Category: Culture and Genocide

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Why ‘Israeli hummus’ infuriates Palestinians on Honi Soit

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As Israel’s government has been descending into straight-up fascism (far-right nationalist sentiment founded in Jewish supremacy which has been the very basis of the Zionist project from the beginning), it is abhorrent to be celebrating Israeli “culture” founded on the theft and appropriation of Palestinian thaqafa. In the past 8 months, Palestinians have faced the deadliest attempt of systematic genocide since the UN began reporting on Palestinian deaths in 2008. Palestinians don’t get the luxury of resting — both in Palestine and across the diaspora — instead we are constantly re-traumatised by news of raids, evictions, home demolitions, and assassinations of our freedom fighters. One of the only spaces where we can feel a sense of pride is through our culture — our thobes which are carefully embroidered with oral histories through the practice of tatreez, our dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance signifying celebration at weddings, and our hummus which is a simple dip that was able to unite the Levant (or before British & French divisions, balaad al shaam). 

Continue reading at http://honisoit.com/2023/09/why-israeli-hummus-infuriates-palestinians/

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Venezuela mural expresses solidarity with Palestine by Eman Abusidu

PLEASE TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW AND SEND YOUR LETTER TO THE UN OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL ADVISER ON THE PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE AND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR.

Artists have been working diligently for the past few weeks to create a mural that covers a whole building in 23 de Enero neighbourhood in Caracas, Venezuela. The artists were brought together by local artist Julvio Millar to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and put the spotlight on Palestine’s ongoing struggle to resist Israeli colonialism… According to Millar, the only way to stop the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people is to do things every day and in every place.  

Continue reading at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230807-venezuela-mural-expresses-solidarity-with-palestine/

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Letters to Editor: Debating the Terms “Arab World” and “Arab Country” on Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

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Ida Audeh’s response: Gregory DeSylva seems to equate Jewish nationalism/Zionism with references to the Arab world (and use of the term “Arab country”). There is no basis for comparing the two. The former is a discredited supremacist 19th century ideology forged in another continent that can only be maintained through repeated acts of genocide and erasure, as Israel’s 75-year history demonstrates; the latter acknowledges an obvious reality, that Palestinians are part of a region. Because we are indigenous to the region, we have connections to other people in the region; we share history, culture and Arabic as a first language. Historic Palestine is located in the Arab world, a geography that Israelis often refer to as “a dangerous neighborhood,” in the way that colonizers tend to belittle the geographies they descend on. With predatory aspirations, their disdain for their surroundings is a clear indicator that they are alien to it. 

Continue reading at https://www.wrmea.org/2023-august/september/letters-to-the-editor-praise-for-fida-jiryis-stranger-in-my-own-land.html

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‘Genocide Barbie’! Mia Khalifa Trolls Gal Gadot for Her Pink-Carpet Appearance at Barbie Premiere – Here’s Why on LatestLY

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In 2021, Mia Khalifa, the former adult movie star known for her outspoken nature, made headlines when she referred to Gal Gadot, the star of Wonder Woman, as a “genocide barbie” during the Israeli-Palestinian violence. Mia took to Twitter to express her criticism, stating, “we asked for the #SnyderCut, not Genocide Barbie.” Recently, Mia shared a video of Gal Gadot from the Barbie movie premiere in Los Angeles, reiterating her comment.

Continue reading at https://www.latestly.com/socially/entertainment/hollywood/genocide-barbie-mia-khalifa-trolls-gal-gadot-for-her-pink-carpet-appearance-at-barbie-premiere-heres-why-5256235.html

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Free virtual screening of the documentary film “Jews Step Forward” on San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center by Marjorie Wright

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There is one topic in America today which few will fund, no network will broadcast, and distributors are afraid to take on. This is not because it is baseless, frivolous or ephemeral. While gross violations of the Geneva Conventions, political repression, economic strangulation, racism, Apartheid and creeping genocide can be exposed across the globe, this particular example cannot be honestly or deeply addressed inside the U.S. 

Continue watching at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/05/04/18855810.php

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We Should CELEBRATE the Artwork of Palestinian Children Not CANCEL It by Rana Shubair on Palestine Deep Dive

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“For them, our very existence intimidates them and our artwork humanizes us- Palestinians- and this does not serve their purposes. They want us to be portrayed as we are in the media- terrorists, people throwing rocks- this is the picture that they have in mind, and that’s why they didn’t like this piece of artwork. And I also think it comes as part of the genocide that Israel is committing against Palestinians, which comes at all levels. So we have the daily killings, demolitions, evictions, land theft, burning of trees, and all of that. And then we have a different level which is a cultural genocide, where they steal our food and they attack our art. They don’t want the word ‘Palestinian’ to be heard in the western world.”

Continue watching at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXkzbnONIE

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Letter to The Capital Times: Similarities Between the Irish and Palestinian Struggles by Richard McGowan on Washington Report

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Today when I hear “Give Ireland Back to the Irish,” I can’t help but think that if we swapped “Ireland” and “Irish” with “Palestine” and “Palestinian” that it would reveal as much truth as the original… Palestinians endure humiliating military checkpoints, extrajudicial killings, land theft, political disenfranchisement, an apartheid legal system and genocide.

Continue watching at https://www.wrmea.org/2023-may/similarities-between-the-irish-and-palestinian-struggles.html

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Victory is Defeat: Palestinian Children’s Art Exposes Israel’s Cultural Genocide by Ramzy Baroud

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 “We are delighted to report that Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has removed a display of artwork designed by children from Gaza.” That was the summary of a news report published on the homepage of the pro-Israel group, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). The group is credited for being the party that managed to successfully persuade the administration of a hospital in West London to take down a few pieces of artwork created by refugee children from Gaza.

… As ridiculous as this story sounds, it is, in fact, the very essence of the anti-Palestinian campaign launched by Israel and its allies worldwide. While Palestinians are fighting for basic human rights, freedom and sovereignty as enshrined in international law, the pro-Israel camp is fighting for a total and complete erasure of everything Palestinian. Some call this cultural genocide or ethnocide. 

Continue reading at https://www.palestinechronicle.com/victory-is-defeat-palestinian-childrens-art-exposes-israels-cultural-genocide/

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An experience to remember by Sadia Arman 

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DHAKA was fortunate to have been the site once again for the screening of the International Film Festival, screened at the premises of the National Museum. A total of two hundred and fifty-two films were scheduled for screening from 14–22 January 2023 from seventy-one countries from all over the world

…‘Continuous Coverage,’ a 90 minute documentary by Palestinian director Emtyaz Al-Maghrabi, depicts the human rights situation in Palestine. The film reconstructs the deliberate shooting in cold blood of Shireen-al-Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist on May 11, 2022 by members of the Israeli Defences Forces while providing news coverage…‘Continuous Coverage’ is not only a film on genocide and shameless acceptance of it by the world powers; it is a part and continuation of the valiant resistance of the Palestinian people. It is a commemoration by one woman film-maker of the valiant fight put up by another woman hero for the cause of her people and her homeland.. 

Continue reading at https://thenewsguru.com/columnist/recreating-the-holocaust-in-their-own-image-by-owei-lakemfa/

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Response Mixed to PC(USA) Labeling Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Lands as Apartheid by Eric Ledermann on The Presbyterian Outlook

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In June 2022, the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), following decades of debates, voted overwhelmingly in support of Overture INT-02, declaring the Israeli government’s occupation and treatment of the Palestinian people and lands to be named as “apartheid.” Though INT-02 passed the committee with a vote of 90% and by the whole assembly with 70% of the vote, the response both inside and outside the denomination has been mixed.

… Despite efforts within the rationale of the overture and in the letter from the ten former moderators to clarify the overture is about the laws, policies and behaviors of the government of Israel, and not the people of Israel or Jewish people in general, the responses from many corners of the Jewish community in the U.S. and abroad have been highly critical.

… The American Jewish Committee (AJC) responded, saying, “The Presbyterian Church has been hijacked by anti-Israel activists,” claiming that over the years the PC(USA) has “flirted with or crossed over to antisemitism.”

According to a survey conducted in 2021 by the Jewish Electorate Institute, only 25% of U.S. Jewish voters agree that Israel is an apartheid state, with 22% agreeing that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Continue reading at https://pres-outlook.org/2022/10/response-mixed-to-pcusa-labeling-israeli-occupation-of-palestinian-lands-as-apartheid/