"And yet we watched as those subtle, innocent, beautiful nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion. In an American discourse so heavily imbued with anti-Palestinian racism and so rife with Islamophobia, Palestinians or those who dare see them as human are not allowed to have legitimate intentions or legitimate grievances. They are to be constantly seen as suspicious. Even if they speak of human rights, equality, dignity, they can never really be trusted to mean those things because of who they are — sneaky shapeshifters with deeply held, murderous, ulterior motives. It is quite remarkable how much this echoes antisemitism throughout history, and that should surprise no one. All forms of racism are connected" Yousef Munayyer

 ... An Era of Being Exogenously Defined 

On a nightly basis after September 11, 2001, so-called terrorism experts who knew next to nothing about the language, religion, or cultures of the region would appear on news broadcasts — indoctrinating our friends, neighbors, classmates, and coworkers to treat our language as suspicious.

We watched as those subtle and innocent nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion.

I remember hearing an Arab-American elder once explain to a curious neighbor, “In Arabic, God is in every conversation.” At the time, I thought it was a bit overdramatic. It is undoubtedly true that it is hard to imagine an Arabic conversation where Allah is not uttered. Whether in our bismillahs, alhamdulillahs, mashallahs or inshallahs or our yallahs or wallahs, God makes routine appearances. But these are not necessarily religious conversations at all. Even the non-religious use these terms; it is just the nature of how we communicate in our language due to its historic ties to faith. It is also one of the many things that makes the Arabic language beautiful.

And yet we watched as those subtle, innocent, beautiful nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion. In an American discourse so heavily imbued with anti-Palestinian racism and so rife with Islamophobia, Palestinians or those who dare see them as human are not allowed to have legitimate intentions or legitimate grievances. They are to be constantly seen as suspicious. Even if they speak of human rights, equality, dignity, they can never really be trusted to mean those things because of who they are — sneaky shapeshifters with deeply held, murderous, ulterior motives. It is quite remarkable how much this echoes antisemitism throughout history, and that should surprise no one. All forms of racism are connected.

A Shoe on the Other Foot

Imagine for a minute subjecting words or phrases in a different language, or about a different people, to the same unfair treatment. Consider the Hebrew phrase Am Yisrael Chai. The literal meaning of the phrase is “the people of Israel live,” and there are plenty of instances where the use of this phrase is mundane. However, the phrase is routinely chanted by murderous Israeli settlers as they engage in mob violence against Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Recently, it has been shouted by Israeli soldiers as they commit heinous war crimes in Gaza and shared widely and proudly by those same soldiers on social media. Thus, one could argue that Am Yisrael Chai is a genocidal slogan and must be banned, and that all those who use it or have used it must be criminalized and viewed with deep suspicion.

Surely, this is absurd. And yet this is the absurdity Palestinians and those who support their freedom are constantly subjected to. Still, too many cannot see the glaring double standard... READ MORE

https://theintercept.com/2025/07/10/mamdani-globalize-intifada-democrats/

Zohran Mamdani Shows Democrats How Not to Take the Bait

By refusing to capitulate on "globalize the intifada," Mamdani rejected a long tradition of demonizing Arabic language.

by 

Yousef Munayyer

July 10 2025

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A martyr is a person who is killed or made to suffer because of their religious or other beliefs ... Talented artist Deem Zurub [Dina Khaled Mohammed Zaarab] drew pictures of people who died in Gaza- MARTYRs who died in Israel's war against the indigenous people of Palestine. Deem Zurub, a Palestinian refugee living in a tent, was killed by Israeli airstrike April 14th, 2025

Deem holding a drawing she did of a child killed by Israeli forces

Deem Zurub, Palestinian artist - She didn’t just sketch martyrs — she became one

Dina Khaled Mohammed Zaarab was killed in an Israeli strike on Rafah southern Gaza Strip, April 14th 2025.

Dina Zaarab—only 22 years old. 

Dina—the talented painter whose brush captured the unspeakable pain of genocide.

 

Dina—the girl who brought color to children’s faces while the world around them was gray with ash and fear.

 

Dina—the dreamer who wanted nothing more than to help her people, to bring water, food, smiles… hope.  

Israel kills 22-year-old Palestinian artist Dina Zaurub in airstrike on her displaced tent

Israeli forces have killed Palestinian artist Dina Khaled Zaurub in an airstrike west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The strike hit the tent where she and her family had taken shelter near the Sand Beach resort, Quds News Network reported.

The 22-year-old gained recognition for painting portraits of victims killed by Israel, honoring the lives lost during the ongoing genocide... READ MORE  https://maktoobmedia.com/world/israel-kills-22-year-old-palestinian-artist-dina-zaurub-in-airstrike-on-her-displaced-tent/

Zaurub received several honors throughout her life. In 2015, she won the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Award for the best drawing on children’s rights in armed conflict. She was later recognized by the Ministry of Education and UNRWA for her work. She specialized in portraiture and used her art to document and honor the martyrs of Gaza.

Feast of the Holy Innocents: Christian children in Bethlehem lay olivewood hearts, each representing a child killed in the Holy Land since October 7

Christian children in Bethlehem lay olivewood hearts, each representing a child killed in the Holy Land since October 7 2023-Dec 29 2024

 

Christian children in Bethlehem lay olivewood hearts, each representing a child killed in the Holy Land since October 7 2023- Dec 29 2024

The Catholic community in Gaza continues to show the world an incredible testimony of faith... May their courage be an example to everyone.

 

Vatican News

The Catholic community in Gaza continues to show the world an incredible testimony of faith. Today, despite the war and its dangers, the Holy Family Parish celebrated Palm Sunday in the most solemn way.

May their courage be an example to everyone.

 

A blessed Holy Week to us all

Israel Blocks UNWRA Aid as CHILDREN in Gaza STARVE and die, PLUS insult to injury also Blocks Indigenous Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem on Palm Sunday 2024

 

106 years ago (11 December 1917) the #Crusaders returned, led by England's General Allenby- his name now a bridge where Palestinians wait to be harassed by racist Israel's minions

1917 England's General Allenby

 

"The victorious Allenby dismounted, enters Jerusalem on foot out of respect for the Holy City, 11 December 1917"

Opening of the Allenby Bridge in 1918

Since the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, the Allenby Bridge Terminal has been operated by the Israel Airports Authority. 

It serves as a border crossing between the west and east banks of the Jordan River. 

Al-Karama crossing: A “symbol and witness of humiliation and suffering”

Al-Karama border crossing (colloquially known to Palestinians as Al-Jissir, the bridge) is the only border crossing available to West Bank Palestinians [indigenous non-Jewish men, women and children]

In 1885 the Ottoman government of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem built a bridge at this site, over the Jordan River.

In 1918 British general Edmund Allenby built a bridge over the remnants of its Ottoman predecessor. This newer construction was destroyed a first time in the 1927 Jericho earthquake, when it fell apart and collapsed into the river.

It was destroyed again during the “Night of the Bridges” operation by Palmach (the elite force of the Jewish militia Haganah, a Zionist terrorist organization that also oversaw the July 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel in which 91 people were killed) on 16 June 1946. The next destruction occurred during the 1967 Six-Day War, after which it was replaced in 1968 with a temporary truss-type bridge.

In 1994, subsequent to the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, a new, modern, paved crossing was constructed adjacent to the older wooden one with the aid of the Japanese Government.

After the 1967 war, all Palestinian lands came under the control of the Israeli occupation, which considered all West Bank areas “closed” areas from which Palestinians were not permitted to leave, except after obtaining a special permit.

The Al-Karama crossing became the main or only exit for Palestinians in the West Bank wishing to travel to the outside world.

“Humiliation and suffering”

As the only border crossing to leave the West Bank, many Palestinians have no choice but to face the difficult conditions at the bridge in order to travel, including the high tax of NIS 158 Israel imposes on travelers leaving through Al-Karama (travelers, including tourists, who leave through Israel’s other border crossings with Jordan, are exempt from the departure tax), as well as a collection of other fees imposed by the PA, Israel, and Jordan.

When Israel closes the bridge due to Jewish holidays or imposes other restrictions, a majority of West Bank Palestinians have no other options for travel. https://jerusalem.24fm.ps/15833.html

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Israel-Palestine war: Why Gaza genocide is seen as an existential threat to Jordan

"Israel has perceived Jordan through typical settler-colonial frontier logic, whereby Jordan has been approached as a functional colonial space rather than a sovereign state.

Notably, not only Palestine but also Jordan is perceived through a biblical lens as the “Land of Gilead”, with Jordan being purported as an integral part of “greater Israel”. This perspective has gained such prominence that it found expression in popular song lyrics, such as “Two Banks has the Jordan [River] - This is ours and that is as well”, from a song titled The East Bank of the Jordan penned in 1929 by Vladimir Jabotinsky, a Ukrainian Jewish leader of Revisionist Zionism.

Leaders of various Zionist stands deemed the British exclusion of Transjordan from the purview of the colonial promise to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a “serious whittling down of the Balfour Declaration”, as Chaim Weizmann noted in his memoir,

Despite their objection to this exclusion, pragmatic leaders within the Zionist movement continued to view Jordan as a vital security buffer and frontier space, where they contemplated transferring - that is ethnically cleansing - the indigenous people of Palestine to neighbouring countries.

Today, more than two million Palestinian refugees reside in Jordan as a result of the ongoing ethnic cleansing since the Nakba, the mass expulsion in 1948.

Revitalised Revisionist Zionism

Since the 1930s, the Hashemites have attempted to navigate and counter this threat through various strategies..."  READ MORE

 https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-war-jordan-gaza-genocide-existential-threat

Emile Badarin

8 December 2023 11:47 GMT | 

 

Amman faces difficult choices now that Revisionist Zionism, which sees Jordan as part of 'Greater Israel', has been revitalised by the messianic far-right dominating Israeli politics

 

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Dear President Biden- Please stop forcing American taxpayers to fund and arm Jews-preferred Israel

Lady Justice

 

Dear President Biden,

A foreign country claiming to be our friend has calmly invaded these United States of America and is actively undermining every ideal we are supposed to uphold.

These are terrifying times: Democracy is supposed to support the rule of fair and just laws- and the truth.  But when it comes to Israel our politicians and news media do all they can to promote and distribute Zionist propaganda and anti-Arab spin.  

PLEASE, I beg you to think more clearly, do not trust Israel.  Start exploring the real facts beyond the pervasive Zionist spin!!   

Please stop forcing American taxpayers to fund and arm Jews-preferred Israel. 

People should not be divided up by religion (or race or gender) and only given respect, good jobs, and security when they are the "right" religion (or race or gender)...  All people regardless of supposed religion, or lack thereof, should be free and equal. Every one's human rights must fully respected! 

In this age of cell phones and the internet, I do not want vulnerable human beings anywhere on planet earth watching and learning that arming religion with lethal weaponry and racist hate is the best way for people to grab power and money and support- because that is exactly what Zionists have been doing in historic Palestine.  HAMAS is merely following Israel's lead.

We are not and should not be like Israel: The Indigenous people of historic Palestine are trapped by racist Israeli laws and policies- trapped and tormented and demonized because the indigenous Palestinians dare read, comprehend and respect The United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and they want to be free and equal- and respected.

Justice and peace go hand in hand, you can not have one with out the other.  Please send the right message to all the world. We stand with Justice and Peace- and Secular Democracy.  Religion must be a personal private choice, not a state sponsored endeavor or a reason to wage war.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles). https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights