Smaller than a Mouse- a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye published in her most recent book "Sidekick" 2026

                   Smaller than a Mouse

We demonstrated on a steaming day,

carrying signs,

five hundred thousand people 

in the streets of New York

saying no to war,

gathering crowds for blocks and miles,

crush and press of world's religions

and secular codes, multi-flavored

WE SHALL NOT KILL

and the next day our story,

the story of saying no to war,

was written up in a three-sentence news item

on the back of the front section of the New York Times

smaller than the story of a mouse found

in a chain restaurant soup.

This is the truth.
 

    Poem by award winning Palestinian American poet Naomi Shihab Nye published in her most recent book "Sidekick" 2026  

 https://boaeditions.org/book/sidekick/

Praise for Naomi Shihab Nye

“On every page, Shihab Nye's insistent call is the same: people, all people, deserve to live safe and healthy lives, free from fear and violence. She mourns, rages, takes politicians to task, but always lands on the side of compassion.” —Shelf Awareness

 

Naomi Shihab Nye is the author and/or editor of more than thirty volumes including six collections of poetry from BOA Editions: Sidekick (2026), Red Suitcase (1994), Fuel (1998), You & Yours (2005), Transfer (2011), and The Tiny Journalist (2019). She has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow and a Witter Bynner Fellow. Her numerous awards include a Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award from BOA, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Patterson Poetry Prize, four Pushcart Prizes, the Robert Creeley Prize the Betty Prize from Poets House for her service to poetry, and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters. She served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2010–2015, and in May 2019 she was named the 2019–2021 Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. 

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“Consider what we didn’t do,” said [Ben] Rhodes. “I sometimes am haunted by this. The trillions of dollars spent on a forever war: what could that have been spent on? Climate change, universal healthcare, public education. There’s a real opportunity cost to how we chose to spend our time and resources."

‘The initial heroism, goodwill and unity of 9/11 gave way to discord at home and diminished moral authority abroad.’ Illustration: Guardian Design

 

Mistakes, mistrust and misdirection: 25 years after 9/11, its dark legacy continues to unfold

The world’s most powerful country responded to the worst terrorist attack in its history by inflicting terror of its own – around the world, and at home

David Smith in Washington

Fri 11 Sep 2026

As clear as that cloudless September morning, Jenna Jacobs McPartland remembers the moment everything changed. “I was cleaning the bathroom and watching the Today show in the background and nine months pregnant,” the 52-year-old recalls by phone. “I think they were showing ‘Today throws a wedding’ when the news broke in.”

A plane had hit the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. McPartland did not know that her husband, Ariel Jacobs, was attending a conference at its Windows on the World restaurant. “I called his office to say, ‘Hey, turn on the TV. Do you guys know what’s going on?’ His assistant said, ‘Oh my God, Jenna, he’s there.’ The whole world disappeared and there was this sort of hollow collapsing feeling.”

Ariel Jacobs did not live to see his son... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/11/september-11-dark-legacy 

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Rama Duwaji Makes a Powerful Statement wearing Palestinian-Jordanian Designer Zeid Hijazi's creation, for her husband Zohran Mamdani's acceptance speech

ANGELA WEISS//Getty Images

Rama Duwaji Makes a Powerful Statement in This Palestinian-Jordanian Designer Alongside Zohran Mamdani

That’s our first lady!

By Sophie Wang    Published: Nov 05, 2025  Harper's Bizaar

“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light.” Last night, the news of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win sent an exciting cry of hope not simply through New York City, but across the country as a whole, and even overseas.

The city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor-elect stepped onstage to deliver a moving speech, promising a brighter future for all to a crowd who had already begun to feel it blooming. And while we New Yorkers glued ourselves to the TV, hanging on the Democrat’s every word, we also got a first glimpse at what his wife, Syrian-American animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji, would bring to City Hall.

Walking out with Mamdani, Duwali—who famously met her husband on Hinge, in the best moment of free advertising a dating app could ever hope for—brought her own take on first lady-dressing to the stage. And, given that she is an artist herself, it came as no surprise that her debut look in this new position was nothing short of memorable.

Designed by Zeid Hijazi, a London-based Palestinian-Jordanian label that fuses ancient folklore with Arab futurism, Duwali’s black top was crafted from laser-etched denim with a high neckline and basque waist.

Helmed by a Central Saint Martins alum, the brand was founded to explore the “mysteries of a futuristic yet dystopian Middle East,” drawing inspiration from the designer’s heritage and blending Middle Eastern craftsmanship with couture sensibilities. Duwali’s piece, appropriately titled the “frequency” top, sent a subtle yet powerful message of its own, as Mamdani spoke of protecting the people of New York and the cultural diversity that makes the city what it is... READ MORE  https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a69262629/rama-duwaji-zohran-mamdani-palestinian-jordanian-designer-zeid-hijazi-outfit-photos/

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World must deny Israel ‘tools of genocide’, says growing alliance of activist states: New York meeting of Hague Group warns of shared responsibility to prevent genocide and proposes steps to isolate Israel

Protesters outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, as Malaysia’s foreign minister told the Hague Group that states should identity companies enabling Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. Photograph: Fazry Ismail/EPA

Patrick Wintour in New York

Fri 26 Sep 2025

The international community has a legal and moral duty to deny Israel “the tools of genocide”, the Malaysian foreign minister, Mohamad Hasan, said at a meeting in New York of the Hague Group, the growing alliance of countries dedicated to coordinating practical economic and legal steps to isolate Israel over the war in Gaza.

The group, co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia, has become a central exchange for practical steps to try to pressure Israel, including stepping up collective action at ports and airports to prevent the transfer of weapons and goods to Israel, including dual-use heavy machinery.

Hasan said states also needed to identify the multinational companies found to be enabling Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The group, meeting as world leaders were in New York for the UN general assembly, heard calls to support the aid flotilla trying to break the Israeli siege of Palestine and for Israel to be blocked from international cultural events.

The Brazilian foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, said: “We must turn indignation into action, law into justice and justice into peace.”

Brazil last week joined the South African action in the international court of justice accusing Israel of a genocide and said Israel’s claim of self-defence had no application in the context of an occupation. Chile, another group member, has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel.

Vieira said: “International law requires a state not only to refrain from genocide but also to prevent it. Failure to do so may give rise to state responsibility including complicity with genocide. The time has come for states to fulfil their obligations under the genocide convention, by adopting effective measures to ensure that they do not, directly or indirectly, collaborate with its perpetrators.”

Brazil has called for an international mission on the model of the UN special committee against apartheid, a body established in 1962 to coordinate action to end South Africa’s apartheid government... READ MORE   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/26/world-must-deny-israel-tools-of-genocide-says-growing-alliance-of-activist-states 

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UN general assembly votes to back Hamas-free government for Palestine. Compromise plan sees Arab states condemning 7 October attacks in return for clear UN support for a Palestinian state

The declaration contains some of the sharpest criticism of Hamas ever endorsed by the UN. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Fri 12 Sep 2025 08.26 EDT

The UN general assembly has voted to back a Hamas-free government for Palestine as part of a carefully crafted compromise that sees Arab states go further in condemning its October 2023 attack on Israel in return for clear support for a Palestinian state.

The aim is to show that Israel and the US are isolated in opposing a long-term solution to the Gaza war, and how countries such as Germany, a strong supporter of Israel, are backing a solution in which the Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank and Gaza.

The 142-10 vote on Friday was to endorse the so-called New York declaration, a statement calling for a two-state solution, crafted by France and Saudi Arabia in July.

It includes some of the sharpest criticism of Hamas ever endorsed by the UN. The text states: “We condemn the attacks perpetrated on 7 October by Hamas against civilians,” and “Hamas must release all hostages” held in Gaza.

Israel, the US, Hungary and Argentina were among the countries voting against. There were 12 abstentions.

The vote for the declaration will be seen as paving the way for the one-day UN conference on a two-state solution, due to be held in New York immediately before the UN general assembly high level week. At that conference a host of states, including France, UK, Canada and Australia, will formally recognise the state of Palestine.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, insisted on Thursday that Israel would never accept a Palestinian state. Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/12/un-general-assembly-to-back-hamas-free-government-for-palestine

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