"I was just a boy when I learned that my family would soon be leaving my beloved homeland of Palestine to begin a new life in America. To the adults, it was a practical decision—one made in search of opportunity and a better future, away from the suffocating Israeli occupation & oppression. But to me, it felt as though my entire world was being torn away. How could I explain what Palestine meant to a child? It was not merely a place on a map. It was the hills that encircled our small village of Beit Hanina and served as my endless playground. It was the olive and fruit orchards where I wandered freely beneath the sun. It was the caves hidden among the rocky slopes, the handmade kites dancing in the wind, and the familiar scent of earth after the rain. It was home." Mike Odetalla

Mike Hanini Odetalla

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The Boy Who Tried to Stay

By Mike Odetalla

 

Fifty-seven years ago, I made one final, desperate attempt to hold on to the world I loved.

 

I was just a boy when I learned that my family would soon be leaving my beloved homeland of Palestine to begin a new life in America. To the adults, it was a practical decision—one made in search of opportunity and a better future, away from the suffocating Israeli occupation & oppression. But to me, it felt as though my entire world was being torn away.

 

How could I explain what Palestine meant to a child?

 

It was not merely a place on a map. It was the hills that encircled our small village of Beit Hanina and served as my endless playground. It was the olive and fruit orchards where I wandered freely beneath the sun. It was the caves hidden among the rocky slopes, the handmade kites dancing in the wind, and the familiar scent of earth after the rain.

 

It was home.

 

Unable to imagine life anywhere else, I did the only thing a heartbroken child could think to do: I ran away.

 

I sought refuge at the home of my beloved Aunt Jameela (Allah yerhamha), whose house rested on the side of the great hill overlooking our village. To me, it was a sanctuary. I believed that if I stayed there, hidden among the hills and within the loving embrace of my aunt, perhaps the inevitable could somehow be delayed—or even stopped altogether.

 

For one precious night, I allowed myself to believe that I had succeeded.

 

But childhood dreams are no match for the plans of adults.

 

The next day, to my profound disappointment, I was gently but firmly returned to my family. Three days later, I boarded an airplane and arrived in Detroit, Michigan.

 

In the span of a few hours, my world changed forever.

 

I went from olive groves and stone terraces to concrete and smokestacks. From the quiet rhythms of village life to the noise of traffic and crowded city streets. From a landscape shaped by generations of my ancestors to an unfamiliar urban jungle of steel and asphalt.

 

To a young boy, it felt like exile.

 

Yet even as I adapted to this new world, a part of me never left that hillside in Beit Hanina.

It remains there still—in the caves I explored, in the orchards where I played, and in the comforting presence of Aunt Jameela's home perched above the village. In my mind, I can still see that small boy clutching his hopes, convinced that if he hid long enough, he could somehow prevent the loss of everything he cherished.

 

He was wrong, of course.

 

But I have never stopped admiring his determination.

 

And perhaps that is why Palestine has never left me.

 

Because no matter how many miles separate us, no matter how many years pass, the heart remembers where it first learned to love.

 

And somewhere deep inside me, that little boy is still running up the hill, still seeking refuge in Aunt Jameela's home, and still believing that home is worth holding onto with all his might.

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine] 

&

Mike Hanini Odetalla

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Reflections on the wholesale Destruction in Gaza & Lebanon

 

5/27/26

 

Once, when I was a child, my late grandfather (ay) scolded me for disturbing a bird’s nest. 

 

He asked me, “How would you feel if someone came and destroyed your home?”

 

That lesson stayed with me my entire life.

 

A simple village farmer (fallah), with little formal education, understood something fundamental: compassion begins by placing yourself in the suffering of others.

 

And yet today, we witness Palestinian and Lebanese homes destroyed on a massive scale — entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, families buried beneath concrete, children traumatized for life, and generations scarred forever.

 

I often wonder: where are the voices of the grandfathers who are supposed to teach mercy, restraint, and humanity? What lessons are being passed down to children when silence greets the destruction of other people’s homes and lives?

 

Because when children are taught to normalize cruelty, indifference, or collective punishment, the damage extends far beyond shattered buildings. It reaches and decays the soul.

 

The measure of our humanity is not in how we treat those who look like us, pray like us, or agree with us — but in whether we can recognize the pain of others as if it were our own. 

 

— Mike Odetalla 

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Mike Odetalla's newest book- buy a copy, enjoy, savor it... then pass it on to your local library or a child that you know and love  

Aunt Jameela's Bread. A Story of Food, Family, and Love..... A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood and baking bread in his homeland.

A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood, family, and homemade bread in his homeland 

Aunt Jameela's Bread. A Story of Food, Family, and Love..... A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood and baking bread in his homeland.

A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood, family, and homemade bread in his homeland  

Auntie Jameela's Bread

by Mike Odetalla (Author), Jaber Yassein (Illustrator) Format: Paperback

See all formats and editions

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In a small village nestled among golden fields and olive trees, Aunt Jameela baked bread that fills more than just hungry tummies...it fills hearts with joy, stories, and love.

From the wheat grown in the fields to the warm loaves shared with family and friends, every step is a reminder of what truly matters.

A heartwarming tale of tradition, togetherness, and the special memories made around the table.   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GXRFK11T/ref=sw_img_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Buy a copy, enjoy, savor it... then pass it on to your local library or a child that you know and love 

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Aunt Jameela's Bread. A Story of Food, Family, and Love..... A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood and baking bread in his homeland.

"Don't Say Palestine- How the Media Manufactured Consent for Genocide" NEW BOOK by the brilliant headline fixing writer Assal Rad ... "In Don’t Say Palestine, Rad reveals a pattern of dehumanizing language—in outlets from CNN and the AP to the BBC and The New York Times—so consistently employed throughout the Palestinian genocide that it amounts to a policy. Mainstream Western media consistently downplays Israeli responsibility, “others” Palestinians, and casts doubt on inviolable tenets of international law like the sanctity of hospitals and journalists in war zones."

 Assal Rad

@AssalRad

 

Humbled to share the cover of my forthcoming book. A project born of heartbreak, urgency, and the unbearable reality of watching Israel’s genocide against Palestinians unfold in real time.

Assal Rad  https://x.com/AssalRad

PLEASE FOLLOW HER

https://x.com/AssalRad  

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKY3ZYF9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

A searing indictment of Western media that lays bare how the "free press," long tasked with speaking truth to power, instead became a vital part of the machinery that enabled the genocide in Palestine

If you’re not writing the truth about crimes against humanity, you’re culpable in them.

Activist and Middle East historian Assal Rad is known as the “headline fixer” for her powerful posts that illustrate how mainstream Western media’s coverage of the Gaza Genocide is filled with double standards. Israelis are described as "children" and "civilians," while Palestinians are "people under 18" and "collateral damage"; Israelis are killed; Palestinians die. Even in the wake of the so-called ceasefire, major Western media continually obfuscates Israeli violence in Palestine: For example, the Associated Press reported that "Gaza's living conditions worsen as strong winds and hypothermia kill 5." No, Rad corrects: Gaza's living conditions worsen as Israel blocks aid.

In Don’t Say Palestine, Rad reveals a pattern of dehumanizing language—in outlets from CNN and the AP to the BBC and The New York Times—so consistently employed throughout the Palestinian genocide that it amounts to a policy. Mainstream Western media consistently downplays Israeli responsibility, “others” Palestinians, and casts doubt on inviolable tenets of international law like the sanctity of hospitals and journalists in war zones. This groundbreaking, eye-opening exposé offers both a moral reckoning and an urgent call to action, mapping with devastating clarity the media’s complicity in whitewashing a human rights crisis. 

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/834977/dont-say-palestine-by-assal-rad/ 

 

Praise 

 

“Amidst some of the worst journalistic failures of this century, Assal Rad has consistently done vital work to point out the myriad ways institutional hypocrisy, cowardice, and willful obliviousness work hand-in-hand with state violence to justify and normalize any manner of atrocity. Her intellectual rigor and moral clarity—not only on the journalistic malpractice that so often marks Western media coverage of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, but on how this malpractice eventually seeps into all coverage—are unwavering. At a time when it would have been so much more convenient to stay silent, I and so many others are grateful for her willingness to speak.”
—Omar El Akkad, National Book Award–winning author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

“If you’ve ever wondered how the media manipulated perception through subtle use of language, this is the book for you to read. Assal Rad in her superb book shows how no other institution is as instrumental in shaping perception like the media, which is not a record of truth-telling but a carefully curated narrative and elaborate system of erasure, euphemism, and deference to power.”
—Raja Shehadeh, National Book Award finalist and author of We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I

“A poignant reminder of the power of words to normalise, or legitimise, genocide.”
—Yanis Varoufakis, author of Technofeudalism

  

Paperback of the week: Righting Wrongs by Kenneth Roth -Roth spent three decades as head of Human Rights Watch. His record of past victories is also a warning for the future

Roth notes the struggle for human rights is “incessant”; there is no sign that China and others will stop their abuses anytime soon"

It was strange to be reading Righting Wrongs, Kenneth Roth’s memoir about his time in charge of Human Rights Watch, on the same weekend that the United States bombed Venezuela and abducted its president, Nicolás Maduro. As condemnation of the action failed to arrive from Keir Starmer, or barely any significant European leader, I thought of Roth’s statement that it is “axiomatic that for Human Rights Watch’s methodology to work, some particular government or institution must feel shamed”. Unfortunately, it’s shamelessness that seems to be in the ascendant.

Roth achieved tremendous successes at Human Rights Watch during his 29 years as executive director (he stepped down in 2022), seeing the organisation’s annual budget grow from $7m to $100m. The organisation has campaigned for a diverse range of issues including the banning of landmines and LGBT rights, as well as documenting genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and, in the early 2000s, helping to establish the International Criminal Court. The idea, he explains, is to present reports so solid as to be undeniable, and therefore shame the target government or group into stopping their actions. “Stigmatise with facts,” he writes.

Roth’s predecessor at Human Rights Watch, Aryeh Neier, taught him “the possibility of being an activist with intellectual sophistication”. And according to Roth: “It is not my nature to spend lots of time rallying in the streets or picketing government buildings.” He is, he says, no rabble-rouser. Readers of his somewhat colourless prose would have to agree.... READ MORE  https://observer.co.uk/culture/books/article/paperback-of-the-week-righting-wrongs-by-kenneth-roth

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies] 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739898/righting-wrongs-by-kenneth-roth/

 ONE OF THE ECONOMIST‘S BEST BOOKS OF 2025 • From the long-time head of Human Rights Watch, the fascinating and inspiring story of taking on the biggest villains and toughest autocrats around the world

In three decades under the leadership of Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch grew to a staff of more than five hundred, conducting investigations in one hundred countries to uncover abuses—and pressuring offending governments to stop them. Roth has grappled with the worst of humanity, taken on the most brutal officials of our time, and persuaded leaders from around the globe to stand up to their repressive counterparts.

The son of a Jew who fled Nazi Germany just before the war began, Roth grew up knowing full well how inhumane governments could be. He has traveled the world to meet cruelty and injustice on its home turf: he arrived in Rwanda shortly after the genocide; scrutinized the impact of Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait; investigated and condemned Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians. He directed efforts to curtail the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims, to bring Myanmar’s officials to justice after the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, to halt Russian war crimes in Ukraine—even to reign in the U.S. government. Roth’s many innovations and strategies included the deployment of a concept as old as mankind—the powerful tool of “shaming”—and here he illustrates its surprising effectiveness against evildoers.

This is a story of wins, losses, and ongoing battles in the ceaseless fight to uphold our most basic values.