The #1 question I am getting from people who find out I was in Palestine for 10 days is, “Did you feel safe?” Or, “isn’t it dangerous there?” Or there is a look of disbelief that I would go visit. Here’s how I answer: The only times I felt in danger and uncomfortable were by the policies of the State […]
George at Abu Skandar’sShawarma Joint inRamallah, Palestine. I love food. I was told I needed to go to Abu Skander’s in Ramallah for Shawarma. I was not mislead — it was amazing. Apparently there is a rivalry with a former employee who worked at Abu Skander’s for 40 years who opened a shawarma joint down the road. So, naturally, I […]
One night while winding down with my uncle and family, we started to watch Clint Eastwood’s “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” Who knew it was one of my uncle’s favorite movies? I admitted that I had never seen the entire movie from beginning to end, and even that night I only really paid attention to the last 15 […]
One highlight of my trip was taking part in a weekly hike organized by a few Palestinian locals. It was set up as a way for local Palestinians to get together and better appreciate the beauty and history of the landscape surrounding Ramallah and other areas of the West Bank. My cousin Juwana goes on these hikes most weeks and […]
Great article in yesterday’s NY Times.OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal By YOUSEF MUNAYYER Published: May 23, 2012 I’m a Palestinian who was born in the Israeli town of Lod, and thus I am an Israeli citizen. My wife is not; she is a Palestinian from Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Despite our towns being just 30 miles apart, […]
Me at Al Manara Square,the center of Ramallah. Wow, did I love Ramallah. The Rafeedie hometown is actually Al-Bireh, another great town, but the city center of Ramallah was only a 10 minute walk away and is the hub of activity, commerce, culture, tastes and smells. As you consider the state of Palestine, and how all cities are still really […]
Today I visited the Rafeedie family cemetery and mausoleum in Al-Bireh, directly next to Ramallah. My family has lived in the West Bank for at least 300 years. They have lived in Al-Bireh for at least that long after migrating there from the town of Rafeedia, which is now part of Nablus. One thing on my list of things to […]
I quickly found out that when people refer to Israel in the West Bank, they refer to it as “the land of 1948,” meaning the cities and towns that were part of historical Palestine before Israel was created as a Jewish only state. Towns in “the land of 1948” include Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Yaffa, Lod, Akka and Nazareth, among […]
Catastrophe is a strong word. In the United States, that word conjures up horrible images of unimaginable proportions. Israel’s “independence day” is today, May 15. I didn’t know it at the time I booked my trip, but I am here in Palestine on the 64th anniversary of the founding of Israel. In Palestine, that day is called Al Nakba, which […]
In 1967, Israel preemptively attacked its Arab neighbors. At the time, the West Bank was under Jordanian rule. It was like that since about 1948, after the creation of Israel. Before that, the West Bank was under British control, along with the rest of historical Palestine and Gaza. Even before that, before World War I, historical Palestine was part of […]
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