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First Friday of Ramadan For Palestinians
It is that time of year again. It is officially Ramadan 2013 or 1434 hijri, which is the Islamic version of Anno Domini (AD) except in this case the D is more of an M. For those of you who have been living under a pita pocket, Ramadan is the Muslim version of Lent except it…
Mohammed Assaf: From Underdog to Idol
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on June 25th, 2013. And the winner is … On the eve of the summer solstice, Arab satellite mega-station MBC broadcast the finale of the second season of Arab Idol. For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon known as Arab Idol, it is basically the Pan-Arab version of American Idol, complete with cheesy cover…
The Not-So-Bright Future of Palestine’s Class of 2013
It is graduation season and students all across the globe are donning their mortarboards and getting ready to march out of the safety of the college bubble and into the real world. Palestinian students in the Class of 2013 are no exception, but the future they are facing is not so bright. For Palestinian students,…
Who Wants To Be Prime Minister? Not Rami Hamdallah
Rami Hamdallah has left the building. A mere 18 days into his new gig as Palestine’s Prime Minister, Hamdallah handed Mahmoud Abbas his resignation citing irreconcilable differences. The newly appointed PM’s love affair with the Palestinian Authority lasted only a quarter of the length of Kim Kardashian’s marriage, to that random basketball player she exploited…
Alicia Keys: Come Visit Palestine
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on June 11th, 2013. Alicia Keys is going to play Israel, and no one is going to stop her. When Keys announced Tel Aviv would be one of the stops on her “Set the World on Fire” Tour, the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Brigade collectively let out…
Google ‘Palestine’—It Exists, And So Do Palestinians
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on June 4th, 2013. On May 4, Google did something President Obama didn’t have the guts to do: they recognized Palestine as a state and gave us our very own homepage. This is far better than being verified on Twitter or having the U.N. General Assembly vote…
Sheldon Adelson Gets a Free Pass for Bigotry
Money can’t buy you happiness, but it sure makes bigotry a lot easier. Sheldon Adelson is proof of that. Adelson’s nastiness was on full display this week at the Israeli Tourism Conference. After receiving some trumped-up honor, he decided to entertain reporters with the same old song and dance about Palestinians not existing. Sheldon Adelson…
The Next Arab Idol: Palestine’s Boy Wonder and Stereotype Buster
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on , 2013. A phenomenon is sweeping the Middle East. Arabs young and old are voting in record numbers—and this time it’s not for the Muslim Brotherhood. Armed with nothing but their cellphones, they have set aside their differences and united to watch and vote for the…
No Place Like Home
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on May 15th, 2013. A rusty, iron key to the past sits on a windowsill in my home. Three years ago, when the man I married left the refugee camp he was born and raised in to move to The States, this clunky key came with him.…
What Hawking and Jerusalem Day Have in Common
Article originally written for The Daily Beast, published on May 13th, 2013. On May 8th, Israelis marked the 46th anniversary of Jerusalem Day. For those of you unfamiliar with the holiday, this annual love fest features angry mobs of Israelis of all ages, marching through the streets of the Old City in celebration of the reunification…
