My letter to the Guardian RE: UNESCO backs Palestinian membership

The Unesco executive meets in Paris. It decided on Monday to accept Palestinian membership. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

RE: UNESCO backs Palestinian membership
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/unesco-backs-palestinian-membership\\

Dear Sir,

I am very glad to hear that UNESCO backs Palestinian membership, for I very much believe in UNESCO's approach towards building peace in the minds of men and women- and I applaud their core mission "to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values."

I very much hope that our US Congress quickly changes the totally outdated and counterproductive Zionist influenced laws (and backward thinking policies) prohibiting Washington from funding any U.N.-affiliated body that accepts Palestinian membership.

I believe America should be fully supporting Palestinian freedom and a fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel/Palestine conflict. THUS now more than ever UNESCO's mission is a crucially important mission for all civilized people to support as Palestinians valiantly do all they can to explain their situation and non-violently create a sovereign nation state and a better future for every one- regardless of supposed race, religion or nationality.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet

NOTES

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

EXCELLENT ABC Christiane Amanpour Interview with Palestine's Hanan Ashrawi

American Task Force on Palestine President Ziad J. Asali: "The pursuit of peace, independence and reform is not a project for cowards..."

Palestine's Salam Fayyad: "We have been trying to do the very best we can."

Mahmoud Abbas speech at the UN - The full official text

In Detroit, ambassador makes case for Palestinian nation

Palestine

The Arab Peace Initiative requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well...

International musicians OneWorld release historic first ever uk single for 'Freedom for Palestine'

Help Build A Golden Rule Peace for the Holy Land

Visit Palestine, it Makes a World of Difference By Julie Holm for MIFTAH

Growing Gardens for Palestine
Spring in Palestine by Ismail Shammout

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA - UNRWA Appeals to Gaza Union Not to Drag Children into Conflict

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA - UNRWA Appeals to Gaza Union Not to Drag Children into Conflict

GAZA, October 30, 2011 (WAFA) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, appealed, in a press release published Sunday, to the staff union in Gaza not to drag some 219,000 innocent children into their escalating campaign of industrial action.

It said that the children of Gaza, living under the Israeli blockade and the constant threat of military action have suffered enough. This industrial action compounds their collective punishment.

“Along with the parents of Gaza and all those who believe in a dignified future for the next generation, we appeal to the union to call off the strike which is damaging the education of our children in 243 UNRWA schools. They have already lost two full days of classes because of your decision to strike. Don’t punish them further,” said the UNRWA.

It said, “This attack on the education of our children may soon become an attack on healthcare for the sick, as the union is threatening to take their dispute to 20 UNRWA health centers, deliberately denying health care to more than one million Palestine refugees.”

It added that education and health are basic rights, long denied by the punitive Israeli blockade. The union must not reinforce this and support the denial of rights to the people of Gaza.

“The solution is simple. Call off the strike and respect all UNRWA's policies, procedures and decisions.”

The union is playing dangerously into the hands of those who seek to defund and destroy UNRWA, it said.

“We urge the union to call off this action and put the refugees at the centre of UNRWA’s agenda. We make this appeal for the sake of the refugees, for the sake of our children and the sake of the Agency itself,” it concluded.

In Newsweek Magazine: Moshe Dayan's Widow Ruth: Zionist Dream Has Run Its Course

"Recent Israeli governments have been held hostage by the ultra-Orthodox political parties that dictate the national agenda by demanding large economic subsidies and affordable housing within the settlements in exchange for their parliamentary support. These political parties and their constituency, the Haredi, are transforming the face of the nation by promoting an ideological inflexibility that opposes any peace deal with the Palestinians. This has created tremendous tensions with the Obama administration, and runs counter to the visions of those like Moshe Dayan, who, after suffering a psychological defeat in the Yom Kippur war of 1973, began engaging in a different kind of dialogue with Egypt. Moshe Dayan went from saying, “Never peace without Sharm al-Sheikh, and never Sharm al-Sheikh without peace,” to entering into a peace negotiation with Anwar Sadat under the guidance of the Carter administration. This political transformation is not lost on Ruth. “For Netanyahu, peace is just a word, and that [current Foreign Minister Avigdor] Liberman?...?he is the most terrible man in this country. The way he speaks about our Arabs, our Israeli Arabs, is unacceptable! I call Liberman ‘Doberman’: how can a man like that represent our country?!”"

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/30/moshe-dayan-s-widow-ruth-zionist-dream-has-run-its-course.html

Moshe Dayan's Widow Ruth: Zionist Dream Has Run Its Course

Oct 30, 2011 10:00 AM EDT

These startling words were uttered last week in Tel Aviv by 95-year-old Ruth Dayan, widow of one of Israel's founding fathers

Crafted

a poem

by Anne Selden Annab

Did they plant you I wonder
to excuse
the theft
make pretty the pilfering
of land- and archaeology
and every story

Did they find you elsewhere
and save you
for a day and a place
where you might be deployed

Carefully crafted into a story
to turn hearts and minds
away from Palestine
when it counts most

poem copyright ©2011 Anne Selden Annab

*photo by (AP) - "An Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) restorer displays a Byzantine 0.8 by 0.6-inch (2 by 1.5cm) Christian icon box made of bone with a cross carved on the lid in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011...The relic was found in the City of David excavation, a Jerusalem dig named for the biblical monarch believed to have ruled a Jewish kingdom from the site...The politically sensitive dig is located in what is today the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, just outside the Old City walls in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital."

My letter to the LATimes RE "Israel: A true ally in the Middle East"

RE: "Israel: A true ally in the Middle East"
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-blackwill-israel-20111031,0,7160803.story

Dear Editor,

"Israel: A true ally in the Middle East" ?! What about the example Israel sets as it invests in 'religious scholars' rather than fair and just laws and real democracy. How many countries in the Middle East have been significantly influenced in very negative ways by Israel's policies!

If anything Israel has done a great deal of harm to American interests- and would there even be a Hezboullah or a Hamas, but for Israel's cruel persecution and displacement of the native non-Jewish Palestinians. Perfecting urban warfare against the Palestinian men, women and children trapped and tormented by Israeli soldiers and religious zealots all through out the illegally occupied territories is not admirable- or helpful... or wise.

There are decent Israelis- and there are decent Palestinians. The goal should be to end the Israel/Palestine conflict once and for all with a secular two state solution whereby a fully sovereign, stable and secure Palestine can live in peace alongside Israel. Right now there is a very real chance to create a just and lasting peace by fully respecting international law and basic human rights... this should be a win- win for everyone, not an excuse for Israeli propagandists to ignore the vital importance of Palestine and peace.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

David Hale: Hamas could be swept out of power if the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority is able to show "tangible" results from peace negotiations

In Detroit, ambassador makes case for Palestinian nation

UNESCO to vote Monday on Palestine membership: sources

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

Palestine's Salam Fayyad: "We have been trying to do the very best we can."

Mahmoud Abbas speech at the UN - The full official text

The Arab Peace Initiative requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well...

Help Build A Golden Rule Peace for the Holy Land

Visit Palestine, it Makes a World of Difference By Julie Holm for MIFTAH

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Palestine... This Week in Palestine: POEM by Manar Harb

http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3569&ed=200&edid=200













Photo by: Maysa Al-Sha’er.

Palestine
By Manar Harb

Palestine,
how long I stand before you…

Wounded,
deep inside your womb,
Hollow.

Scarred,
a million years of history,
Blood.

Distorted,
Oriental images and tales,
Wrong.

Palestine…
I stand before you long…

Your name,
A load.

Your borders,
A war.

Your statehood,
A scandal.

Palestine…

Your beauty
I cannot ignore

Your land
a fertile crescent

Your people
a source for strength

I stand before you
Long
in an attempt
to apprehend
your place in my life.

Your womb hollow
Your history blood

Your image distorted
Your beauty abrupt

I stand before you and ask myself,
Where do I stand?

Palestinians in the Diaspora—A Story of Existence

http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3553&ed=200&edid=200

Handala, the iconic Palestinian character.

Palestinians in the Diaspora—A Story of Existence
By Mohammed A.K. Owaineh

Mohammed Owaineh is a Palestinian who was born in Dubai and spent his early childhood in Jordan. He now is fortunate enough to live on the land of his grandfathers. Owaineh currently works at the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation (CCHP) and can be reached at mowaineh@cchp.ps.

As a young child, I saw Palestinians in the diaspora as merely numbers I learned about in my “national education” books, a subject of discussion that my father and older brothers used to have, or, as I recall, videos of the massacres of Sabra and Shatila camps in Lebanon that were shown on TV. These were the very first images that were shaped in my mind about this particular Palestinian group. As I grew older, my understanding has grown along with me. Things became clearer as I began to understand that these people are not as miserable as I thought they were, and that misery was just a single aspect of this group.

On one September morning in 2003, while I was walking to school, I saw pictures of Edward Said (the Palestinian-American intellectual) spread all around my home city of Bethlehem. When I came back home that precise day, the first question I had was, who is Edward Said? I asked my father, and he answered me, “Son, people like Edward Said are why Palestinians are still not whipped on this planet.” Then he gave me a short biography about him that I don’t remember understanding a single word from.

It took me four years to understand what my father meant. It was then, and only then, that I began reading Said and I found out that he is truly “one of a kind.”

Every time I read more about the achievements of Palestinians who have lived outside of Palestine, I came to the same realisation that these people and their achievements have participated heavily in setting Palestine on the world map.

The mass emigrations of Palestinians began in the late nineteenth century, keeping up with Arabs from other communities, such as Syria and Lebanon. They mainly emigrated in order to flee the policies of the late Ottoman Empire, which included conscription and high taxes forced on peasants and landlords. The emigration of the Palestinians came to a climax in 1948 during al-Nakba (or the Palestinian Exodus), as approximately 720,000 Palestinians (nearly 70 per cent) fled to other countries after being forced to leave their villages and towns in an attempt to escape the brutality and the mass murders of Zionist groups, which were in the process of creating their own state.

Understanding the accomplishments of Palestinians abroad is essential to understanding our background as a determined people. Members of the Palestinian diaspora have defied every single barrier put in front of them. Let us take refugee camps (outside Palestine) as an example. Palestinians are well known in the Levant region for their contributions in different areas such as the press, arts, and literature. People like Ghassan Kanafani, Salma Jayyousi, Naji al-Ali, and Ismail Shammout have affected the literature and the arts of the areas they lived in. Despite spending their childhoods in refugee camps, they were able to shine by presenting new forms of writing and painting, and adapting existing ones in order to make them more lively and descriptive. The aesthetic value of their works is highly appreciated all over the globe. Others like Abdel Bari Atwan and Jamal Rayyan have left an impact on modern Arabic media.

The political involvement of Palestinians living abroad is a significant achievement as well. Even though they do not have a state, their “instinctual political subtlety” has allowed them to be one of the most politically active people around the world. Even though most of them were not born or raised on Palestinian soil, they have been carrying their people’s matters for a long time in order to present them to the international community. Their writings and thoughts have largely impacted international activists, helping them to see things in a clearer light. However, Palestinian political involvement has never been just “local.” Their participation has also been strong in other political regimes, such as in Jordan. The most notable person is HRH Queen Rania of Jordan who is originally from Tulkarem. Palestinians have also been able to leave the borders of their region by holding posts internationally, for example John H. Sununu, the former governor of the American state of New Hampshire, and Antonio Saca, the former President of El Salvador, who won the 2004 presidential elections against another candidate with Palestinian origins, Schafik Handal.

One could argue that it is not just Palestinians, every minority has its achievements that it boasts about. This is true. But what distinguishes Palestinians is they have not dissolved completely into the communities they are living in. They still believe that being a Palestinian cannot be limited to living in one particular spot on earth, but it is more of a “state of mind” in which they must somehow contribute to what they see as “Palestinian global achievements.” Because of this, Palestinians who are living in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria still keep the keys of their old houses, and pass them from one generation to the next, as if they were a precious family belonging. They do this to remind their children and grandchildren about their homeland, even though they have been far from it for 63 years, and because they still believe that the right of return is an undisputed right.

I’d like to finish to finish my article with this statistic. There are approximately eleven million Palestinians on this planet and around 4.3 million (which is less than half) are currently living in what is called the Palestinian Territories. The rest are either emigrants, refugees, or Palestinians living within the areas occupied in 1948 and 1967. The numbers illustrate the significance of the diaspora to us. They might not have shared this land with us, but they share our common history of despair and destruction, which caused our shattering. That is why whenever a Palestinian travels abroad, the probability of him or her coming back and saying, “I met a Palestinian there,” is quite high.

Return to Palestine, Art work by Anas Barbarawi, At-Talibiyyeh refugee camp, Jordan. Courtesy of Filistin Ashabab.

Palestine in the World of Culture...This Week in Palestine

http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3568&ed=200&edid=200

Palestine in the World of Culture
By Jack Persekian, with contributions from the organizations listed below
The following article tries to summarise some of Palestine’s impacts on the international art community. It is a tricky issue to tackle, as art itself is not bound by national borders.

I sometimes wonder when it would be appropriate to flaunt the global exposure and recognition of Palestinian artists to family, friends, and neighbours, especially when life here in Palestine is so unforgiving and the struggle to get around and make ends meet is so consuming and burdensome. I feel embarrassed and humbled.

Nevertheless, I see it as more of a duty; or maybe I try to convince myself of the fact that projecting a positive image of Palestine into the world will help change public opinion, and eventually (Inshallah) influence governments and decision-makers to side with what’s just and fair.

Doubtless, the recognition and, consequently, the involvement of so many Palestinian artists in events all over the world nowadays has been achieved by their resolve to present the best that that they could, shying away from notions of solidarity and symbolic gestures of goodwill.

From early on (the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s), Palestinian involvement in the international art arena was a direct result of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO’s) engagement with solidarity campaigns, affiliate political parties, and friendly countries. Where we are today is the result of the Palestinian art movement’s tireless quest for terms of engagement on a professional basis founded on merit rather than on camaraderie, political alliance, or empathy.

Someone of stature in the Palestinian art movement once told me that he was hoping the day would come when his name would be coupled with the word “artist” and not “Palestinian artist.” This is not to say that he didn’t want to be a Palestinian artist! On the contrary, I think he was alluding to the hope that his work would become universal and that the values it carries could relate to and connect with other nations and causes around the world.

In a way, it was an attempt on his part to mentally break out of the state of siege and isolation we’re continuously under in Palestine-the siege that is imposed upon us by the Israeli Occupation on one hand, and that is self-imposed as a mechanism to protect our fragile existence and identity on the other.

When asked in an interview with the BBC Radio about the political connotations of her work and of what she thought of Edward Said’s statement that she “had expressed, more than anybody else, the Palestinian condition,” Mona Hatoum answered that “meanings are never fixed” in her work, and that they are rather “slippery.”

She considers meaning as multiple and therefore it cannot be restricted or restrictive. She told the BBC, “people interpret these works depending on their own experience, so his (Edward Said’s) experience of exile and displacement is that of the Palestinians, so he read specifically the Palestinian issue in my work. But it’s not so specifically about the Palestinian issue. It could be related to a number of people who are exiled, who are displaced, or those who suffer cultural or political oppression of any kind.”

Mrs. Hatoum has deservedly earned the status of an international artist for her ability to liberate herself from the parochial confines of our conflict and commit “to human values of concern to all cultures and societies.”

Our cause carries a lot of weight worldwide and stands to embody the quest of any nation or people on this earth for liberation, the right of self-determination, and statehood. I believe that the art we make should live up to this mission, not in its literal representation of the plight and suffering of our people, but in what and how we can contribute towards upholding human values and the future of mankind.

The following brief sections highlight how a number of Palestinian organisations are working to bring their artistic messages and talents to the world community, and share what they have to offer back here in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Al-Harah Theatre Since its establishment in 2005, Al-Harah Theatre has produced several plays for children and adults, which have toured locally and internationally. As a Palestinian theatre group, we believe that it is very important for us to reach international audiences by connecting with artistic and cultural organisations throughout the world. Our performances have taken place in different Arab and international theatre festivals in locations such as Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Japan, Romania, and the United Kingdom.
In 2007, Al-Harah Theatre received the first annual Theatre Against War (THAW) Scholarship Award in recognition for its work with children and young people in Palestine....READ MORE ABOUT

Al-Harah Theatre
Al-Kamandjâti Association
Al Ma’mal’s The Jerusalem Show
ArtSchool Palestine
Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM)
Palestinian Art Court-Al Hoash
Shashat Participation in International Events
A Sister and her Brother Omaima Hamouri and Michael Krotkiewski
Girls and the Sea Taghreed El-Azza.
Yabous

Born and living in Jerusalem. curator and producer, Jack Persekian, is the founder and director of Anadiel gallery and the Al-Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem. He was the head curator of the Sharjah Biennial from 2004 to 2007, the artistic director of the Sharjah Biennial from 2007 to 2011, and the director of the Sharjah Art Foundation from 2009 to 2011.

Palestine Youth Orchestra in Greece, 2010. Photo courtesy of ESNMC.

The Golden Chariot celebrating diversity & tolerance: Found near the Oxus River, on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan (500-300 B.C.)

Oxus chariot model, gold model found near the Oxus river, 500-300BC: 'On the front of the chariot... is the head of the Egyptian god Bes... But what is an Egyptian god doing protecting a Persian on the frontiers of Afghanistan? It's a perfect demonstration of the Persian Empire's striking capacity for tolerating different religions.'

Trustees of the British Museum

See opening page

« 100 objects of desire: Story of the radio series of the year

OR

NYTimes

The History of the World in 100 Objects

OXUS CHARIOT MODEL

Found near the Oxus River, on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan (500-300 B.C.)

“Our chariot doesn’t just tell us about travel and communications; it sums up the acceptance of diversity that was at the heart of the Persian imperial system. . . . On the front of the chariot, prominently displayed, is the head of the Egyptian god Bes. . . . I suppose he’s the equivalent of a modern-day St. Christopher or talisman dangling from the car mirror.’’

Palestine's Salam Fayyad: "We have been trying to do the very best we can."

"... Again, ladies and gentlemen, we have been trying to do the very best we can. I started my remarks by saying something about the importance of showing up, on the strength of what we have been able to do with your help and support. I think we have managed to show up and get to the point where we are able to say, "here we are, we have delivered, we are ready for statehood, is the world ready for us?" I think we are going to get there. There is just no question in my mind that it is only a matter of time before this Israeli occupation ends. It will end, not only because it is oppressive to us, but also because it is corrosive to the Israelis. This is not sustainable, it cannot but end. I think, along the way to getting there, this will continue to require and demand the resources and energy on the part of all of you, here and outside of this hall.

We continue to look to you, the Arab-American community—and if I may be more specific tonight, the Palestinian-American community—to continue to serve as the important bridge to this great nation that is the United States. We definitely look to you to continue to contribute to the brilliance and greatness of this nation. And as you do, no doubt, you will be projecting the true face of Palestine." Salam Fayyad of Palestine

http://www.americantaskforce.org/remarks_palestinian_prime_minister_salam_fayyad_sixth_annual_gala_october_19_2011_0

Remarks by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the Sixth Annual Gala on October 19, 2011

Protecting rights of minorities, women

"Evidence of the need for minority protection in the Middle East is already coming thick and fast: This month – eight months after the Arab Spring – 27 Coptic Christians were killed when Egyptian tanks rolled into a crowd of protesters. Yet there is little accountability in Cairo for the massacre of peaceful protesters, part of which was caught on YouTube.

Politically, there is agreement in Tunis and Cairo and elsewhere on "democracy." Yet this is mainly about voting and elections; conceptual rifts are deepening. Will states adopt a simple democratic "majority rule" system, or one that builds in rights that protect minorities ahead of time, a "national consensus" model?

Basic questions are unanswered: Will women be allowed positions of leadership? Will full participation by non-Muslims in politics, public office, and courts be assured? In states like Syria, with a plethora of minority groups and intra-Muslim divides, if change comes, will all Islamic family members receive full rights?"

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1028/Does-the-Arab-spring-need-a-bill-of-rights

Does the Arab spring need a bill of rights?

The hefty victory of an Islamist party in Tunisia's election kicks off a year of constitution writing. Urgently needed now is a bill of rights to guarantee freedom for all, regardless of creed or politics.

By Robert Marquand, Staff writer / October 28, 2011

Arab Teens: "We rap about what it's like growing up with two sides fighting and how this affects us..."

""We don't hate Jews," says Zarqawi. "We hate the idea of how Zionism came and took over our land and our culture and left us nothing.""

Mai Zarqawi (L) and Amane Tattur in a studio in the city of Nazareth in northern Israel. The girls' music criticises Israel's policy toward the Palestinians and takes on issues like the towering security barrier that cuts across the West Bank. (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)

http://news.yahoo.com/arab-teens-rap-angry-politics-nazareth-054337498.html

Arab teens rap out angry politics in Nazareth

By Zab Mustefa | AFP

Mai and Amane, Arab Israeli teenagers living in Nazareth, are happy to leave talk about boys and make-up to their peers. They have a political message and they're telling it through rap music.

The girls, only 15 and 16, make up the duo "Damar" -- Arabic for "destruction" -- whose mission is to expose what they say is the routine discrimination they experience growing up as part of Israel's Arab minority.

Mai Zarqawi and Amane Tattur formed Damar after meeting at school in the Jewish-Arab city of Nazareth in 2009, and discovering a shared interest in fighting for Palestinian rights.

"We don't hate Jews," says Zarqawi. "We hate the idea of how Zionism came and took over our land and our culture and left us nothing."

They refuse to identify themselves as Arab Israeli, but rather as Palestinians living in Nazareth, home to some 72,000 people.

And their lyrics are just as direct. "Do you think the third generation will be Israeli, bro? Time will not make them forget but instead it will add history...we don't want your silence, we don't want prisons and borders," they rap in their song "Third Generation".

"They buy us with money to recruit us all the time, they steal our culture -- even humus and ful... The minority is fighting for freedom, Palestine is in our hearts, not forgotten," it continues.

Israel's Arab community of 1.6 million, which represents about 20 percent of the population, is made up of the 160,000 Palestinians who stayed behind after establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, and their descendants.

Although they hold Israeli nationality, Arab Israelis in practice remain second-class citizens, with the sector receiving far fewer government resources for health, education and economic development.

They struggle to maintain their cultural and political identity as Palestinians in a Jewish state where any expression of Arab national sentiment is viewed as a threat.

"As a Palestinian, I want to have a voice. I want to have freedom of expression. I love hip-hop and I love my identity. So when you bring them both together, you get Damar," Zarqawi says.

Inspired by American singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill and US rapper Nas, the girls' music criticises Israel's policy toward the Palestinians and takes on issues like the towering security barrier that cuts across the West Bank.

"Everywhere we go, we just see the wall in front of us," Tattur says. "It destroyed our dreams, so through our music we're going to build a new generation that really understands what is going on here."

Their lyrics, mostly written by Tattur, also reflect their own teen experience.

"Our first song is about Arab schools being completely different to Israeli schools. We rap about what it's like growing up with two sides fighting and how this affects us," says Zarqawi.

"We would talk about how Arab teenagers don't understand where they are from. They have an identity crisis because they have Israeli ID's and Palestinian heritage."

At first, no-one took them seriously. The girls struggled with a taboo against female musicians, and parents who thought the group was a passing fad....READ MORE