Susan Muaddi Darraj
Palestinian Americans learned from the best.
Palestinian Americans learned from the best.
Friday, August 23, 2024
The speech that Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American and Democrat, had hoped to give America at the DNC 2024
My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.
Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.
This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind.
But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.
They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.
But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength.
Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.
Mother Jones illustration; Photos courtesy of Noah Lanard and Nate Gowdy
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CNN:Children are drinking from puddles and wading through sewage pools, as Israel pummels water systems in Gaza
Guns swinging from their hips, two soldiers in black combat boots and green tactical clothing appear to wire explosives to pumps at the Canada Water reservoir in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Moments later, an orange blaze tears through the critical facility in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, as ribbons of grey smoke erupt into the sky.
The blast was captured in a now deleted video, which was reportedly shared by an Israeli soldier on Instagram and geolocated by CNN. Satellite imagery shows that the reservoir was damaged between July 26 and July 27. Destroyed buildings are visible in the surrounding area.
The reservoir could hold 3 million liters of water and was central to the treatment and distribution of water in the Rafah Governate, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), providing water for 150,000 people prior to October 7, when the war began...
Children are drinking from puddles and wading through sewage pools, as Israel pummels water systems in Gaza
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A Palestinian American’s Place Under the Democrats’ Big Tent? By Ta-Nehisi Coates in Vanity Fair
"Last summer I spent ten days traveling the lands under Israeli rule. What I saw was hauntingly familiar. For as sure as my ancestors were born into a country where none of them was the equal of any white man, Israel is a state where no Palestinian is ever the equal of any Jewish person. In Israel itself, I met with Palestinians who were nominally empowered, with the right to vote. But whereas their Jewish countrymen could pass on their citizenship to their non-Israeli spouses, these Palestinians could not pass on citizenship to their spouses born a few miles away, in the West Bank or Gaza. Moreover, discrimination against them was perfectly legal. Frequently they were the subject of outright racism, as when Netanyahu warned his country during the 2016 election that “the right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.”
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are packed onto an archipelago of land. There they have enjoyed local elections through the Palestinian Authority. But that authority is still subordinate to Israeli rule,
which Palestinians can neither vote for or against. Meanwhile, their
neighbors, Israeli settlers, enjoy the full benefits of Israeli
citizenship. And then there is Gaza, which had alarmed
human rights advocates and public-health officials well before last
October. For 17 years, the people of Gaza have been trapped by a
blockade that extends across air, sea, and land. Gaza is commonly
referred to as the largest open-air prison in the world, and it is here
that so many American bombs have been dropped.
Israel and its defenders often claim that it is the “only democracy in the Middle East.” But what I saw was an ethnocracy, where half the people are first-class citizens, and the other half are something less. And this is a system sponsored and endorsed by the United States of America. The endorsement is not contradictory. For most of its history, America too was an ethnocracy in democratic clothing. The ostensible triumph over that old system, which we call Jim Crow, is one of the most uplifting stories America tells itself, one that has been repeatedly invoked at the DNC. How odd I find it that a people, presently brutalized by a similar system, whose relatives are being erased by that system’s wanton violence, are also being erased from the stage."
A Palestinian American’s Place Under the Democrats’ Big Tent?
Though
the Uncommitted movement is lobbying to get a Palestinian American on
the main stage, the Harris campaign has not yet approved one. Will there
be a change before Thursday—and does the Democratic Party want that?
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"The way they talk about the Palestinians “finally realizing their dream” of dignity and self-determination like they haven’t spent years and billions of dollars obstructing that dream, like all we need is a TED talk on goal-setting and time management" Susan Muaddi Darraj
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| On social media, Rashida Tlaib, described the description of "joy" at the convention as "a false narrative". |
Susan Muaddi Darraj 
The way they talk about the Palestinians “finally realizing their dream” of dignity and self-determination like they haven’t spent years and billions of dollars obstructing that dream, like all we need is a TED talk on goal-setting and time management
Thursday, August 22, 2024
Israel just keeps widening the circle of 'terrorists': from Hamas to the entire Palestinian people, to the United Nations, to the International Court of Justice, to the International Criminal Court.
The question you should be asking is: How long before I'm declared a terrorist? Jonathan Cook
Dear America- Israel can not be trusted, and should not be subsidized
 |
"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty"
A powerful art piece by: farrincreates Palestine Online |
If you follow the right people and groups on social media (so far
mainly Instagram, X/Twitter, Tictoc) you will see testimonials and
witness accounts often including photographic proof and videos of what
the children of Palestine have been suffering through thanks to American
made bombs and bigotry on our part- and Israel.
We have a Holocaust Museum here in the United States which should be
leading the public outcry against Israel's cruel oppression and
displacement of the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine.
Instead this American museum along with most all American mainstream
media and America's elected leaders are dropping the proverbial ball,
day after day- for decades now, as our tax dollars are used to help
Israel harass and impoverish more indigenous Arabs.
Currently there is a bunch of RAH RAH RAH for our upcoming elections. Sadly no one uses their podiums to
1. Clearly call for freedom OF and FROM religion.
2. Stop aiding and abetting Israel's long-term and flagrant violations of international law and basic human rights.
We still have Freedom of Speech here in America, but we might not for long. So while you can, before it is too late please heed the signs: "NOT ANOTHER BOMB"; "Fund Schools not weapons" ; "Stop the Massacre in Gaza" ; "Israel is making the world unsafe" ; "Free Palestine"... and start caring about the very real plight and suffering of the men, women, and children of Palestine.
Israel can not be trusted, and should not be subsidized.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes
Germany's Berlin police raided and shut down a pro-Palestine event organised by a Jewish group in April 2024
Arwa Mahdawi: This war [on Palestine] isn’t just being waged with bombs, it’s being waged with “euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness” When you lay out what is happening in clear language, it is indefensible. So political language dresses all those dead and starving children up in euphemism.
CSM: ‘Waiting to see if I will survive’: A Gaza reporter caught in the war she’s covering ..."We no longer even bother to ask where humanity has gone."
An engineered genocide... Israel's genocide in Gaza isn't just about brutal mass murder, it's also about deliberately creating "conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of the population"
Send an honorable message far and wide- we believe in freedom of and from religion... and we believe in real justice, peace, and security for ALL !
Tisha B’Av is a day of immense Jewish sorrow... WE MOURN the 76-year ongoing NAKBA- the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, driven from their homes by violence
Palestinian Presidency holds the United States responsible for Israel’s massacre at Al-Tabi’in school 10 August 2024
Christian Zionism IS ANTISEMITISM
A Guardian report reveals that there are 60,000 Americans living in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as well as some 23,400 Americans serving in the Israeli army.
James J. Zogby: "Israel assassinates Hizbollah & Hamas leaders sabotaging ceasefire talks & goading Iran to retaliate...
Accusing peaceful pro-Palestine protesters of being "antisemitic" pleases Israel but it does not make any Jews any safer anywhere.
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Germany's Berlin police raided and shut down a pro-Palestine event organised by a Jewish group in April 2024
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| Berlin police raided and shut down a pro-Palestine event organised by a Jewish group in April [GETTY] |
Germany has implemented a crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations and cultural events since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza, last October, seeing the arrest of activists and the banning of protests.
An activist identified as 'Daria' by their lawyer will face a hearing at a district court in Berlin on Thursday on charges of the 'circulation of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations'... READ MORE https://www.newarab.com/news/germany-palestine-activist-faces-trial-river-sea
Second pro-Palestine activist faces trial in Germany for 'from river to sea' chant
German authorities have sought to suppress pro-Palestine activism in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza and its own contentious history towards Jewish people.
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Arwa Mahdawi: This war [on Palestine] isn’t just being waged with bombs, it’s being waged with “euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness” When you lay out what is happening in clear language, it is indefensible. So political language dresses all those dead and starving children up in euphemism.
 |
| If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy, wrote Orwell. That applies today more than ever |
Today, 78 years later, it feels just as relevant. Look, for example, at the carnage in Gaza and the West Bank. Look at the statements from Israeli leaders that clearly suggest genocidal intent. Look at the tragedies that barely make a dent in the public consciousness any more. This week, for example, an Israeli airstrike killed four-day-old twins, along with their mother and grandmother, when their father went to collect birth certificates in central Gaza. Look at the levels of brutality that barely seem to register any more: there is video evidence of the sexual abuse of Palestinians at a notorious Israeli military prison (though the more accurate term is “torture camp”) and, even with that evidence, we know there will be no real accountability.
Look at the dead. Nearly 40,000 people in Gaza are now dead, including nearly 15,000 children. When you look at the scale of devastation, it seems likely that those figures are an underestimate. Further, counting the dead is excruciatingly difficult: kids are being blown into fragments so small that their surviving relatives have to collect pieces of them in plastic bags. Then there are the tens and thousands more who are now dying from starvation, or facing a looming polio epidemic.
Look at the West Bank, meanwhile, where Israel has published plans for new settlements, which violate international law. Since 7 October, the Israeli army and settlers
have displaced 1,285 Palestinians and destroyed 641 structures in the
West Bank, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs. Ethnic cleansing is taking place before our
eyes.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/22/centrism-language-israel-gaza
Stop using the term ‘centrist’. It doesn’t mean what you think it does
Arwa Mahdawi Thu 22 Aug 2024
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CSM: ‘Waiting to see if I will survive’: A Gaza reporter caught in the war she’s covering ..."We no longer even bother to ask where humanity has gone."
 |
| Children jump between pools of sewage-contaminated water in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine August 15, 2024- Ghada Abdulfattah |
The video footage of the aftermath filled me with fear. The charred remains of the dead scattered in pieces. Rescuers carting off bodies in blankets and bags because they had neither stretchers nor ambulances. I wanted to scream. Why must we endure such hardship, when all we seek is a life of peace and dignity? The injustice left me feeling paralyzed.
Israel
said it had targeted Hamas militants, but more than 100 civilians were
killed in the attack, many of them women and children. “Why doesn’t
Israel just kill all of us together and rid the world of Gaza?” one of
my neighbors asked aloud in despair." READ MORE https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2024/0816/gaza-war-reporting-forced-evacuations
‘Waiting to see if I will survive’: A Gaza reporter caught in the war she’s covering
|
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip
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A story focused on
Ghada Abdulfattah, the Monitor’s Gaza correspondent, keeps her cool
when she reports. But sometimes she feels like screaming. In this
wrenching personal letter to readers, she voices her fear and fury at
the climate of death that poisons life in Gaza. Ordered to relocate yet
again, she cries from the heart: “Why must we endure such hardship? ...
Who will stop this war?”
Sunday, August 18, 2024
An engineered genocide... Israel's genocide in Gaza isn't just about brutal mass murder, it's also about deliberately creating "conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of the population"
Euro-Med Monitor
While we mainly focus on the staggering number of those killed & injured due to Israel’s attacks in #Gaza, it's crucial to recognise an even graver reality: nearly the entire population of 2.3M is enduring dire conditions deliberately orchestrated as part of the ongoing genocide
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Maha Hussaini @MahaGaza An engineered genocide |