Nadeen Ayoub: Passionate humanitarian making history as Miss Palestine

February 13, 2023

 “We as Palestinians have such a rich culture and the Arab world, in general, has a lot to offer. I think it’s amazing to have the chance to represent that…and I don’t take it lightly,” is how Nadeen Ayoub, or Miss Palestine, describes her drive to compete in international pageantry and represent Palestine.

Crowned Miss Earth Water 2022 at only 24, Nadeen Ayoub made history as the first Palestinian woman to win a major international beauty pageant. Ayoub is not only a Palestinian beauty queen, she is a humanitarian and advocate passionate about women’s health and making a difference in her community. Ayoub shared pageantry for her is about “breaking stereotypes of Palestinians and Arabs in the media.” As a longtime health and fitness coach, she emphasized that her drive behind her work is to show that “Arab women are strong, have a lot to offer, are educated, and beautiful. And not just beautiful on the outside but we can teach the world about Palestinian culture and history.”  

Ayoub grew up living between Palestine, the US, and Canada. Even though she moved around the world, her parent’s made sure to remain grounded in Palestine and proud of their heritage. Ayoub’s family roots span from Yafa and throughout the West Bank. As a teen, Ayoub had a determined spirit and completed certification programs in both fitness and nutrition all while she was in high school. After graduating with her BA in Literature and Psychology from Canada, Ayoub moved back to Palestine to work as a women’s fitness coach, nutrition counselor, and psychology teacher in the Palestinian West Bank. 

It wasn’t until after Ayoub graduated from college that she made the decision to compete in beauty pageants. After being approached several times by recruiters, Ayoub competed in Miss Europe, where she was crowned in the top five. Following her European win, she was invited by scouts to apply to be Miss Palestine and compete in Miss Earth 2022. Ayoub made the decision to join the prestigious competition. She believed it was a unique opportunity to celebrate Palestine on an international platform. 

Miss Earth is one of the four “big league” pageants, which also includes Miss Universe and Miss World. Ayoub is the first Palestinian woman to be chosen to compete in a major beauty competition since 2016. Uniquely, Miss Earth focuses on raising awareness about the environment (“beauty for a cause”), giving Ayoub the opportunity to speak out about environmental protection in Palestine, focusing on the endangered Palestinian gazelle. While competing in Miss Earth in the Philippines, Ayoub traveled to different islands to work with local environmental groups and community leaders. 

Ayoub won through the support of her community. Palestinians from all over the world reached out to help her, including make-up artists, photographers, fashion designers, and more. Ayoub said that her historic win is not only for herself but “for all Palestinians in Palestine and the diaspora.”  

Today, Ayoub is continuing her humanitarian and local work by starting a fundraiser to help children in need of medical aid for a hospital in Nablus. Based in Qatar, Ayoub regularly meets and speaks with groups of young Arab women to talk about their futures, overcoming challenges, and building confidence in achieving their goals. Ayoub remains deeply committed to the Palestinian art community, working with groups to promote Palestinian culture and uplift Palestinian creators. Ayoub shared that her “Palestinian heritage and community is what continues to ground her to be confident, proud, and to compete on a global stage.”

 

As always please go to the original link to read the story in full ... and on IMEU please look around and read some more important facts and true stories about Palestine     

https://imeu.org/article/nadeen-ayoub-passionate-humanitarian-making-history-as-miss-palestine

Save Lifta, Save Sheikh Jarah, Save Yaffa, Save Silwan, SAVE PALESTINE !!!!

 

My letter to the Washington Post RE Kathleen Parker's "The irresponsible reporting in the Chapel Hill killings"

Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha set an inspiring example in life and in death.

RE Kathleen Parker's "The irresponsible reporting in the Chapel Hill killings"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/02/11/the-irresponsible-reporting-in-the-chapel-hill-killings/

Dear Editor,

Kayla Jean Mueller,

Kayla Jean Mueller,

Kayla Mueller

Irresponsible reporting is indeed a problem, and so is the rise of Islamophobic anti-Muslim hate... and half a world away so is Hamas, Hezbollah, and Daesh/ISIS militancy- as well as Israel's refusal to respect international law and the Palestinian's basic human rights.  There is plenty of tragedy and plenty of blame to go around, with many different bellows seeking sparks.

Parker makes a point to point out that on very same day of the tragic Chapel Hill killings, we had gotten confirmation that 26 year old Kayla Mueller, the American aid worker kidnapped by "the Islamic State" was indeed dead.

The word Daesh would be a more accurate and more helpful word to use to describe the terrorist group in Syria that kidnapped and murdered Kayla Mueller. It is a derogatory term used by millions of Muslims. "The name Daesh is a "loose acronym" for "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham). The name is commonly used by enemies of ISIS, and it also has many negative undertones, as Daesh sounds similar to the Arabic words Daes ("one who crushes something underfoot") and Dahes ("one who sows discord"). Samantha Rollins" http://theweek.com/speedreads/446139/france-says-name-isis-offensive-call-daesh-instead

Hussein Ibish wisely explains in a recent column concerning the word Islamophobia that "The history of the battle against anti-black racism, or anti-Semitism for that matter, in the 20th century in the United States demonstrates that, in spite of the inherent difficulties posed in trying to use language for constructive social purposes (as opposed to demagoguery), real progress is, indeed, genuinely possible. And it all depends on developing, slowly and painfully, by fits and starts, new and improved social consensuses about the equality of all people in our societies and the basic respect they should be accorded in our national and collective conversations." https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentary/564741-defining-islamophobia

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
World Press Roundup: Middle East News

Mideast Quartet calls for speedy resumption of peace talks... "Pending the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues."

Global Citizenship... laying the foundation for a culture of peace

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali

Hamas confirms that it has banned a visit by Palestinian orphans from the Gaza Strip to Israel because it was in the context of “normalization” with Israelis.

During World War II, the Allies adopted the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—as their basic war aims.... The United Nations Charter "reaffirmed faith in fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person" and committed all member states to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion"

A Palestinian’s journey from stone-throwing to conflict resolution

“The United States casts its lot with the problem solvers, the healers, and the builders,”  US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman in a September speech, quoted by CSM in their recent editorial 

Jordan's King: World must stand up to radicals

What Will Israel Become?

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

... Ibrahim's Estate... The Promised Land: In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Peace Day

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Hussein Ibish: Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.

"We are brothers. It's not a question of Jews, of Christians or of Muslims. We're all in the same boat, we have to help each other to get out of this crisis." Lassana Bathily

"We are brothers. It's not a question of Jews, of Christians or of Muslims. We're all in the same boat, we have to help each other to get out of this crisis." Lassana Bathily

Lassana Bathily, Muslim Employee At Kosher Market, Saved Several People During Paris Hostage Situation

In an interview with the French channel BFMTV, Mr. Bathily said he ushered about 15 people into the basement room after the gunman burst into the shop. He then turned off the power and the lights.

“We were locked in there,” he said. “I told them to calm down, not make any noise, or else if he hears that we’re there, he can come down and kill us.”

Muslim Employee of Kosher Market in Paris Praised for Hiding Customers From Gunman

As news of his heroics spread on Saturday, there were numerous calls on social networks to reward him for his bravery with either the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, or French citizenship.

Some observers also connected his actions to the hashtag used to praise Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim police officer killed on Wednesday by the gunmen who launched the deadly attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly.

Palestinian-American Author Ibtisam Barakat: "Religions need inspiring people as much as people need inspiring religions. . . "

Ibtisam Barakat's butterfly

Author Ibtisam Barakat - Palestine الأديبَة إبتسَام بَركات

"Religions were sent to improve the conditions of people. . . And now people should improve the conditions of religions by making them sources of inspiration and beauty, not sources of pain and violence.

Religions need inspiring people as much as people need inspiring religions. . . "
Author Ibtisam Barakat 2014

THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE: Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity

Byzantine, Crusader, and Ottoman traces.

[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://thisweekinpalestine.com/retrocog-nition-in-sebastiya/

"Sebastiya successfully combines the ideological framing of history and identity. The exquisite rehabilitation of Sebastiya homesteads and previously abused monuments addresses the relationship between time and space, and points the way for the future development of Palestinian cultural geography...."

Retrocog-nition in Sebastiya

Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity

By: Ali Qleibo

"...Sebastiya is a living ode to Palestinian life, a museum of memories with which we are already acquainted though Fairuz’s classical ballads. In fact, the lyrics and melodies immortalised by Fairuz haunt the old town of Sebastiya.

Sebastiya is a “place memory” par excellence, wherein the visitor “remembers” events that have been experienced by others, and it is closely associated with retrocognition, which literally means “backward knowing.” In retrocognition, visitors and locals witness events as “a playback of a past scene.” Thus, place memory and retrocognition juxtapose present-day environmental place memory with alterations in time that might let you literally see the past (retrocognition). With retrocognition there is a dream-like state and an altered sense of time.

Each village has its own narrative, its own individuality, and its own unique character. Sebastiya brings together Biblical, Roman, Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman archaeological architectural elements, not as cold relics but as an integral expression of Palestinian key symbols and signs within an ecological niche that the Palestinian genius has sculpted through the past five millennia.

In Sebastiya, history and its relationship with narratives constitutive of national identity weave a lyrical poem that celebrates the roots of Palestinian national identity in antiquity. By situating the cultural architectural narrative within the local spatial context and connecting it to wider regional cultural geography and history, the heritage attraction sites become signifiers that help advance the understanding of the highly diversified cultural expressions of Palestinian national identity.

In Sebastiya we find a venue that reveals the composite multi-layered historical and demographic levels of which our cultural identity is an expression. Sebastiya as an iconic heritage site has come to symbolise fundamental aspects of “Palestinianness,” and in so doing presents the nation as a family, a group of relations with shared history, values and beliefs, and common characteristics."

Dr. Ali Qleibo is an anthropologist, author, and artist. A specialist in the social history of Jerusalem and Palestinian peasant culture, he is the author of Before the Mountains Disappear, Jerusalem in the Heart, and Surviving the Wall, an ethnographic chronicle of contemporary Palestinians and their roots in ancient Semitic civilisations. Dr. Qleibo lectures at Al-Quds University. He can be reached at: aqleibo@yahoo.com.
  

 ****** 

Message From the editor

 Habitat

Habitat is not your usual word. A look at the English dictionary definition reveals a number of meanings:

• The natural environment of an organism; a place that is natural for its life and growth. For example, a desert habitat and all the wildlife thriving there.
• A place where an organism is usually found. For example, Nablus is a major habitat for knafeh chefs and sweet shops in Palestine.
• A special environment in which organisms reside over an extended period. For example, the village habitat in Palestine is special for both humans and animals.

If we take a look at the beautiful old houses in Palestinian villages, towns, and cities, we find that they easily integrate with their surrounding habitats. They have been built by the descendants of people who have lived and been nurtured in this habitat for thousands of years. A totally different perspective from the one you get when you are struck by the illegal Israeli settlements that intrude on the natural habitat of Palestine and impose ugly structures that have little to do with their surrounding environment.

In the pages of this issue you will discover the unique floral aspects of Palestine, its rich wildlife, and just how little you know about it all. We hope that you will gain a greater appreciation of the village habitat, the way Jerusalem produced its own kind of habitat, and how all of it is endangered mainly because of the occupation but also because of other social and economic factors.

Habitat is not just a word in Palestine; it is a way to affirm and preserve
our identity and way of life!

Ahmad Damen
Content Editor
THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE

http://thisweekinpalestine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/October-198-2014-low.pdf

Highlights of Palestinian Habitats

My letter to the NYTimes RE U.S. Is Trying to Counter ISIS’ Efforts to Lure Alienated Young Muslims

The Fighting-Bigotry-with-Delightful-Posters Campaign: "Guys! As of Sept. 2014, a really lame group of bigoted folks got together to post a bunch of hateful and defamatory ads about Muslims all over the New York City subway system. In response, we thought, why not post our own ads? Ads that aren’t hateful, but totally loving, hilarious, and/or ridiculous... We’ll be putting up posters throughout the New York City subway system, which transports over 5.5 million people a day. We’ll get a lot of eyeballs and by the time we’re done, well, NYC straphangers are gonna..."...READ MORE

RE U.S. Is Trying to Counter ISIS’ Efforts to Lure Alienated Young Muslims
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/us/us-is-trying-to-counter-isiss-efforts-to-lure-alienated-young-muslims.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Dear Editor,

I doubt extremists opting to admire IS/ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State/Da'esh propaganda go from being happy well adjusted kids to being homicidal maniacs in a blink.  Perhaps the Obama administration, the F.B.I., the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, as well as concerned parents and community leaders and schools can work together to create an invasion of age appropriate memes and posters to help counter the hate mongering and misinformation campaigns which convince vulnerable youth to believe the worst about America and American ideals.

And perhaps corporate executives pocketing huge fortunes rather than paying their workers better wages, can help America's economy grow by voluntarily paying workers better wages so that all local school districts are much more likely to have the funds for teachers as well as for art, music and athletic programs.  Different children have different needs and different gifts.  There won't be one magic answer, or one perfect meme, but there can be a concerted effort to do better for everyone by everyone.  

Giving credit where credit is due, I confess I borrowed the basic idea of countering hate with a meme or a poster from the brilliant Dean Obeidallah, a Palestinian/Italian/American lawyer turned political comedian and writer who uses his talent, his wit and his good humor to help combat Islamaphobia and pervasive misinformation about Palestinians. Last year he came out with a great comedy documentary THE MUSLIMS ARE COMING! which was crowd sourced by KickStarter.  This year he launched a light hearted albeit very serious Comedy Jihad to counter hate monger Pam Geller’s subway and bus poster campaign . Obeidallah says "I defend Geller’s right to spew hate. I despise it with every fiber of my being, but freedom of speech is vital to our nation.".... so he is using free speech to counter the hate, creating ads in a Fight Bigotry with Delightful Posters Campaign.  Now that's a magnificent way to win a war of ideas!

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

"There is a vicious circle of mutual self-reinforcement between state and society failure on the one hand and the rise of extremist non-state actors on the other." Ziad Asali: Confronting ISIL: The Day and Decade "After"

USA Today... Sweden PM says nation will recognize Palestinian state: "It doesn't change a thing on the ground," Ibish said. "It changes the number of countries that have recognized the Palestinian state. It changes the Western commitment to a two-state solution, (and) it does put more pressure on Israel to make concessions."

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

Salam Fayyad: How To Fix the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Excellent letter in the Guardian by Chris Doyle: Trouble and shock in the West Bank

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

• “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back.”

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

America/Israel/Palestine 1776

America/Israel/Palestine 1948: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

My Letter to the NYTimes RE Steven Salaita and the Quagmire of Academic Freedom

Academic Freedom... Illustration credit: Google Images revealing  line drawing by Tim E. Ogline who has "always sought to draw on the Right Brain for the Left Brain."

RE Steven Salaita and the Quagmire of Academic Freedom
http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/steven-salaita-and-the-quagmire-of-academic-freedom/?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Quite a quagmire indeed.  Your story Steven Salaita and the Quagmire of Academic Freedom brought up many very interesting points, but missed a few crucially important ones.

Starting with actual beginnings: All people here in America were at one time immigrants, with the earliest arrivals coming from Asia long before written records. Those earliest immigrants did not call this place America, that word is a much more recent arrival. Furthermore the phrase "Native American" takes the word "native" which specifically means born in a particular place, and uses that word to exclude a huge portion of native born American citizens. 

America's written records, combined with our constitution, our Bill of Rights, our free libraries and schools and many other factors give every one both the ability to explore many topics including many horrific tragedies, and the ability to weigh in with facts and opinions, ultimately shaping both domestic and foreign polices.

Times have changed. Today's world has jobless Palestinians braving death to migrate ... Today's world also has The New York Times headlining the editorial  The Fundamental Horror of ISIS , as well as the editorial Mr. Netanyahu’s Strange Course clearly articulating the fact that Americans are questioning Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Native Americans/American Indians were uniformly granted U.S. citizenship in 1924, decades before Martin Luther King Jr helped make America a more real democracy, and a full 24 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and modern Israel's heavily armed sovereign quest to become demographically Jewish by disenfranchising native non-Jewish Palestinians. Most Palestinian men, women and children have been pushed into poverty and forced exile, creating the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today.

Some readers might judge Salaita based on his stance regarding the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, some on his scholarship- others might judge him based on the tone of his tweets, his rage/righteous indignation as well as his exact words and his obvious lack of diplomatic tact in a very public forum.  Various people will find various reasons to agree or to disagree, some will voice what they think, some won't but they'll "vote with their feet"... Here in America parents who are able to send their kids to college invest a huge amount of time and money in their kids, even before college. College itself tends to be punitively expensive.  In researching colleges to consider many resources are used: Parents, potential students, and donors can easily google various professors and read public tweets.   

Here in America good role models help our young people get and keep good jobs. Colleges need to keep that in mind, and so should any one seeking to convince Americans to care about Palestine. 

Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
The New World (according to wikipedia) was dubbed "America,  a name derived by Martin Waldseemüller from Americus Vespucius, the Latinized version of Amerigo Vespucci, the name of the Italian merchant and cartographer who explored South America's east coast and the Caribbean Sea in the early 16th century."

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali


International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

• “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back.”

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

America/Israel/Palestine 1776

America/Israel/Palestine 1948: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Dean Obeidallah in The Daily Beast: Searching for a Palestinian Dr. King

Dean Obeidallah:
"I really love the photo that The Daily Beast made for my article about the Palestinian Dr. Martin Luther King. Im a big fan of Dr. King's work. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/15/searching-for-a-palestinian-dr-king.html "

World News

08.15.14

"What makes nonviolence as a strategy even more challenging for Palestinians is that, as Ashrawi noted, the Israeli administrations over the years seemingly reward violence over peaceful methods. “They won’t cooperate with ‘Mr. Nice Guy,’” she told me, “but will sit up and listen when there is a threat of violence.” She added that it almost seems Israeli administrations prefer Palestinians to be violent because it allows them to define us all as terrorists."

  [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]

Israeli and Palestinian Roommates Find Common Ground — Far From Home – Forward.com

"“It’s like a family dinner anywhere,” Holt said. “My mission is to create a safe place to exchange ideas.” She has hosted Israelis and Palestinians before, but never at the same time."

 [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] 

Israeli and Palestinian Roommates Find Common Ground — Far From Home – Forward.com

News of the mounting crisis in Israel caught two young interns, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, far away from home.

At their host family’s house in northwest Washington, both tried to keep up to date. Yehonatan Toker, 28, rushed to the Internet to catch up on news and to read emails from his Israeli friends, emails that conveyed the sense of anger and frustration many shared following the events.

Hamze Awawdeh, 24, watched news reports showing the burnt car used by the Jewish teens’ kidnappers and immediately recognized the surroundings. The car was found outside his hometown of Dura, south of Hebron. He later heard from his mother that Israeli soldiers conducting searches for the missing teens killed her cousin’s son.

But still, they sat down, an Israeli reserve officer and a Palestinian nationalist from a well-known political family, and discussed the events.

“And guess what? We had a decent conversation, and we both got to see that there’s humanity in the other side,” Toker said. “What we are doing now is exactly how we will try to prevent the next murder.”

“I really felt bad,” Awawdeh said, sitting next to Toker in a downtown coffee shop, trying to escape the capital’s sweltering heat. “Even though I disagree with the settlers, I don’t disagree with their right to live. It’s my responsibility and their responsibility to prevent the violence.”...READ MORE

"A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions..."

 Thursday June 26, 2014

Together We Came: Naomi Shihab Nye

Posted by AAI at 3:35 pm

[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.aaiusa.org/blog/entry/together-we-came-naomi-shihab-nye/

Poet, songwriter, and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother was an American of German and Swiss descent. Well known for her fresh perspective on events, people, and objects, Nye’s work reflects her Arab American heritage and each creation overflows with her passion for art and culture.

Naomi began to write poetry as soon as she learned how to write. At 14-years-old, Naomi’s writing style and focus changed after visiting her Palestinian grandmother and living in Ramallah and the Old City of Jerusalem. This experience proved to be life-changing, inspiring Naomi to dedicate a book to her grandmother, Sitti’s Secrets. The children’s book follows the tales of an Arab American girl who visits her grandmother in a Palestinian village and learns that despite the differences between her life and her grandmother's, they share a bound by love and family. Her experiences in two separate worlds are central parts of many poetry collections she would go on to write.

Naomi received a B.A. in English and World Religions from Trinity University in San Antonio. Fresh out of college, Nye published her first collection of poems, Different Ways to Pray, in which she explored similarities and differences between cultures—a topic that would become one of her lifelong areas of focus. Her other books include poetry collections A Maze Me, Red Suitcase, Field Trip and Fuel, a young-adult novel called Habibi (the semi-autobiographical story of an Arab American teenager who moves to Jerusalem in the 1990s) and picture book Lullaby Raft.

Nye has stated that, for her, “the primary source of poetry has always been local life, random characters met on the streets, [and] our own ancestry sifting down to us through small essential daily tasks.” In fact, Nye’s poems about heritage and peace give voice to some of her most treasured cultural inheritances. Reflecting on her work, famed poet William Stafford has said, “Her poems combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight. She is a champion of the literature of encouragement and heart. Reading her work enhances life.” Bill Moyer, American journalist and public commentator, finds deep comfort in Nye’s poetry expressing that “her poems speak of ordinary things—things we take for granted until it’s almost too late.” To this day, he walks around with his favorite poem by Nye in his back pocket.

Nye’s poems and short stories have appeared in various periodicals and journals throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. She has traveled all over the world for the United States Information Agency, promoting international goodwill through the arts.

Nye has won many awards and fellowships, among them four Pushcart Prizes, the Jane Addams Children’s Book award, the Guggenheim Fellowship, many notable book and best book citations from the American Library Association, and a 2000 Witter Bynner Fellowship. In June 2009, Nye was named as one of PeaceByPeace.com’s first peace heroes.

Following the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, Nye became an active voice for Arab Americans. Motivated by the lack of understanding between Americans and Arabs, Nye collected her poems that dealt with the Middle East and her experiences as an Arab American and formed them into one volume, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. Highly praised for its timely message, Publisher’s Weekly declared that it was “an excellent way to invite exploration and discussion of events far away and their impact here at home,” and literary critic Donna Seaman remarked that “Nye’s clarion condemnation of prejudice and injustice reminds readers that most Americans have ties to other lands and that all concerns truly are universal.”

A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions, perfectly demonstrating how art can be used to promote acceptance and love throughout the world and for generations to come.

Steps

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Excerpted from “19 Varieties of Gazelle”

A man letters the sign for his grocery
in Arabic and English.
Paint dries more quickly in English.
The thick swoops and curls of Arabic letters
stay moist and glistening
till tomorrow when the children
show up jingling their dimes.

They have learned the currency of the New World,
carrying wishes for gum and candies
shaped like fish.
They float through the streets,
diving deep to the bottom,
nosing rich layers of crusted shell.

One of these children will tell a story
that keeps her people alive.
We don't know yet which one she is.
Girl in the red sweater dangling a book bag,
sister with eyes pinned to the barrel
of pumpkin seeds.
They are lettering the sidewalk with their steps.

They are separate and together and a little bit late.
Carrying a creased note, "Don't forget."
Who wrote it? They've already forgotten.
A purple fish sticks to the back of the throat.
Their long laughs are boats they will ride and ride,
making the shadows that cross each other's smiles.

Read more stories about Arab immigrants and their descendants on the "Together We Came" main page.

UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women... Emergency Nomination- Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, inscribed on World Heritage List and on List of World Heritage in Danger

 [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.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/palestine_land_of_olives_and_vines_cultural_landscape_of_southern_jerusalem_battir_inscribed_on_world_heritage_list_and_on_list_of_world_heritage_in_danger/#.U6gcwiRRb7k

© Jasmine Salachas/Centre for Cultural Heritage PreservationLand of olives and vines. Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem (Palestine)

Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, inscribed on World Heritage List and on List of World Heritage in Danger

 

The World Heritage Committee today began the examination of 36 sites nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List. The first property discussed was Palestine: Land of olives and vines, Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, submitted by Palestine as an emergency nomination.

 

The Committee approved the inscription of the site on the World Heritage List. It also inscribed the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger after finding that the landscape had become vulnerable under the impact of socio-cultural and geo-political transformations that could bring irreversible damage to its authenticity and integrity, citing the start of construction of a separation wall that may isolate farmers from fields they have cultivated for centuries. 

Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, is located a few kilometres south-west of Jerusalem, in the Central Highlands between Nablus and Hebron. The Battir hill landscape comprises a series of farmed valleys, known as widian, with characteristic stone terraces, some of which are irrigated for market garden production, while others are dry and planted with grape vines and olive trees. The development of terrace farming in such a mountainous region is supported by a network of irrigation channels fed by underground sources. A traditional system of distribution is then used to share the water collected through this network between families from the nearby village of Battir. 

The 38^th session of the World Heritage Committee began on 15 June and will continue through to 25 June, under the Chair of Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.

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The work of the session can be followed daily via webcast.

UNESCO Media Contact in Doha
Sue Williams, +33(0)6 15 92 93 62 or +974 503 16609
s.williams(at)unesco.org 

• Follow @UNESCO on Twitter using the hashtag #WorldHeritage for breaking information on important World Heritage Committee decisions during the session. Soon after tweeting, UNESCO will issue press releases about these decisions in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
• Daily recaps and discussions will be available on our Facebook page.
• B-rolls of new World Heritage sites will be available as soon as they are inscribed here.
• Photo galleries of new World Heritage sites will also be available here.
  

  Palestine: Land of olives and vines. Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem

  Located a few kilometres south-west of Jerusalem, in the Central Highlands between Nablus and Hebron, the Battir hill landscape comprises a series of farmed valleys, known as widian, with characteristic stone terraces, some of which are irrigated for market garden production, while others are dry and planted with grape vines and olive trees. The development of terrace farming in such a mountainous region is supported by a network of irrigation channels fed by underground sources. A traditional system of distribution is then used to share the water collected through this network between families from the nearby village of Battir. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women

  
  
   [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]