative label. Bravo, McCain. you're just as ignorant as your contingents.

Gore/Lieberman, The Final Chapter

2008-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ok. Think back to Fall 2001, first year at Smith College. Anyone who knew me then knew that I had many doubts about the Gore/Lieberman ticket, and I engaged myself in several heated arguments on why it was better to vote Green in 2000 than to vote Gore/Lieberman. The crux of my argument was based on what the future of US foreign policy would hold at the hands of a right wing Zionist* with a penchant for domestic centrism. Please, allow me to gloat for just a tiny moment.

Here we have senator Joe Lieberman, former Democratic Veep candidate, giving one of the first speeches of the 2008 Republican National Convention. I knew he was a traitor. A No good low down dirty wolf in sheep's clothing. Shall I continue? I mean really. Does he think liberals are that stupid? At least part of me feels a little smug at the fact that he is now outed as the two-faced, closeted neocon that he actually is.

*Here are a few examples of Lieberman's not so subtle Zionist leanings.

Kucinich DNC 2008

2008-08-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Code Pink Vs. The Fuzz, Denver 2008

2008-08-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

After Palestine: A Year in Review

2008-07-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Exactly a year ago I was on a road trip through Northern Israel. Two days worth of the Galilee, one day in the Golan. It's been on my mind quite frequently this week, a small anniversary of sorts. My thoughts wander to Palestine and start to lose myself momentarily in escapist daydreams.

Coincidentally, I was cleaning the darkroom earlier in the week and stumbled upon a box of "backstory" prints. Meaning, the mass of work prints I made but never chose for the smaller portfolio. Strange stuff. Makes me want to re-evaluate the final cut. Some of them I barely recognize. I mean, yes, I recognize the location, the scene, the memory associated with it, but as an image that I have made, one that I have ownership of, I stylistically don't recognize it. They are my moments of attraction. My moments of curiosity. Moments of sadness, moments of joy. Outrage. Wonder. And they're weird.

I was also reminded of how magical some of my time there was. I think the most successful attempt to document that magic was in the holga portraits of Nicole. She was chasing a white moth through an ivy coated courtyard in Bethlehem. Shy, smart, elegant and Capricorn.

The thought of going back is simultaneously tantalizing and anxiety inducing. What would going back accomplish? How are these photographs helpful to anyone? Can I afford to travel that long and far? And even if I get all the way there, can I afford film? Is film necessary? Color or black and white? 35 or 2 and a quarter? And so on and so forth.

In other news: My Palestine mini essay popped up on Electronic Intifada dot com. Here is the direct link.

Dear Golan: I Love You

2008-06-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

This BBC article makes me miss the Golan Heights. It was by far one of the most beautiful places on my trip last summer. Hot, humid, well irrigated, fertile, and highly elevated, it is a key strategy point in Israel's geopolitics. It's sad to see the Sea of Galilee being depleted to support Israel's colonialist program.

Personally, I think the saddest part about the whole situation (not mentioned in this article) is the military shrine slash children's playground I visited last summer. I stood in awe for about 30 minutes watching Israeli settler's children pose next to the silhouettes of Israeli soldiers shooting off into the distance, proud of their history of forceful seizure and conquest.

Iranian Gender Bender

2008-05-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

I recently saw Majid Majid's (The Color of Paradise, Children of Heaven)latest film, Baran, and I was pleasantly surprised by the rampant gender bending, homo-eroticism and all around examination of forbidden desire. If Unveiled is to Iran what Boys Don't Cry is to the US, then Baran is like Iran's version of The Birdcage/La Cage Aux Folles.

If you like Iranian cinema and you've got a Queer edge, check out Baran. Bonus points for parallels to the current US immigration debate.

Code Pink/Pie in the Face

2008-05-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

CODE PINK vs. Gen. PETRAEUS:

AND ON A LIGHTER NOTE:

Why Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face...
(courtesy of Greenwash Guerrillas)

* because of his sickeningly cheery applaud for free market capitalism's conquest of the planet

* for telling the world that the free market and techno fixes can save us from climate change. From carbon trading to biofuels, these distractions are dangerous in and of themselves, while encouraging inaction with respect to the true problems at hand.

* for helping turn environmentalism into a fake plastic consumer product for the privileged

* For his long-standing support for the US Occupation of Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Such committed support to the US War Machine and its proxy states overseas cannot be masked behind any twisted mask of "green" - the US Military is the largest single emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

* for his pure arrogance.
On behalf of the earth and all true environmentalists -- we, the Greenwash Guerrillas, declare Thomas Friedman's "Green" as fake and toxic to human and planetary health as the cool-whip covering his face.

Unhappy Birthday

2008-05-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

This week marks the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel. When the exact day is, I can't quite be sure, possibly tomorrow. I seem to have e mental block when it comes to Israel's "holidays."

Sixty years of US sponsored ethnic cleansing. Sixty years of postmodern colonization. Sixty years of theft, rape, bigotry, and violence. Sixty years of murder. Sixty years of getting away with it all.

Meanwhile, Lebanon is up in flames again.

What an acrid juxtaposition. Lebanon vs. Israel: two ships passing in the night. One sinking under rapid fire, the other blindly headed towards the nearest proverbial iceberg.

No Time To Celebrate, San Francisco

2008-05-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,
Apologies for the radio silence of late. Been wrapped up in photo mode for a while.

Below is a video by No Time To Celebrate, a national Jewish org for the liberation of Palestine. The video is about their recent SF activities.

Review: Gaza Strip: A Documentary Film by James Longley

2008-03-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

Although seriously out of date by now, this film offers a glimpse of the unthinkably morbid reality of living and dying in the Gaza Strip. Filmed in 2001, this documentary depicts the situation while Gaza was still inhabited by Israeli settlers, and is primarily told from the perspective of a thirteen year old boy; a child who has the face of a fifty year old man. Not for the faint of heart, the footage is extremely graphic and unnerving. That said, in order to fathom the severity of the plight of Palestinians it is necessary to see the atrocities that have occurred and that continue to occur in Gaza.

More than seeing the image of a disemboweled child --the victim of a bomb placed inside a boxing glove given to him by the IDF-- it is hearing a nine year old boy speak of wishing for death that is more upsetting to me. In seeing this film I am reminded of the despair I felt while visiting Hebron. Hearing children speak of wanting to die so that they can enter paradise is astonishing to me, especially given the fact that if it were not for the Occupation, Gaza would in fact be paradise. The lush Mediterranean seashore is the backdrop for this carnage, and it is a strange contrast to the destruction and bloodshed of this war.

Longley uses several creative devices to illustrate the chaos of air strikes, shoot outs and house demolitions, often speeding up footage and making drastic and rapid cuts in order to mimic the feeling of disjointedness and confusion experienced by people in the film. This documentary is one part experimental narrative to two parts cinema verite and the resulting document is both enchanting and moving in its elucidation of Gazan reality.

To me you're just some faggy dictator and I need a candidate with soul power

2008-03-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

Like some pop-crazed obsessive tweenage fanatic, last night I spent hours refreshing my NY Times homepage every 57.35 seconds or so to intercept the latest word on the Texas Two Step. First of all, how could you not love a reality TV marathon called the Texas Two Step? Secondly, why do I still count myself as an undecided voter despite the fact that I've already voted in my state's primary?

In other news, Bush endorses McCain. Big surprise.

What I don't understand is why we are not impeaching this monomaniacal warmongering corporate puppet of a president? So what if we only have 9 months left of his administration. It's the principle of the matter. This man must know that he has betrayed the trust of this nation and that he has to pay for it. I would love to see him tarred and feathered, but somehow I feel like that wont fly among the centrists out there.

But still, our economy is in shambles, while the Iraq war is costing us $275 million per day. That's $11 million per hour. Or approximately $4,100 per household, which ironically is the exact amount of debt I have accrued since the start of the war. And yet, we have dug ourselves into a mass grave in Iraq along with 700,000 to 1 million Iraqis, our troops are slowly being picked off one-by-one, and the Bush administration is gleefully aiming its guns at Iran. Barring the implosion of the global economy and a worldwide anarchist revolution, there seems to be no end in sight.

I'm trying to figure out a way to lead this post in a less defeatist direction, but I just can't seem to muster up the optimism.

Living Hell in Gaza, Media Bias & the Revolution

2008-02-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago when the Gaza meltdown was in its early stages, the boarder barrier between Gaza and Egypt was breached by sheer manpower. Nearly 700,000 people crossed into Egypt to buy essential supplies like food staples, oil, water, batteries, toilet paper and anything else they could carry home with them. There's even this photo of a cow being hoisted over the rubble to be deposited on the Gaza side.

The day that the boarder crossing story broke I received several e mails and one frantic phone call asking my opinion on the matter. "What the hell is going on in Gaza??" was the hysterical question being posed to me. "Well," I explained calmly, "this is what happens when you have 1.5 million starving people with no freedom of movement." I mean, I'd be pretty cranky too if I didn't have any toilet paper.

However, with this new act of mass civil disobedience by the Gazans I knew there would be great trouble on the horizon. And trouble on the horizon in the context of Palestine almost always means excessive bloodshed. The current air strikes in Gaza have killed 30 people in the last 24 hours, not to mention creating mass chaos and urban destruction.

What is most horrifying to me is the disparity between domestic reportage on the issue versus international news reports. This New York Times article on the matter focuses on the sole Israeli casualty while only mentioning the Palestinian tole in passing. This BBC article is much more even handed. Also here's a BBC video. I know better than to naively believe in good old fashioned American reportage on issues surrounding unpopular wars and conflicts, but still can't help but feel outraged. Especially for all those times that people would backhandedly accuse me of cultural and editorial ignorance for not reading the New York Times. Sorry, bitches. I'm a BBC girl.

All this in conjunction with the USS Cole warship being deployed to the Lebanese coastline and Turkish troops invading Iraq, it looks to me like we are poised for a serious shit storm. Last July I was walking through the streets of Nazareth in northern Israel eating Turksih delight and watching Israeli fighter jets cruise overhead, their mammoth engines vibrating the wrapper of my candy. I turned to my friend Rula, a Palestinian resident of Nazareth and asked her how she felt about the militarized airspace. She then broke out into a monologue of how ever since the Lebanon war of 2006 there has been a drastic increase in paranoia in Northern Israel. "It's just a matter of time before we are at all-out war with all our neighbors." She seemed totally convinced of this statement, like she was mentally bracing herself for the looming impact.

"Walla?" ("Really" in Arabic) I asked, questioning her certainty.

"Walla." She said, squinting into the noontime sun. And with that she grabbed my hand: "Oh look, this is my favorite bar!" I was speechless at her juxtaposed reality.

So while Gaza is slowly blasted to pieces, Iraq plays reluctant host to more unwanted military, and the US readies its mobile war machines, I can't help but think that the worst has yet to come. With the US housing market collapsing and consumer debt looming large, I am just waiting for the day that I wake up to the sounds of riotous global Revolution. The closest I came to witnessing it in my lifetime was on March 15, 2003 while I was visiting the Bay Area on spring break. The US had just declared war on Iraq and I was sitting in my sister's Oakland apartment watching a helicopter's video of cops in riot gear chasing down a spontaneous mass protest in downtown San Francisco.

So much for freedom of assembly.

I sat glued to the TV watching aerial news coverage of the protest for nearly two hours. I have yet to see live news coverage like that since.

Palestine & Palestinians: Cultural Survival Amidst a Ravaged Geography

2008-02-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

To most Americans, Palestine is a place that simply does not exist—yet exists enough to produce a faceless or generic enemy. A dangerous and unwelcoming land, a breeding ground for fundamentalist Islam, teeming with angry anti-American Jihadists, Palestine is, in the American imagination, a landscape devoid of culture and joy. Or at least this is what the dominant political ideologues of the Western superpowers want the world to believe. Growing up half-Palestinian in the United States I have been fighting to disprove these assumptions my entire life. Whether trying to reassure my peers in childhood that my family is not composed of terrorists, or repeatedly having to explain the difference between Palestine and Pakistan, not a week has gone by in my life in which I do not have to clarify misnomers regarding my heritage. In many ways this project is a labor of love with regards to my personal struggle with my identity, as well as an homage to my family and community.

As a Palestinian American I am in a unique position to produce imagery that can dispel much of the misinformation and half-formed beliefs that circulate about Palestine and the Palestinian people. In documenting daily life under the Israeli Occupation, I produced images of the West Bank that are a testament to the Palestinian people themselves, as well as to the broken land that they desperately try to maintain. These photographs are about family, geography, childhood, food and faith. They are about maintaining normalcy in the midst of strife and grief and in doing so these photographs create a document of cultural survival. Palestine is a landscape bursting with open faces, faces that are eager to tell their stories of pain and devastation, but most importantly, their stories of hope. It is these faces that will tell the greatest story of Palestine and I seek to preserve them in photographic history. In addition, it is my hope that the dissemination of the Palestinian story will foster greater global support for a Palestinian state and therefore promote a lasting peace.

And yet, these photographs stray from the traditional tract of imagery produced in present day photojournalism, mainly because they are lacking in overt political expression. I did not photograph political groups, demonstrations, protests, or stone throwing scrimmages. I did not photograph activity surrounding Hamas, Fatah, or any other political organizations. I did not photograph the Intifada. On the contrary, I chose a more domestic and intimate approach towards Palestinians living under occupation so that the humanity of this population can be seen without the controversial politics obstructing the viewer's opinion. I chose people over politics in the hope that the messages of social justice and equality will ring truer than those of ideology or bigotry.

It is my hope that the continued creation of beautiful and positive images of Palestine and Palestinians will help westerners to see that this population is not solely composed of suicide bombers and fundamentalists, but that these are a people who are proud of their cultural traditions, and are struggling to maintain them along with their dignity. That these people, demonized and rejected by the world for so long, are capable and worthy of great amounts of beauty. I seek to correct the myths about Palestine and Palestinians by revealing the lives of the people who are surviving within this disputed, cherished, and ravaged geography.

Did you enjoy this piece? Would you like to see it published? Please vote for its inclusion in JPG Magazine by clicking on the link below!

Keep the change, ya filthy animal!

2008-02-12T22:10:00.001-08:00

This was the sample ballot in San Francisco from Super Tuesday. Don't we all wish....

With Barack Obama "in the lead" with 5 delegate votes more than Hillary, it is clear that this country's democrats are poised for a serious shake up in the next 4 years. Suffering from Bush-burnout, watching this Clinton/Obama showdown is like watching Liberal American Gladiators: endlessly exciting and entertaining. But it's not clear who exactly is the underdog. I would say Obama is the underdog considering that Hillary represents "the establishment" by way of her previous stint in Washington. But she's also a pretty righteous babe. And as a fellow Women's college alum, I can't help but feel pretty pleased to see her run.

But Obama has serious potential to reorganize and mobilize this country. We are currently a nation trying to catch a falling knife and it doesn't look like there is much relief in sight. People are suffering instant homelessness as their homes are foreclosed on and the real estate vultures swoop in to profit on social devastation. The working people of this country need a break from the rules of the establishment. As someone who myself is (barely) scraping by in a turbulent economy, I can vouch for most people my age when I say that WE NEED CHANGE. Can ya spare a quarter?

So. After Clinton's "landslide" on Super Tuesday, Obama seems to be steadily surpassing her. Is this a tortoise and hair scenario? Possibly. Will it be a nail biter to the end? Most definitely.

Pop Media Fever

2008-02-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Philz for Clinton

2008-01-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Phil, Palestinian owner of Philz Coffee, endorses Hillary Clinton, as evidenced by the muy grande signage of the front windows.

When I asked Phil's son why he would choose a candidate who outwardly supports the Apartheid Wall, he shrugged and simply said "I'd rather have Bill."

Sigh.

Primary Colors

2008-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's Primary season here in the US of A and my blood pressure is up.

For those who haven't been watching (shame on you!) here is the summary thus far:

Kucinich has been excluded from the last 2 major debates.
Ron Paul is the "progressive" Republican's late-bloomer candidate.
Obama swept Iowa under the pretext of "change."
Clinton swept New Hampshire with the 2nd wave feminist stance of politics as "personal."

Ok. I must be honest. I would be pretty stoked to see a woman in the white house. Ditto for a biracial man (go half breeds!). Because let's face it, either way it's a massive shift of perspective, which is exactly what this country needs. However, the likelihood that this country will elect a woman to the white house is very slim. The Glass Ceiling is still here folks, and Obama has white, college educated, male democratic voters like putty in his hand, and those are the kind of people who go out and vote. A lot.

My underrepresented demographic presidential candidate fantasies aside: I don't trust either of them. I trust OBAMA a bit more because he (perhaps strategically) *abstained* in voting for or against the Iraq War troop surge. I'd like to think he wanted to vote against but feared the consequences come primary season.

CLINTON on the other hand. I just don't trust her. She talks the talk but never walks the walk, and her pockets are busting at the seems with lobby dollars (Israel, pharmaceuticals). She says she's anti-war, but her consistent voting in the senate says otherwise (she always votes for it! WTF, mate!?)

And then there's the dyke line. I can't tell you how many queer woman I have spoken to in San Francisco who *actually* believe that deep down inside Hillary is a progressive dem, who once in office will, ahem, fuck shit up. Sure, I'd like to believe that too, girls, but the chances are slim, given her past voting record in the senate. Not to mention, anyone who publicly supports the Apartheid Wall is clearly not for peace in the Middle East. Plus, she said (on the Ellen show no less!) that she *doesn't* support gay marriage. She supports civil unions, but not marriage. Separate but equal. Yeah fucking right.

And yet, I have to continually fight this little voice inside me that says "go hillary" because my rational and progressive self feels so strongly about the actual numbers of her political history. What if Clinton actually is a progressive deep down inside? And why do I keep thinking that she might be? I harken back to the beginning of the 2nd Intifada. It's something that's stuck with me for a long time that I haven't been able to forget. At one point Clinton publicly said that the Israeli bombing of Palestinian refugee camps was wrong, but within 24 hours had to issue a public apology about this statement to quiet lobby accusations of anti-semitism. I can't re-locate my source on this, but as soon as I find it I will post it.... Anyway, maybe she actually does have a conscience? Maybe she is just playing her political cards?

Either way, it's not what she feels. It's how she acts.

VOTE KUCINICH!!!

More from the Gilo Checkpoint

2007-09-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

All I can think about all day long is going back to Palestine.

Keep on Rockin in the Free World?

2007-09-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

It seems these days that censorship is promptly followed by police brutality in this supposed free speech loving country of mine. At the recommendation of my good friend Jacqui Shine (Berkeley, PhD Candidate, US History) I was in the midst of a media fast when this took place. I went without NPR, BBC, and PBS for 3 days (although I did keep reading my e mail updates from my listervs, and perused the NY Times front page on Wednesday...). But of course, during those three days more violence broke out in the West Bank, explosive assassinations took place in Lebanon, and a kid named Andrew Meyer experienced this:

Here's Amy Goodman's follow up from Democracy Now:

In the meantime, while talking on the phone with Devon (Boston) the other day, I realized that the primaries are rapidly approaching. The options are limited. And who's to say it wont be decided for us anyway. Regardless, I have yet to "choose" my "favorite."

More on church vs. state, sort of.

2007-09-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

For American Jews, Dissent Against Israel Has Become Mainstream.

The link above will take you to an excellent article by Tony Karon.

Nativity Church, Bethlehem

2007-09-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

1990 vs. 2007

Every wonder what happens to film when it goes through big bad X ray?

2007-09-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

On Walls...

2007-09-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Note to self: immediately after completion of Palestine essay, head to Mexico.

No joke. I'm beginning to think that maybe the only way to occupy my time after I have come down from the high that is this Palestine project, (and to keep myself busy while I restlessly wait for next summer when I will be able to travel to Palestine again) I will have to pursue a sister project on the US/Mexico "barrier," as it is referred to in some spheres.

There are so many politics at work in the erection of a structure that's sole purpose is to separate geographies, but more importantly, populations. Not a very hospitable or amicable mentality. Downright passive aggressive if you ask me. Leaning harder on the agressive side of things, though.

"And if you're feeling sinster go off and see a minister!" - Belle and Sebastian

2007-09-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

There was a very interesting segment on NPR's Fresh Air today featuring Stephen Walt, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who co-wrote the new book The Israel Lobby and US Forgien Policy. Walt's interview was followed by a rebuttal of sorts by Abraham Foxman of the Anti Defemation League who has written the book The Deadliest Lies in response to The Israel Lobby. I must say I haven't found myself chuckling out loud at such serious NPR discussions in, well, ever.

Terry Gross did an excellent job of asking probing questions of both interviewees, but what I found so comical was Foxman's choice of words in an attempt to sway opinion in his favor. His argument, summarized: "I'm not calling them anti-Semitic, I'm just saying that they have written a book with an argument that has traditionally been used by anti-Semites. It's sinister!!" I kid you not, I counted his use of the word sinister six times in a 20 minute interview, and that was only after I had noticed it enough to start counting!

To cultivate your own opinion on the matter, find out for yourself how Stephen Walt could be so sinister in the eyes of Abraham Foxman.

In other news, I've been accused once more of faithlessness. As my peers begin to slowly warm to the idea of religion and spirituality happily co-mingling, my discomfort becomes the loudest awkward silence in the room. Anytime someone mentions a visit to church or shule or even my sister's upcoming vision quest, I automatically begin to tune out. Is this a leftover survival mechanism from my days in Catholic school? Was I this close-minded about spirituality and religion before witnessing such contradictions in Palestine, or was it the blatant disconnect between faith and reality that I saw every day while I was there? I know my skepticism was rampant pre-Palestine, but in all honesty my faith had been on the upswing before my visit to the oPt. But now it seems to be at an all time low...

The Road to San Francisco is Paved with Intersectionality

2007-08-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to this recently:

Taliban Fabulous

How exciting is that?

Since returning to SF I've started to be more conscious of who (precisely, but only in an approximate way...) I am in the world. After moving to SF a year ago I was pretty immediately affirmed in my queerness. And by queerness I mean something more political than social, although the social seems to undoubtedly follow the political... or at least it seems so in this city.

Moving on. Queerness: affirmative. And in the weeks leading up to my departure for oPt I was thinking a lot about what it actually means for me to be half Palestinian. What exactly is the deal with my biracial status? Is it confusing for people? Is it confusing for myself? In visiting Palestine and returning to the States I have been massively affirmed in my participation in the identity of "Palestinian," and I phrased that vaguely on purpose b/c it' still a sort of vague thing for me, but I know for sure it exists. I am half Palestinian regardless of my status as an American citizen, and despite the status (or non status as it were) of the Palestinian state. Never was that more apparent than when someone actually said to me (and this was before my departure for oPt) "You're not Palestinian." Umm, actually I am, douche bag.

All this came to a head this week when I began to realized myself as a Queer Palestinian. Not just queer. Not Just Palestinian. I am a freakin San Francisco brunch special. Damn, I feel bona fide.

And this, folks, is why I love San Francisco. Because only now do I realized just how suffocated I was in Boston. Not allowed to express my Palestinian side, and not allowed to express my queer side because of my Palestinian side, it was like jail. But the bars were made of khaki and Wonder bread. Gross.

Culture Re-Shock

2007-08-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

You know, I remember on my way back to the States thinking to myself "Wow, I'm relieved to be going back to a place where I don't have to deal with the shebab on a daily basis." For those who don't know, shebab is Arabic for "young men." But most notably, the term shebab is used by women, mainly western women, in reference to the sexual harassment that occurs every day, all day long, in the streets of Jerusaelm, and many other cities.

For example:

Woman A: "How was your day?"

Woman B: "Fine, until I got groped by the shebab on my way home."

Most of the time the harassment is verbal, but sometimes it can be physical. My experience with the shebab was entirely verbal, ranging from "Hey sexy" to "Wanna fuck me?" It's not simply the words that are annoying, it's the entire manner in which it's said, with a decidedly disgusting look and a general vibe of nastiness. It also doesn't matter what a western woman is wearing. Simply based on the fact that she is western (we give off a very western vibe, regardless of dress) makes her a free target for harassment.

Anyway, in thinking I was going to be free from the shebab in the States, I was totally wrong. Somehow I had completely forgotten that the same bullshit happens to me on the streets of San Francisco nearly every day. I was just somehow more aware of it in Israel and Palestine, and somehow had gotten used to it in San Francisco. But now that I'm back and it's happening again, near my home, on my way to work, it feels much worse. Like it's loaded with even more disgust and injustice than before.

Additionally, how incredibly naive of me to think that I was returning to a somehow "more free" world. Reading my friend Amelia's blog today, with her post about her friend Alex's victimization at the hands of the police in Providence, RI, I am reminded that there is just as much oppression and brutality in the United States as their is in Palestine. The only difference is that it is hidden much better and diffused throughout the population. One of the benefits of a large country is that it's much easier to hide the truth because people's memories weaken over long distances and news is lost via mass populations. Thankfully we have the internet.

The accompanying picture is an example of what happened in Providence this week. Here is an excerpt from Amelia's blog regarding what happened to Alex:

"That's my friend Alex Svoboda on the ground. North Providence police officers tackled and arrested her during a workers-rights protest. They broke her leg, dislocated her knee, and burst a blood vessel; she was sent to Rhode Island Hospital and underwent surgery on Sunday. She faces at least two more surgeries and extensive rehab before she can walk again; doctors are still unsure if she will ever fully recover.

Alex was charged, in her hospital bed, with three felony counts of assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. She remains in the ICU; her parents have flown in from Nebraska & a vigil will be held today. A protest is being scheduled by the Providence chapter of the IWW."

If you look closely you can see that Alex's knee is completely reversed. Her friend who is trying to see if she is okay is being maced by the police officer on top of Alex. All this force is in response to a peaceful protest for worker's rights.

Somehow I had forgotten that this exists here. Even though I spent my first week in Palestine endlessly trying to convince Palestinians who were bitter about Americans that poverty and oppression and racism does exist in the United States. In one conversation an older woman made a remark that all American women want to do is marry rich Arab men and steal all their money. I followed up with an extensive monologue on racism, sexism, domestic violence, welfare, consumerism, divorce, debt, consumerism, debt, consumerism, and failing educational systems, among other things. She was shocked. She had no idea that such problems existed in the States. Neither do most Americans...

And yet, I managed to forget all that by the end of my trip. And today, thankfully and unfortunately, I am reminded: no one is free until we are all free.

Photo credit: Jonathan McIntosh: http://jonathanmcintosh.smugmug.com/gallery/3293537

Hebron via You Tube

2007-08-11T13:34:00.001-07:00

In case you're wondering what it's like to take a walk through Hebron, here are a few examples.

and this last one is from the ISM:

Hebron, Masada Complex and God's vital signs

2007-08-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

In the wake of my trip to Palestine, especially after witnessing the extremism within the old city of Hebron, I read the recent news articles on Hebron with a particular sense of dread. While visiting Hebron I could feel the explosive tension in the air, as if someone was pumping pure oxygen into the city, just waiting for a match to be lit. The people holding the matches are the settlers and they have in fact begun to strike through their explosive supply.

The above is not simply a metaphor. According to Ha’aretz’s article dated August 7th, 2007, the extremist settlers are in fact using oxygen as a weapon. In an attempt to prevent the Supreme Court Justice eviction ruling from being carried out, hundreds of radical right wing Israeli settlers (“activists” as they are referred to in popular press) have barricaded themselves in apartments above the old city with oxygen tanks, oil drums, burning tires, and a who knows what other kinds of weapons. This, my friends is just one example of what is quite possible the most dangerous problem in occupied Palestine: the psycho-political condition amongst right wing Israeli’s known as the Masada Complex.

The Masada Complex is the name given to the behaviors of radical right wing Israelis whose justification for extremism is a comparison between their current situation and that of the Jews last stand at Masada, at the end of which the revolutionaries chose mass suicide (a mortal sin in Jewish faith) over defeat to the Romans. Essentially extremist Zionist settlers would kill themselves rather than succumb. A kind of entitlement complex and stubbornness so severe only the New Hampshire state motto comes close to encapsulating it: Live Free or Die! What’s more is that these people aren’t simply going to take their own lives. They’ll take anyone out within their blast radius. All of a sudden I can't help but think of Israel’s nuclear program… This is a seriously demented method of claiming the last word.

My encounter with the settlers of Hebron, although brief was mind numbingly intimidating. And although we spent not more than an hour walking through the settler’s stronghold, it felt like an eternity. Here is my recount of that day:

We entered the city of Hebron with expectations for the worst. And yet we really had no frame of reference for what “the worst” could be. Yes we were briefed in the possibilities of violence directed at us. Yes we were briefed in the emotional aftermath of such an experience. We were provided with all the essential information a person would need in entering a war zone. For all intents and purposes, we were prepared. But in actuality “the worst” was beyond anything our imaginations could have conjured. “The worst” was not an action, it was not a reaction, it was simply and utterly a guttural feeling. It was almost virginal, as if I had never experienced that complex rush of emotions emanating from deep within the pit of my insides. Or at least it was not something I had ever felt to such excess. It was acute. It was raw. It was carnal. While standing in the ghost town that is the old city of Hebron, being circled by an angry mob of Israeli settler children on bikes, Israeli military police standing by at gunpoint, for the first time in my life I understood the concept taught to me in my middle school health class: fight or flight.

And with that, an epiphany. It’s a amazing to me that the Palestinians who are living under occupation are doing so astonishingly nonviolently. They must be experiencing this same corporal, all encompassing, unstoppable, gut wrenching feeling every day. The only difference is that they do not have the same luxurious option of “flight” that I have as an international. And their option of “fight” is virtually void, since any movement they make other than out and out submission is considered a security threat. I am still in awe. How are they surviving? Where are they drawing their hope from? Is it faith, and if so, in what?

I myself was affirmed in only one thing while in the West Bank. And that is that I am not a Christian. And with that, I have no faith in God. Looking back at my journal entry for July 28th it is litered with hastily scrawled and clearly very upset musings. An excerpt:

“There is no God. This is a cruel joke by a power hungry evil force. We are entertainment for the universe. There is no God. There is no God. There is no God. I swear it, there is no God. How can I have faith in something that continually ignores Palestinian cries for help, and all other oppressed peoples? How can I have faith in something that is so vehemently worshiped in the most violent and violated holy site on earth? How can I have faith in a god who plays favorites between its three children? A God who had three books written in three different languages, and supposedly they’re all correct translations? I have faith in humanity. I have faith in science. I have faith in theory. And faith in its practice. I have faith in myself. And in all those working for peace. But I do not have faith in God. God is dead. God perished in the ruins of Jenin. God bled to death in the massacres of 48. God does not exist in this Holy land. Jesus is a clown. God is dead. These people, prisoners in their own homes. How do they live their lives from day to day? It is a wonder to me. They must have faith. In what, I don’t know. But they must have faith. I am weak and faithless, weak and faithless, weak and faithless...”

Seeing Hebron was the most terrifying moment of my life. Looking back on this journal entry, it seems extreme. But at the time it felt futile and an inaccurate recording of the intensity around me. Do I really believe God is dead? I’m not sure. In that moment I did. I can’t say for certain, especially now that I’m back home, surrounded by creature comforts and privileged with hindsight. And is any of this relevant to my early ramblings on Masada Complex? Who’s to say. But for now it just has to be written down, before I file it away in the lock box that is my overcrowded memory.

Geopolitics to Biopolitics

2007-08-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

In reading Michael Sorkin's introduction to the collection of essays Against the Wall: Israel's Barrier to Peace I think I may have pinpointed my obsession with geography as a cultural theory. First of all, being born a Capricorn, earth is my element which could account for my insistence on having both my feet firmly on the ground at all times. Secondly, given the perpetual statelessness of Palestine, and with it geographic insecurity, I can only imagine that I must have internalized the entire geopolitic of Palestine.

Back to Michael Sorkin. An architect and urban planner, he has excellent insight into how the wall forces a transformation of the occupation from geopolitics to biopolitics. He writes: "The wall --in its relentless shrinking of Palestinian inhabitation, mobility, and security-- imposes the occupation as a form of house arrest, reducing Palestinians to the nationhood of their own bodies --a forced bio-politics and a perverse twist on the settler subject whose body confers nationality on any territory which it passes."

I find this especially alarming reading this from an American perspective, a country whose administration simultaneously funds the wall and seeks to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling. I'm not sure why this connection is being so strongly made in my head. Perhaps because in the United States personal privacy is a constitutional right (in this example meant to protect a persons right to socio-biological choices) supposedly impenetrable by the state. Yet in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories) the Israeli occupation imposes a kind of privacy so severe it results in total geographic, civic, and bio-social isolation. This thought still feels convoluted, but maybe I will find some reading in Against the Wall to confirm this hunch.

What's more is that in reading Sorkin's intro and looking at the photographic documents that accompany it, I couldn't help but think of how fruitless most writings on and photographs of the wall are. I had seen countless pictures of the wall and read numerous articles on it, but it wasn't until I was standing in the shadow of the wall, my five feet six inches completely dwarfed by the 30 feet of concrete that towered over me, not to mention the five extra feet of the 1984-esque watchtowers that loom like giant robotic prison guards, that I actrually felt the impact of the wall. I have no doubt that any photographs I have taken of the wall will not convey the utter despair I felt in standing next to this behemoth of war. The psychological impact is astounding. When I lived in New England I complained about Seasonal Affective Disorder. In thinking of that now I feel absurd. Welcome to Palestine, a place where the sun is eclipsed by concrete. Now I can't help but think to myself: "try explaining S.A.D. to Palestinians. They would most likely laugh in your face that you have the luxury to complain about the weather."

Gilo Checkpoint, Bethlehem, Palestine.

2007-08-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Made by Ronin of EAPPI