We should not be funding Israel's war on the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Freedom, Justice, Equality

 Dear President & Senators

America's freedom is a wonderful thing !   I am so proud of our Founding Fathers & Mothers who talked & thought their way towards and into the creation of our Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights: Happy 4th of July!

I am also so very proud of all Americans who valiantly fought in WWII to defeat Hitler and his horrible Nazi Holocaust.  Racism was wrong and evil then, and it is wrong and evil now as Jews-preferred Israel cruelly persecutes, impoverishes, and displaces indigenous Arab men, women and children all through out the Holy Land.

Our so-called "friend" Israel uses American money and weaponry to terrorize and kill Palestinians. Furthermore Israeli forces attack journalists and deliberately cut off electricity and telecommunications to prevent Israeli war crimes being documented and exposed worldwide.

Israel is not defending itself, it is in the process of intentionally tormenting Palestinian families and destroying Palestinian homes. Our own Trail of Tears, the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 indigenous First and Forever People of America between 1830-1850, was a huge and heinous tragedy.  We know better now, we live in a more aware world where racism of any kind is known to be evil and wrong.  At least we say it is wrong- but here we are with our elected officials and far too many of our our religious leaders plus our failing fourth estate ignoring sovereign Israel's very real crimes against humanity and the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Real Freedom, Democracy and Equality is an ongoing project here in the USA, and we have a good foundation on which to build.... BUT not as long as our elected officials and religious leaders and our failing fourth estate continue idolize and admire Zionist Israel, a very foreign country that has no constitution and no respect for the native non-Jewish Palestinians.

We should not be funding Israel's war on the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

1776 Our Declaration of Independence states:  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Our Bill of Rights Amendment I: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."  https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript

1948's Universal Declaration of Human Rights preamble "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

Nakba is an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe” and refers to Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine, its exiling of Palestinians and making them into refugees, its dispossession of Palestinian property, its destruction of Palestinian cities, towns, and villages, and its attempt to erase the existence of the Palestinian people from its homeland in 1948.  https://imeu.org/article/the-nakba-and-palestine-refugees-imeu-questions-and-answers

http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

https://imeu.org/

https://badil.org/

https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/what-to-boycott

https://www.palestineremembered.com/index.html

Palestine- - Matson photo Library of Congress

My letter to CS Monitor RE "Middle East fence-mending"

Re: Middle East fence-mending

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2023/0628/Middle-East-fence-mending

Dear Editor,

Regarding the most recent online CSM editorial "Middle East fence-mending" that reaches out to readers with hope regarding ending the Jewish settler violence in the Palestinian Territories.

It is a beautifully written opinion and poem-like fantasy that foolishly ignores sovereign Israel's relentless violations of international law and the native non-Jewish Palestinians' basic human rights... day after day, decade after decade.

Israel's tax payer funded Zionist settlers protected by Israel's Zionist soldiers have been harshly persecuting, oppressing, and displacing Palestinian men, women and children year after year, decade after decade- for generations now.  Same old same old. This is a monstrous tragedy and it is mainly ignored by the Western world. 

Here in America far too many religious leaders and elected officials either idolize or excuse Israeli racism and its state sponsored terrorism.  We should not be funding and fueling Israel's war on the people of historic Palestine.  We live in a post Nazi Holocaust world and really should know better. 

Face the facts: Israel/Palestine already is a one state "solution" with Palestine and surrounding refugee camps serving as a complex prison camp and weapons testing ground where Israel's Zionist soldiers and settlers can feel like heroes while they systemically destroy Palestinian families, homes, and jobs.

Real hope is real freedom, diversity, respect, and equality all empowered by the rule of fair and just laws to help build real justice and a lasting peace for all people, regardless of supposed race or religion.  Here and there!

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab  

NOTES

http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

https://imeu.org/

https://badil.org/

https://www.palestineremembered.com/index.html

Keys for Palestine are full respect for Basic Human Rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' inalienable, legal, logical, moral, and natural Right of Return to original homes and lands.

Before You Can- a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye in Everything Comes Next

 

Naomi Shihab Nye

 

 Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and songwriter born in 1952 to a Palestinian father, Aziz Shihab, who worked as a journalist, editor and writer, and American mother, Miriam Allwardt Shihab, an artist who worked as a Montessori school teacher.^[4] Her father grew up in Palestine. He and his family became refugees in 1948, when the state of Israel was created. She has said her father "seemed a little shell-shocked when I was a child."^[5]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Shihab_Nye

In Growing Gardens for Palestine: Wafa Shami's A is for Arab- a playful romp through the Arab World for all ages

 Wafa Shami's A is for Arab- a playful romp through the Arab World for all ages

A unique alphabet centered on beauty and goodness in the Arab world.

 

Wafa Shami

Wafa Shami was born and raised in Ramallah, Palestine. She moved to the U.S. to pursue higher education and graduated with a Master’s degree in International Studies. Since moving to the U.S. Wafa has maintained her engagement in Middle Eastern issues as a volunteer. After her son was born she was inspired to write children’s storybooks based on her childhood memories Her stories, Easter in Ramallah, and Olive Harvest in Palestine were published in the last few years. Besides being busy raising her son. Wafa who lives in California has a passion for cooking and writes a food blog, in which she shares her family’s recipes. Visit her blog at www.palestineinadish.com and follow her on social media @palestineinadish for delicious recipes.

Other good books by author Wafa Shami

Of MishMish (Apricots) & Palestine by Mike Hanini Odetalla

                                           Of MishMish (Apricots) & Palestine

                                                     By Mike Hanini Odetalla

 

Have you ever tasted something so good, so special, that the taste continued to linger in your memories for the rest of your life? That no matter how many times you try, you are never able to duplicate it?

 

The memories of my childhood and my family’s fruit orchards in Palestine are still as fresh today as they were when I was there as a young boy. My family’s orchard produced an assortment of God’s beautiful bounty. We grew olives, peaches, figs, an assortment of plums, and the world’s best apricots. 

 

My favorite fruit had always been the golden, slightly blushing, sun kissed, apricots that grew on the trees that were planted decades before by my grandfather. These aged trees continued to produce fruit that we ate and sold to the neighboring townspeople as well as in Jerusalem.

 

I remember getting up early in the early summer mornings and running to the dew covered orchards. I would go directly to my favorite apricot tree and pick the cool, dew covered fruit that had fallen that morning to the ground. These slightly bruised golden beauties were absolutely the best tasting fruit the tree offered for they had been left on the vine to reach the peak of flavor ripeness. The point of getting there early was two-fold. I would get there early so that the birds would not have a chance to devour the fruit as it lay on the ground and it was nice and cool in the mornings. Since Palestine gets no rainfall in the summer, the principle water source for the trees and plants is the cool dew that blankets the area in the mornings.

 

I would scan the ground for the best looking fruit, pick it up, and lift it over my mouth. I would then squeeze the golden nectar from the fruit and let it drip into my mouth. The taste of that sweet, cool nectar emanating from the fruit is something that is well beyond explanation. It must be experienced for no amount of explanation or imagery can do it justice or come close to conveying the flavor and the feeling. The trees that produced such delicious beauty were planted by hand, on land, which had been in my family for hundreds of years. The soil that these trees lived off of was worked by the hands of my forefathers before me. Their sweat and tears were part of the soil and in turn translated into the sweet taste that I now enjoyed. This was not lost on me even as a child. For every bite that we took from the bounty of our land, we thanked God, and said a prayer for the people that made it possible.

 

I have now been away from my land and country for over 33 years. I have been back “home” to Palestine on numerous occasions, but never in the peak season when the apricots were ripe. Here in the US they grow apricots as well. I even make treks to orchards here to try to replicate the tastes and feelings that I have in my memory, but to no avail.  It is NOT the same. Not even close. 

 

The tastes, smells, and the experiences of my childhood in Palestine continue to haunt and taunt me. It is like an elusive love that is experienced and then lost. 

 

One can spend a lifetime trying to find and bring it back. To me the taste and smell of the nectar as it dripped from the apricot is something that I will cherish till my death. It is the essence of my life and attachment to a land that was stolen and continues to be from my people. For as long as I can remember the taste and smell of the bounty that my land and country produced, I will always yearn and dream of my return there…  That is why I am deeply saddened and outraged when I see pictures of olive groves and orchards being destroyed and uprooted by Israeli bulldozers. They are more than just trees…they are a whole lot more than most Israelis and their soldiers will ever realize or know…

 

Mike Hanini Odetalla

9-2002

 

It's a long story ...

It's a long story

 

be the voice for the voiceless

 

Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani's work displays the intrusive and alienating effect of apartheid structures on the Palestinian life and landscape

Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani's work displays the intrusive and alienating effect of apartheid structures on the Palestinian life and landscape

Jewish people are AWESOME! Genocidal apartheid regimes that routinely slaughter journalists & kids are NOT AWESOME!

 

Moonlight... a true childhood story of being Palestinian in 1967 by Mike Hanini Odetalla

 

Moonlight...a true childhood story of being Palestinian by Mike Hanini Odetalla

 

As I look outside my window and see a most beautiful full moon, so bright and brilliant; it literally sends golden shards of light through my window shades. I begin to remember that night in June of 1967. Could it have been the same bright and peaceful moon that lit our escape path as we ran for the neighboring hills and caves? I remember it being so big and bright, that the worn dirt path that led us away was clearly visible. The mouth of the cave faced due east and that night, the moon shone like a giant spotlight that seemed to be resting on top of the hill that my family had owned a large chunk of for generations. The moon seemed to be resting on top of that hill facing the west and looking straight into my eyes as I sat there at the mouth of the cave. I was in awe struck as the jets crisscrossed the night sky, their silvery metallic bodies gleaming, and reflecting dabs of moonlight.

 

Could this be really war I wondered? It didn’t seem like it. Except for the brilliant flashes of light that were later followed by the thunder, all seemed “normal”. Yes, we were cramped, more than 25 people were in the cave with us, but I had somehow tuned out all the noise of the women and the cries of the other children. I was totally hypnotized by that gorgeous moonlight. Suddenly, I was rudely snapped out of my hypnotic state, as my mother yanked my arm, yelling for us to run away from that cave. I got up and ran simply because of my mother’s frantic yelling and urging.

 

We ran until we reached a large tree in the middle of an olive grove about 100 yards away. Then I became conscious that my mother was still urging the others to follow. They hesitated at first, but finally relented as it became clear, you see that those jets gleaming in the moonlight were preparing to hit us. Not 5 minutes had passed when I saw them again, flying low over head. After 2 passes, a jet positioned itself and dove at us from the east, the same direction as that brilliant moonlight. The flash from under its wing deployed its rockets directly into the mouth of the same cave where we had taken refuge only a few minutes before. There were powerful explosions as debris flew outward.

 

I began to realize, finally, that this, indeed, was war: a word and a reality that had carried no tangible meaning for me until that moment. There was no electricity in my village of Beit Hanina and thus, I had never watched TV nor ever seen a movie. All of knew of war were the tales that the old people told about their experiences in 1948 and the raids by IDF into neighboring villages. Now, a first hand experience was putting War into my life in bright, vivid colors, accompanied by a very violently booming soundtrack.

 

This, my introduction to war, was also the end of my childhood innocence. The sights and experiences that followed would be recorded by my brain for all of eternity, no matter how horrible they were. The moon continued to light our way as we went through the olive groves and seeking yet another scorpion infested cave. That cave would be our “home” for the next 10 days or so. Our new ‘home’ opened directly overhead, looking into the sky, so I no longer had a view of the moon or of what was going on around us. The only reminder of war was the ever present thunder of the artillery in the background, and the confinement inside that cave.

 

To this day, when I look at a full moon, I wonder if it remembers that 6 year old boy gripped then, as now, in its hypnotic powers on that fateful night in early June of 1967…

 

           Mike Odetalla 2002 All rights reserved.

A Palestinian girl in Nazareth dress... Painted by Maher Naji

This is my tongue twisters of stars around hugs

Lovers : Leave

They took the spot and left

They took time and migrated "darwesh"

A Palestinian girl in Nazareth dress.

By Maher Naji

MAHER IRINA NAJI - Official Website

Since returning to Gaza in 1994, Naji has continued his career as an artist, exhibiting his paintings in many countries: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria,...

Let the art and love be our common language. —Maher Naji

https://www.palestinemuseum.us/maher-naji-1 

"Never Again" ??? !!

 

"This meme is the rallying cry of Zionists "Never Again" which would be fine if they were fighting Nazis, but as a Palestinian I look at it differently. I see the barbed wire imprisoning the #Palestinians, who had absolutely nothing to do with the #Holocaust, and evolving into the US supplied Israeli jets that slaughter them behind the barb wire that was installed by those same hypocrites that shout "never again"...BTW the only escape these #Zionists made was from Brooklyn"

Mike Hanini Odetalla

 

& making matters worse are headlines that dismiss and ignore the very real plight and suffering of the native non-Jewish men, women, & children of historic Palestine...

"Mohammed Tamimi loved nature. He may have become an archaeologist or an engineer. Maybe he would one day have built a nice home in the hills of his beautiful village of Nabi Saleh." Husam Zomlot of Palestine (Ambassador, Head of Palestinian Mission to the UK, former Head of PLO Mission to the US, Strategic Affairs Advisor to President of Palestine)