Star Street Bethlehem Palestine

Post by Maysoon Zayid.

How do we want to define feminism in 2014?

 "The fourth panelist, Maysoon Zayid, an Arab-American comedian and activist of Palestinian descent who has cerebral palsy, talked about how feminism is part of everything else she stands for: “I’m disabled. I’m a woman, I’m Muslim and I’m from New Jersey [laughter from the audience]. The idea that ‘feminism’ is a bad word never occurred to me.”  Wearing heels, tight-fitting beige pants and a flowing black blouse, Zayid, who co-founded both the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and an organization that helps disabled and wounded refugee children, said she doesn’t worry about being the only woman to make a mark. She keeps advocating for the causes that are important to her, including  expanding the visibility of disabled people in entertainment.

Next Fiorina asked the panelists what has to happen in order for women to achieve equality.
Brohi talked about the need for women to connect with one another and how she appreciated being a panelist. “I never imagined myself being on a stage like all of you here.”

Then Zayid broke in and said that one of the most important issues for her is violence against women. She condemned so-called honor killings, saying we should change the term because there is no “honor” in a husband killing a wife or a father killing a daughter."

http://newsle.com/article/0/150154802/#reloaded

 Forbes Women's Summit

Feminism Redefined

by Susan Adams  

Forbes Staff  5/15/2014

How do we want to define feminism in 2014? In the first panel discussion at the second annual FORBES Women’s Summit this morning, a four-woman slate moderated by former Hewlett-Packard HPQ -0.85% CEO Carly Fiorina, gave personal answers to Fiorina’s thoughtful questions. The conclusions: Women should reclaim the term and think of it as the struggle for gender equality, while looking to their own personal experience for strength....READ MORE

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Palestine is secular... "I don’t want sheets separating streets in Jerusalem and I don’t want gender-segregated schools. I don't advocate for a Muslim state, a Christian state, a Jewish state, or a Scientologist state, but rather for a state with equality for all regardless of gender or faith..."

"... The Palestine I know is a place where Christians and Muslims are equal. My mother, a Muslim village girl, attended a Catholic girls’ school in Ramallah, and my refugee husband spent the Second Intifada side by side with his Christian brothers from Bethlehem. Some areas are conservative, some are not. My mom wore mini-dresses in the 1960's and I have run around our hood in tank tops my whole life. Palestine is secular. Whether Hamas likes it or not, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Charter states just that, and states that the only body allowed to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians is the PLO. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has control over every aspect of Palestinians' daily lives, from water access to the right to life. Hamas has no actual authority, yet they keep forcing new laws." Maysoon Zayid

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/04/don-t-tread-on-my-hair-hamas.html

The author's mother is pictured wearing one of her mini-dresses in Palestine in 1961. (Courtesy of Maysoon Zayid)

Don’t Tread On My Hair, Hamas

Rolling Stone The Funny Side: Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian Muslim with cerebral palsy from New Jersey. So, naturally, she became a stand-up comedian

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://www.rollingstoneme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1146Photo Credit: Maysoon Zayid

The Funny Side

Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian Muslim with cerebral palsy from New Jersey. So, naturally, she became a stand-up comedian

By Janne Louise Andersen

She never gets nervous. yet she shakes all the time. “A bit like Shakira, a bit like Arafat,” as she puts it. To those not familiar with her, watching the comedian Maysoon Zayid on stage or on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown show on Current TV, the shaking and the twitching could appear to be serious stage fright – either that or she’s drunk.

Either would be unlikely, since Zayid is a Muslim, as well as an experienced stand-up comedian. Listening to the 33 year-old Palestinian-American combating stereotypes of Islam and Arabs with humor, touching on American political affairs, verbally frying male-dominated Hollywood, or addressing the question of Palestine and Israel, it’s hard to get a handle on her, and some come away asking, “What’s the deal with this Maysoon Zayid?”

The deal is this...READ MORE

Fighting Islamophobia with jokes

“Most people are more open-minded and not that concerned about Muslims,” Obeidallah said. “It’s really the fringe that’s driving that narrative.”
Omar Elba, Dean Obeidallah, Negin Farsad, Maysoon Zayid.

Fighting Islamophobia with jokes

VIDEO | In an era of increased suspicion of Muslim Americans, four comedians take their show on the road through the South to help dispel rumors.

• Muslim American comics stand up for tolerance

In Growing Gardens for Palestine... A Wonderful Gala: ATFP 2011 Honoring Heritage & Embracing Originality

Growing Gardens for Palestine: A Wonderful Gala: ATFP 2011 Honoring Heritage & Embracing Originality

American Task Force on Palestine President Ziad J. Asali: "The pursuit of peace, independence and reform is not a project for cowards..."

Dr. Asali was describing the keynote speaker Salam Fayyad with those words, but I think his words describe everyone attending and supporting the ATFP Gala.

It takes real courage to work towards actually building a real Palestinian state in today's world... AND the Gala was TOTALLY crowded with people, with quiet heroes who have been doing what they can each in their own way to help do exactly that.

There was much to celebrate and enjoy at this year's ATFP Gala.

A good summary of the event itself can be found on ATFP 's website

ATFP Gala Featuring PM Fayyad Highlights Quest for Peace, Palestinian-American Achievements

My favorite speech was by Hanan Karaman Munayyer's daughter Maha Munayyer Kabbash who spoke of her mother's work to collect and preserve Palestinian embroidery.

There was a breathtakingly beautiful display of those traditional Palestinian dresses and Hanan Karaman Munayyer's most recent book was on display too- it is huge!

TRADITIONAL PALESTINIAN COSTUME

Thankfully there are visionaries like Hanan Karaman Munayyer who have carefully collected and preserved the beauty of Palestine for Palestine, to share with all the world.

Thankfully there are also gifted musicians who help lift our spirits with their enchanting music....

Special Performance by Simon Shaheen and Ensemble- A concert of Arab vocal and instrumental music

Thankfully there are also people with delightful senses of humor, to help lighten the mood as we struggle against all odds to do what we can for Palestine in these very difficult times.

Dean Obeidallah and Maysoon Zayid and Omar Baddar ATFP Gala table #33

The crowd at ATFP's Gala was full of talented and highly competent people. Far too many to mention all of them. A very impressive crowd indeed. My husband Jaffar and I enjoyed sitting at table #33 with Hussein Ibish. Ibish is a brilliant thinker and speaker. Dean Obeidallah, a charismatic comic, and Omar Baddar, a talented young writer, were also at our table... I was in awe!

Hussein Ibish with Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC

Mr & Mrs. Jaffar Annab ATFP Gala 2011

The warmth, wisdom, generosity, good character, true dignity and decency of Dr. Ziad Asali and his charming wife Naila help set the tone for The American Task Force on Palestine's Gala. It becomes easier and easier to believe that Palestine will actually emerge as a free and sovereign and successful nation state with friends and advisers like this.

The American Task Force on Palestine "is strictly opposed to all acts of violence against civilians no matter the cause and no matter who the victims or perpetrators may be. The Task Force advocates the development of a Palestinian state that is democratic, pluralistic, non-militarized and neutral in armed conflicts..."

The American Task Force on Palestine is convinced that diplomacy matters and that Palestine is worth discussing seriously AND worth investing in. The politicians and people of Palestine do not have to listen to ATFP if they don't want to- they are not forced to follow any one's advice. No one has to. But in my opinion it is a darn good idea to follow ATFP's lead as they are talented and well informed experts in the right place at the right time.

I also believe that Palestine is worth getting all dressed up for- and celebrating. No one knows what will be, but at least we can do what we can to try to help Palestine become a real nation state each in our own way.

Annie all dressed up in a green silk gown for the American Task Force on Palestine's Gala 2011. My jewelry was a gift long ago from my beloved father in law ( hand crafted in the Arab world and given to me on a visit to his home in Amman Jordan many years ago), and my handbag was embroidered by my American grandmother who used to live in Washington DC.

This morning I have been exchanging emails with a charming stranger who asked me several weeks ago if her local garden club could use one of my poems for a bookmark to give to her garden club members as a favor. For me, as a poet, this unexpected compliment is a higher honor than any formal prize or award I can think of. It is also a pertinent reminder to me of what building a state really means. It is not about rally cries or protest slogans or grandiose gestures, nor is it about headlines and newspaper articles. It is about slowly but surely building a community and belonging: It is about the individual efforts and good intentions and creativity and the admirable persistence of real people working together to make connections on a local level to improve our world and our collective future- to help make our world nicer... more safe, more beautiful, more pleasant and more welcoming for more people-for ALL people, citizens or not. A world where every child is welcome and free to grow up knowing what ever might be worth knowing.

On my own Granny's lap, in her garden Washington DC (Eleanor Standish Gamble James with Anne Selden Yellott Annab)

GROWING GARDENS for PALESTINE

ATFP Sixth Annual Gala

Honoring Heritage, Embracing Originality...The American Task Force on Palestine's 6th Annual Gala

Please save the date and purchase your tickets today!

The American Task Force on Palestine's 6th Annual Gala

Honoring Heritage, Embracing Originality

October 19, 2011

The Ritz Carlton

1150 22nd Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20037

The American Task Force on Palestine is pleased to announce that the theme of this year’s annual gala will be:

Honoring Heritage, Embracing Originality

We will honor four distinguished Palestinian Americans: Maha Freij, Hanan Munayyer, Nawaf Soliman and Maysoon Zayid.

We are privileged to crown the event with a Concert of Arab Vocal and Instrumental Music by internationally recognized Palestinian American musician and composer Simon Shaheen and Ensemble.

We are delighted to have the very talented Palestinian American comedian Dean Obeidallah as our MC for the evening.

This will be a black tie event.

click here for more information

ATFP's Fifth Annual Gala 2010: Building Palestine, the Indispensable State for Peace..."It's late, but everything comes next."

"My father, journalist Aziz Shihab, spoke up for Palestine every day of his life. He wrote, "Try as we could, my old people, the Palestinians and I, could never get into the good graces of Americans. Strong dusty winds against us were constantly blowing...Americans blinded from knowing, or caring, that my land was dear to me."

He would want me to thank you all tonight -- for knowing, and caring. We believe the jobs of peacemaking, inclusion, and mutual respect and support, belong to all of us.

As the end of my poem "Jerusalem" says, "It's late, but everything comes next."" Naomi Shihab Nye accepting the ATFP award for Excellence in the Arts, at the ATFP Fifth Annual Gala, Washington, D.C., October 20, 2010.

ATFP's Fifth Annual Gala 2010: Building Palestine, the Indispensable State for Peace

http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2010

WASHINGTON DC, October 21 -- “I promise you this: The Obama administration will not turn our backs on the Palestinian people or the people of Israel,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an audience of over 700 in a major policy address last night. She spoke at the Fifth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) in Washington DC. Expressing the administration's determination to push forward with the peace process, she said, “we will continue working every day to achieve the just, lasting and comprehensive peace that has been a cornerstone of U.S. policy for years. We believe it is possible, it is necessary, and it is the only way.”

Sec. Clinton also emphasized the importance of the Palestinian state and institution building program which, she said, “which may receive fewer headlines but it is also critically important.” Sec. Clinton praised Palestinian economic development and the performance of the new security forces, but noted that during her recent visit to Ramallah “it was impossible to forget the painful history of a people who have never had a state of their own. For most Americans, it is hard to imagine living behind checkpoints and roadblocks, without the comforts of peace or the confidence of self-determination.” She affirmed that, “The legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people will never be satisfied until there is a two-state solution that ensures dignity, justice, and security for all.”

Sec. Clinton thanked ATFP President Ziad Asali, “for your leadership of this important organization, and for your steadfast support of peace.” She said the Task Force has “provided a welcome voice of reason and steady advocacy on behalf of a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.” She also noted and praised the charitable efforts of ATFP's sister organization, American Charities for Palestine, and congratulated the evenings' honorees, quoting from the work of one of them, poet Naomi Shihab Nye.

In his introduction to the Secretary, Dr. Asali noted that “has transformed the way in which expectations are defined and achievement evaluated.” He told the Secretary that, “with boundless courage and tireless drive, you beat long odds and overcame overwhelming obstacles. The Palestinians too are creating something which is difficult, they too chafe against a history which has discouraged veering from its path, and they too are being told that it cannot be done.” He also affirmed that, “Your bold statement that our country must assure that the 'Palestinians build the institutions of their future state, an effort which must continue during the negotiations' is one that we at ATFP applaud and support without reservation."

After a letter of support from President Abbas read by Ambassador Maen Areikat, ATFP honored four outstanding Palestinian Americans: Colonel (Ret.) Peter Mansoor, Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State University and former Executive Officer to General David Petraeus; renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye; award-winning playwright Betty Shamieh, and Ghassan Salameh, an Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. The Gala audience was also treated to a performance by the acclaimed Palestinian-American comedienne Maysoon Zayid.

Jerusalem

"Let's be the same wound if we must bleed.
Let's fight side by side, even if the enemy
is ourselves: I am yours, you are mine."
-Tommy Olofsson, Sweden

I'm not interested in
Who suffered the most.
I'm interested in
People getting over it.

Once when my father was a boy
A stone hit him on the head.
Hair would never grow there.
Our fingers found the tender spot
and its riddle: the boy who has fallen
stands up. A bucket of pears
in his mother's doorway welcomes him home.
The pears are not crying.
Later his friend who threw the stone
says he was aiming at a bird.
And my father starts growing wings.

Each carries a tender spot:
something our lives forgot to give us.
A man builds a house and says,
"I am native now."
A woman speaks to a tree in place
of her son. And olives come.
A child's poem says,
"I don't like wars,
they end up with monuments."
He's painting a bird with wings
wide enough to cover two roofs at once.

Why are we so monumentally slow?
Soldiers stalk a pharmacy:
big guns, little pills.
If you tilt your head just slightly
it's ridiculous.

There's a place in my brain
Where hate won't grow.
I touch its riddle: wind, and seeds.
Something pokes us as we sleep.

It's late but everything comes next.

~ Naomi Shihab Nye ~

(19 Varieties of Gazelle)