Karima Aboud the First Photographer in Palestine

Karima Aboud (1894-1955)

  Karima was born in Bethlehem. Her father was Pastor Said Aboud, pastor of the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. She is considered the first photographer in Palestine, and perhaps the first in the Arab world .  Palestinian Surprises

Karima Aboud the First Photographer in Palestine

Poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941 – 2008)

http://www.palestiniansurprises.com/surprises.php?surprise_id=39

Born in Al-Birwa (British Mandate Palestine 1941), Mahmoud Darwish was considered Palestine’s national poet for articulating the Palestinian people’s thoughts into poetic words.  His most famous early work was Identity Card.  Here’s an excerpt of that 1964 poem – a poem which became a rallying cry for Palestinian identity. 

My father . . . descends from the family of the plow
Not from a privileged class
And my grandfather . . .was a farmer
Neither well-bred, nor well-born!
Teaches me the pride of the sun
Before teaching me how to read
And my house is like a watchman's hut
Made of branches and cane
Are you satisfied with my status?
I have a name without a title!

As a child, his family was forced to flee to Lebanon when Israeli forces stormed Al-Birwa in 1948.  The “Catastrophe” a.k.a. the Nakba and the Palestinian homeland were underlying themes in much of his work.

Darwish was the winner of countless literary awards, including The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from France in 1993 and the Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings (an internationally-acclaimed poetry festival in Macedonia) in 2007. 

An unrelenting voice for Palestinian-Israeli co-existence, Darwish told the UK Guardian in 2002 of his belief in humanizing everyone.  A passage from the poem he wrote just after the 1967 war, “White Lilies,” was reprinted.  "I will continue to humanize even the enemy . . .The first teacher who taught me Hebrew was a Jew. The first love affair in my life was with a Jewish girl. The first judge who sent me to prison was a Jewish woman. So from the beginning, I didn't see Jews as devils or angels but as human beings."

National Poet Mahmoud Darwish
(1941 – 2008)

Credit: deSingel International Arts

"I send a message to the world that we Palestinians have the will to live in peace, we look for a beautiful life . . ."

In a 2005 interview with WAFA, Al-Houby once reflected about her passion for climbing, “When I climb, I send a message to the world that we Palestinians have the will to live in peace, we look for a beautiful life . . ." Mountain Climber Suzanne al-Houby

Forty-three year old mother of two Suzanne Al-Houby scaled Mount Everest in May, one of a small group of 100 women to achieve this distinction and the first Palestinian and Arab woman to perform this feat....READ MORE

Palestinian Christians

From Sherri Muzher's ESCAPE TO A WORLD OF PALESTINIAN SURPRISESPhoto Credit: Nayef Hashlamoun/Reuters

Palestinian Christians

Palestinian Christians are considered the “living stones” of Christianity because they are direct descendants of the Witnesses to Jesus Christ’s Resurrection.

Many fled the Holy Land or were forced into exile during the 1948 establishment of Israel. The Christian exodus continues today, in large part, due to the Occupation. On March 25, 2004, the late Republican Congressman Henry Hyde issued a letter to then-Secretary of State Powell stating that the Israeli security wall is "drastically undermining the mission of Christian institutions and the social fabric of their communities in the Holy Land.” He added that he was "concerned about the plight of the Christian narrative in the Holy Land" and the impact of the security wall and "growing illegal Israeli settlements and their infrastructure…on religious freedom."

There are two leading American organizations that have been dedicated to the plight of Palestinian Christians. They are Sabeel (http://sabeel.org/), which is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. And there is the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (http://hcef.org/), which aims to preserve the Mother Church and her living stones, the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land.

As Anglican bishop of Jerusalem Riah Abu El-Assal has pointed out, Palestinian Christians “are part and parcel of the Arab Palestinian nation. We have the same history, the same culture, the same habits and the same hopes."

For this reason, Palestinian Christians have historically joined with their Palestinian Muslim brethren in the Palestinian struggle for freedom. From the late George Habash to the late Kamal Nasser to Hanan Ashrawi, countless numbers of Christians had or have dedicated their lives to Palestine.

The initial screen for “Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises” features different aspects of Palestine. From the olive and cypress trees to the red poppies to the hills in the background, welcome to the land of my parents and ancestors. Taking a walk are curious children inviting you to take a fun journey with them -- a journey to discover “surprises” about their unique heritage and people.

As you go through the “surprises,” please note that there are so many more people, places, and things that could be included.

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Sherri Muzher's ESCAPE TO A WORLD OF PALESTINIAN SURPRISES

Introduction

This was supposed to be a book but it made more sense to turn it into a "website book." After all, not everyone will go to the bookstore but nearly everyone has access to the Internet. And the sad reality is that too many people have formed their opinions of Palestinian people, places, and things by the words of others. Well, I’m an American-Palestinian and I’d like to tell you about my own people and heritage.

The initial screen for “Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises” features different aspects of Palestine. From the olive and cypress trees to the red poppies to the hills in the background, welcome to the land of my parents and ancestors. Taking a walk are curious children inviting you to take a fun journey with them -- a journey to discover “surprises” about their unique heritage and people.

As you go through the “surprises,” please note that there are so many more people, places, and things that could be included. I stopped at 100, for now. This website is an on-going project with additions to be made as they come to my attention.

The “surprises” are brief synopses which should peak your interest to find out more. Wherever possible, I tried to include links to videos, pictures, and interviews to make the journey more enjoyable. A bibliography of my sources is included.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that there is no rhyme or reason to the order of the “surprises.” Well, except for two – the first, as well as #48. The first is St. George, considered a home-grown hero. He is much revered by both Palestinian Christians and Muslims. The number 48 is significant for Palestinians because 1948 was the year that the Palestinian narrative and history gave way to decades of misinformation about who the Palestinians are as a people. For #48, I purposefully chose the late Professor Edward Said.

Professor Said spoke and wrote often about how Palestinians were denied a voice to narrate their own history and talk about their lives in popular media and culture. Essentially, his words came to be known as “Permission to Narrate.” And the “permission to narrate” is what this website is about.

You will discover such gems as: the Palestinian women’s national movement began as far back 1920; Scottish bagpipes are used in religious celebrations; the Hollywood agent for actress Katherine Heigl and rock band Aerosmith is of Palestinian descent (Sam Gores); and so on.

This site will be translated into Arabic in the coming weeks for Palestinian youth in Palestine.

In the meantime, enjoy your escape to a world of Palestinian surprises!

All my Best, Sherri Muzher

Born in Michigan, Muzher’s parents left the Occupied West Bank in 1969 in hopes of brighter days for their future children. She is the daughter of Afaf (Musallam) Muzher of Birzeit and the late Ead Michael Muzher of Taybeh.

Copyright reserved for Palestinian Surprises, 2011