Palestine OpEd Page - a blog

Songs heard beyond the walls

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 11:00:00 +0000

"I know the echo of the songs are heard beyond the walls," says 11-year-old rapper in Gaza. Abdelrahman al-Shantti has never been beyond the 25-mile-long and 5-mile-wide Gaza strip, yet he sings in flawless American-accented English, and his music has gone viral.

I was born in Gaza City,
and the first thing I heard was a gunshot.
In my first breath,
I tasted gunpowder.

His song "Peace" refers to early memories of war and violence.

Abdelrahman, or MCA Abdul as he is known, is certain his message has gone beyond the walls because he has been interviewed by media all over the world, including The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, and Variety. Major rappers from all over the world have noticed and helped extend his reach with their approval. His instagram account, @mca.rap has 122,000 followers at last count (Make that 122,001).

The latest article in Variety says he has been offered a contract. https://variety.com/2020/music/news/12-year-old-rapper-gaza-empire-records-offer-1234761201/

In an interview in the October 2020 issue of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, MAC Abdul states "I want to show [the American children] how, as children, we are all supposed to be free, like children for outside the walls, fences and bombs of Gaza."https://www.wrmea.org/israel/palestine/the-first-thing-i-heard-was-a-gunshot-a-gaza-symphony.html

We wish him well and hope that his message of peace and freedom shines through the well-deserved praise and attention his talent has attracted. Let his music speak for itself:

MCA Abdul attends a school run by UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. In recent years the agency has struggled to fund its activities since the United States has cut funding to the United Nations. Schools in Gaza have been heavily damaged in repeated attacks.

Please consider donating to UNRWA to help educate the talented new generation of Gaza, living under 18-hour electricity blackout due to lack of fuel for the electric plant. Smart phones, the only way to reach the outside world, are regularly charged with car batteries. People find a way to survive under the harshest conditions.

Click the image or copy this link: https://getinvolved.unrwausa.org/campaign/2020-fund-unrwa/c267485 to donate to UNRWA USA, to give a tax deductible contribution to help children in Gaza.

Talk of Annexation--Again

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:10:00 +0000

In the January 1984 issue of Palestine Perspectives, Muhammad Hallaj wrote an editorial entitled "Injustice is Never Irreversible" that addressed the then current topic of annexation or de facto annexation of the Occupied Territories.

Dr. Hallaj raised two questions:

1. Does military occupation become "irreversible?" In our view it does not. The forceful subjugation of one people by another cannot acquire legitimacy due to the unilateral act of the occupier, although such acts may very well make the withdrawal symptoms more severe.
2. The second question which needs to be raised is this: what happens to the Arab-Israeli conflict if Israel's de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza does become "irreversible?"

Hallaj recognized the possibility that, given the vastly unequal balance of power, such possibility exists.

In that case only what Israel wants would be achievable. But in that case it makes no difference what the Palestinians do, because Israel is dead set against Palestinian self-determination—with or without association with Jordan—as its immediate and categorical rejection of the Reagan scheme and as its refusal even to discuss the cessation of settlement demonstrates.

However, it behooves those who advise the Palestinians to swallow whatever it is that is being shoved down their throats, as a presumed alternative to oblivion, to consider another theoretical possibility which is transformable into a practical option...the struggle with Israel would cease to be over the West Bank and would become again a struggle over Palestine. In other words, instead of closing the file on the Palestinian people, Israel's annexation of the West Bank and Gaza would re-open the file from the beginning.

In the nearly 37 years that have elapsed since the writing of the editorial, much has remained the same: the Israelis still talk of annexation, and they are still supported by the powers that be in the United States. Unfortunately, that does not mean we have come full circle, stuck in a repeating cycle. The Palestinian position has weakened in the interim.

The West Bank struggles with the stranglehold Israel has over the water supply, not to mention the supply lines of everything else that it needs to continue life as usual. Outside help wanes as economies around the world face uncertainty in the face of a continuing pandemic.

The situation in Gaza is desperate. After years of blockade in conjunction with continuous and violent suppression, the people of Gaza struggle to survive. Electricity is intermittent due to the scarcity of fuel for the power plant; medicines of all sort are in sort supply; the water treatment plant languishes in scarce energy and maintenance hampered by lack of parts. The hospitals struggle to meet the day-to-day needs of the community, yet they are called upon to reach even greater demand by recurring violence and now the worldwide struggle with covid-19 adds to the misery.

The Elections are Coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

It is a sad commentary on the state of the Palestinians and their struggle for freedom that articles written more than thirty-five years ago are just as relevant and applicable to their plight today as they were the day they were written. In the November/December 1983 issue of Palestine Perspectives, Muhammad Hallaj wrote the following commentary:

It is often said that the presidential election season is a time of paralysis for American foreign policy. This may be true in some areas of U.S. foreign policy, but certainly not in the Middle East. American policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict does not suffer from paralysis, but instead becomes gripped with a fit of epilepsy.

This pathetic seasonal phenomenon has already made its appearance in preparation for the coming elections. The various contestants, whether they are guarding their jobs or grabbing for them, have already begun to pay homage to Greater Israel. Although we have become somewhat accustomed to this irresponsible ritual, occasionally we are still shocked by how far some candidates go in sacrificing America's interests and integrity in their chase after votes and campaign money.

This piece was written in response to a speech by Senator John Glenn to the Foreign Policy Association in New York. Dr Hallaj summarized the main thrust of the speech as "an attack on the concept of 'evenhandedness' in U.S. Middle East Policy. He [Senator Glenn] charged that evenhandedness means a 'tilt away from Israel,' as if that were a self-evident evil."

Those words were penned as the nation prepared for the 1984 elections. Today we are preparing for the 2020 elections. Decades have passed, yet in the midst of it all, American policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict suffers another seizure. The new Middle East Peace Plan is introduced by none other than Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. It is a plan tilted so far toward Israel that even The New York Times cannot ignore the tilt.

Mr. Trump vowed at the start of his presidency that he would negotiate a “bigger and better deal” to broker peace than anyone could imagine. Three years later, experts say that the plan, developed under the supervision of Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, falls remarkably short of that goal and is unlikely ever to become the basis for a peace agreement. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/world/middleeast/trump-peace-plan-explained.html

What is that saying? The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The phrase was coined by French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Peace Process Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Muhammad Hallaj wrote the following in his editorial in the November/December 1983 issue of Palestine Perspectives. Unfortunately, his words are just as true and applicable today, more than 35 years later, as it was when he wrote it.

For the first time in recorded history, the world community committed itself in the twentieth century to the ideal of universalizing self-government and economic well-being. Self-determination an development became primary objectives of contemporary human civilization.

The transformation of Palestine into Israel in 1948 and in subsequent years deprived the Palestinian people of the opportunity to share this human dream. They have been denied self-government, and their lives have been disrupted and harassed.

Granted, the vision of universalizing self-government and development has been only partially and imperfectly achieved. Hundreds of millions of people around the world continue to suffer from hunger, disease and ignorance. And in many countries decolonization has not brought liberty and justice to their peoples. The struggle has not yet been consummated everywhere. But nowhere in the world, except in Palestine, has the deprivation been so deliberate, conscious and determined.

In other places, the problem has been a failure of the dream, a failure to benefit from an opportunity which has been granted. In Palestine, it has been a failure to grant the opportunity and to share the dream. And that is the rationale and the nobility of the Palestinian struggle...

The struggle in Palestine is not about the location of boundaries, the confiscation of land, the dissolution of municipalities or political imprisonment, although it concerns all of this and much more. It is fundamentally about the inadmissibility of singling out the Palestinian people for denial of access to the contemporary dream.

All efforts and initiatives made in the name of peace in the Middle East which fail to take this fact as their underlying premise are doomed to fail and deserve to fail. They are doomed to fail because they do not address the issue, and they deserve to fail because they make a mockery of a universally cherished human vision.

And so it is that we begin one more decade with one more mockery of justice.

We Too Have a Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 16:41:00 +0000

Going through some old publications last night, I came across an article in the September/October 1983 issue of Palestine Perspectives that quoted a message from Mr. Yasser Arafat, then Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, expressing solidarity with the March on Washington and its commitment to human rights. The message was sent in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the celebrated March during which Dr. King give his I Have a Dream speech.

On behalf of my brothers in the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and in the name of the Palestinian people who are struggling to achieve their redemption from the yoke of occupation, discrimination, and oppression and for the enjoyment of their inalienable rights to self determination, statehood, return to their homeland, and freedom, we wish to commend your efforts in bringing hundreds of thousands of Americans to Washington to commemorate the historic march led by the great martyr Dr. Martin Luther King.

We the Palestinian people are heartened by this great development which we believe reflects the true commitment of the American people to build a new coalition of conscience that represents the true soul of the American democracy.

We would like you to know that our people both in occupied Palestine and in exile lock arms with you on this occasion in fraternal solidarity with your struggle to achieve the dream of Dr. Martin Luther king for a new society where equality, justice, peace and love would prevail.

Palestinians: We too have a dream!

___________

As a postscript, I was privileged to be present at both the first March in 1963, and the twentieth anniversary march in 1983. Sadly, the dream is slow in coming.

Dreams and Love in the Face of Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 01:00:00 +0000

"Khalil was shot and killed by Israeli guards at the Qalandiya checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah after he allegedly tried to stab one of them on 22 November. No Israelis were injured during the incident."

https://electronicintifada.net/content/month-pictures-december-2016/19106

Anything about Kalandia catches my attention, regardless of the way the word is transliterated. This one stood out with vivid clarity. That could have been Muhammad. Sometimes the characters we create in novels become real enough to appear in news articles. Muhammad, at least the hero of my novel Checkpoint Kalandia, never really existed. He never really had to be held down to keep from attacking the soldiers at the checkpoint, but his is the background I ascribed to Jihad Khalil. A situation that should never happen continues to be repeated…and repeated…and repeated for years, decades, and generations.

The people of Gaza live under even more repressive conditions than those on the West Bank, yet they continue to make art. They paint, they write, they produce plays, they make amazing music. The video below was one I found on the same website, electronicintifada.net. I find it great fun to find that hip-hop music has found a home in Gaza.

The English subtitles are hard to read, but the words are very uplifting. I have taken some liberties with their less-than-perfect translation:

We’re tightening our strength to be the people who never kneel down to death.
We give the mute dream persistence and voice.
We’re tightening our strength to be the people who never kneel down to death.
Time passes fast. We still hold faith in our hearts
Immigration is not even an option for us
so we will resist the humiliation until we return
We still hold dreams in our hearts
Tomorrow they will be facts.
The bitterness will change to love
And carry the meaning of liberation.
Come sing with us. Let us fly.
We build the love of the land deep in our hearts
And keep it safe within us.
Sing with us. Let’s all fly. Let’s all fly. Let’s all fly.
We’re tightening our strength to be the people who never kneel down to death.
We give the mute dream persistence and voice.
We’re tightening our strength to be the people who never kneel down to death.

It's Always Time for HUMMUS

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:43:00 +0000

Americans think of hummus as a dip; Arabs think of hummus as a meal—especially at breakfast time. Early in the morning, children scurry down streets in their pajamas, or with a dress or jacket thrown over pajamas. Each child carries a plate and a few coins, and all heading for the nearest hummus maker. Nothing beats good hummus with fresh pita bread for breakfast—unless you add falafel.

Breakfast doesn't last all day, but hummus can. For many families in the Arab world, the main meal of the day is at midday. If someone, or several someones happen to visit at meal time, a quick trip to the local hummus maker can stretch every meal to accommodate everyone.

Unfortunately, where we live, there is no local hummus maker. So... I make my own. We haven't found a pre-made hummus that suits us, but it isn't hard to make.

Add a can of chickpeas, tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, and a little garlic in a food processor and let 'er rip. Make sure it is a smooth paste and not grainy. Canned chickpeas work just as well as cooked dried chickpeas, although there are purists who disagree. Don't forget to keep out a few chickpeas to use as garnish.

Finish the garnish with sumac and parsley. Top with extra virgin olive oil, and it's ready to go.

I did say hummus was good anytime, didn't I?

Ever have a day with no inspiration for dinner? Try this: Crumble some ground meat in a skillet, add some pine nuts that have been lightly browned in olive oil. Instead of the sumac and parsley, put the meat on a dish of hummus. Top with browned pine nuts. Serve with a veggie platter—and add some pickled turnips, or dill pickles if you can't find turnips.

If you want to top your hummus with some of the best olive oil in the world, try some made from olives grown in Palestine. I buy mine from Canaan Fair Trade. They sell all kinds of great food. https://www.canaanusa.com/shop?code=USC

This video shows a Palestinian woman making hummus with a blender. While she doesn't use as much tahini as I would use, I love watching the family eat. Notice that they use little snippets of bread and pop the whole thing in their mouths. No double dipping, just sharing.

Arabic Bread: an important part of culture

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 22:50:00 +0000

Arabic bread is more than just a food. It is an integral part of the culture across the Arab world, and no wonder, since historians believe that wheat and barley were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago. At that time the first grinding stone was invented in Egypt, and the first grain was crushed. The first bread was flat and thin, similar to tortillas. ("History of bread," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_bread&oldid=696359727 (accessed December 23, 2015).

It is widely thought that the Egyptian skill with brewing beer and the warm climate led to the discovery of levening. Around 2500 BC, the first leavened breads were made in Egypt. (Encyclopedia of Food and Culture | 2003 | Franklin, Peter S. COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. as quoted in http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/bread.aspx)

Ever since that time, Bread has been part of each meal. The soft flat loaves can serve as a plate. Its soft, pliable texture make it perfect for dipping in liquid or semi-liquid foods. It can be folded into a scoop to pick up anything solid or semi-solid. Endlessly adaptable, it is the plate, the utensil, or the meal itself. Often called aish, which also means life, it is clear that for Arabs, bread is truly the staff of life. With a ten thousand year history, is it any wonder Arabs say that Bread is Life?
Food plays a large part in my novels, Born a Refugee and Checkpoint Kalandia, just as in real life. It truly is part of the culture. (http://sandhpublishing.com/Kalandia.html)
Pita bread, also known as pocket bread, can be made from any standard bread recipe. When it is time to shape the dough, shape into balls about two inches in diameter. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise. After the dough rises, roll each ball into a disc a little less than a half an inch thick and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes. Baking will puff the loaves into shapes resembling improperly inflated footballs. After the bread cools, each loaf will flatten out into its characteristic shape and there will be a pocket in the middle.

Although everyone thinks of pita bread when the topic of Arabic bread arises, that is not the only kind of bread native to Palestine. Taboon (or tabun) bread is named after the domed stone ovens that villagers used to build. The ovens resemble stone igloos. On baking day, a fire is built inside the oven. As the fire subsides into embers, the village women slap the thin rounds of dough onto the oven walls. When the dough begins to fall off the wall, it is done. At least that is what I remember from a conversation with an elderly relative who lived in the small village of Burhahm. Today there are other ways of getting similar results. I have seen people bake the bread on an inverted wok over an open flame. It can also be approximated at home. http://arabianmama.com/2013/03/31/palestinian-taboon-bread/ that suggests preheating a flat baking dish covered with small rocks or pebbles to duplicate the texture of the original.

All recipes for good pita bread. It is easy to make at home. Some people use ovens, others used large flat frying pans. There are many videos available that walk you through the process. Here are a couple of my favorites.

International Refugee Day - June 20, 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 03:17:00 +0000

Palestinians are the largest and longest suffering group of refugees in the world. One in three refugees world wide is Palestinian. There are about 6.5 million Palestinian refugees worldwide. More than 3.8 million Palestinian refugees and their descendents displaced in 1948 are registered for humanitarian assistance with the United Nations. Another 1.5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendents, also displaced in 1948, are not registered with the UN. About 263,000 Palestinians and their descendents are internally displaced i.e. inside present-day "Israel".

Descendents of refugees are included in the total population because they are still unable to realize their basic rights. About 20,000 Palestinians were internally displaced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by 2001, some 3,000 of whom were newly displaced during that year. At least 26,000 Palestinians left the West Bank and Gaza Strip for Jordan and did not return between June 2000 and July 2001. Such transfer of the Palestinian population driven by hard econmic and discriminatory conditions continues today.

auphr.org/index.php/resources/factsheets/refugees/15-how-many-palestinian-refugees-are-there-today

The refugee camps began as tent cities in 1948. The inhabitants expected to be returning home in a matter of days or weeks.

It has now been a matter of generations. In many places they are refused permission to work. In others, access to available work is restricted by checkpoints.

Political conditions and restrictions as well as frequent outbreaks of violence conspire to keep the inhabitants from gathering the resources needed to move out of the camps.

(See http://www.unrwa.org for this and other photos of refugee camps and refugee life.)

http://sandhpublishing.com/Kalandia.html

One such checkpoint is Kalandia (often spelled Qalandia). Checkpoints Project on Youtube has a series of 6 videos focusing on the checkpoints. The first is Kalandia: A Checkpoint Story that shows the evolution of the checkpoint.

My novel, Checkpoint Kalandia, shows the impact such a checkpoint can have on the everyday life of a refugee family.

http://www.unrwa.org/donate

Many of these families still rely on the generosity of others
to survive. In honor of World Refugee Day, please consider making a donation to help them.

Super Bowl Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 18:09:00 +0000

The first thing that penetrated my sleep-fogged mind this morning was the announcer on the television set telling me that a ticket near the 50-yard-line of today's game would cost about $15,000.

FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS??

FOR ONE TICKET--TO ONE GAME??

I was suddenly wide awake and filled with a mix of strong emotions--outrage, sadness, and a feeling of helpless frustration. I was yelling at the television set,

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE THAT COULD FEED?

HOW MANY BLANKETS FOR FREEZING REFUGEES?"

http://en.tempo.co/read/beritafoto/12250/Syrian-Refugees-in-Lebanon-Face-Bitter-Winter/6

"They can't hear you. You know that, don't you?"

My husband, always the voice of reason. I know he was talking about the television, but it holds true for a much broader audience. They can't hear me--yet.

One of the reasons I started writing novels is to reach an audience that has little or no knowledge of the plight of refugees, how they live, or what desperate efforts they make just to have a touch of normalcy in their lives.

http://amazon.com/dp/1633200183/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1633200035/

Refugees are just like us. They have families they care about, have hopes for their children to have a better life. They do what they can to survive and try to boost their children into a better world. Each family has a story; each story has moments of sadness and moments of triumph.

Yes, I understand that nobody ever said life was fair, but understanding and accepting are very different.

What can you do to make a difference?

http://www.endtheoccupation.org

You can stay informed. Listen to what's happening in other parts of the world.
Be compassionate. People are people regardless of the flag flying overhead.
Remember the less fortunate, and give what you can.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency
http://www.unrwa.org

International Rescue Committee
http://www.rescue.org

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 22:24:00 +0000

International Literacy Day
September 8, 2014

"Literacy is a key lever of change and a practical tool of empowerment on each of the three main pillars of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection."

Former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan

- See more at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/#sthash.xl208HWW.Hay7bl2e.dpufhttp://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/#sthash.xl208HWW.Hay7bl2e.dpuf

Today is International Literacy Day, a day to celebrate and encourage literacy. All over the world tremendous strides are being made in literacy and education, but there are many notable exceptions. There are even places, such as Gaza, where literacy is moving the wrong way. Children are being hampered in their learning by external forces.

According to the New York Times, there are 648 schools in Gaza with 421 of the buildings being shared in double shifts. Since the recent violence, 34 buildings have been damaged beyond repair and dozens more need major repairs. Add the addition of 60,000 people whose homes were destroyed that are being sheltered in school buildings, and you have an insurmountable problem. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/world/middleeast/broken-buildings-and-bruised-psyches-complicate-start-of-gaza-school-year.html?_r=0)

Schools are already three weeks late, and an opening day is not in sight. Even if schools were to open tomorrow, how many children would be able to study and learn? Democracy Now! Gives August 21 numbers as: 500 kids dead, 3,000 injured (over 1,000 of whom will suffer from lifelong disability), and 373,000 traumatized. Pernille Ironside, chief of UNICEF’s Gaza field office said, “There isn’t a single family in Gaza who hasn’t experienced personally death, injury, the loss of their home, extensive damage, displacement, The psychological toll that has on a people, it just cannot be overestimated, and especially on children."

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/21/a_war_on_gazas_future_israeli

Sadly, many of these children may never reach their full potential, yet there are ways we can help.

You can help UNRWA rebuild schools in Gaza

Click here to donate
***DONATE TO THE GAZA EMERGENCY APPEAL TODAY***

UNRWA must repair, rebuild, equip schools and they also provide food and counseling when they can.

Support for Palestine gives hope for change

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 01:46:00 +0000

Blogging about Palestine is not easy, especially lately. I have plenty of material, but I had no words to express what was in my heart. I still don’t. But I’m a novelist. It’s my job to find the words to express emotions…words that will make the reader feel the sorrow and the desperation of the character. I cry as I write because that’s the only way to make the reader feel the pain.

But after the hero has been challenged beyond endurance, he or she dredges up the last bit of strength and will to make one last push to overcome and triumph. That makes a satisfying novel. The hero (and the reader) are satisfied.

Unfortunately, what has been happening in Palestine is not the stuff of novels. The people of Gaza have been pushed beyond endurance, but that last shred of strength and will may only serve to help them survive. There has to be a shred of hope somewhere.

Maybe there is just a glimmer, like a lone firefly on a hot summer night.

Protests from around the world showed up on Facebook.

In New York they marched over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then there were pictures from New York from Jewish Voice 4 Peace NYC

http://pic.twitter.com/guQkq7lTuJ

In Oakland, California, thousands gathered to protest an Israeli ship docking.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/israeli-ship-remains-at-sea-thousands-protesters-gather

They kept it blocked for four straight days!

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/israeli-ship-blocked-unloading-oakland-four-straight-days?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=fbf67c6938-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e802a7602d-fbf67c6938-299155689

The London rally was amazing in size and intensity! http://www.london24.com/news/huge_rally_to_support_gaza_and_protest_against_israel_takes_place_in_london_1_3721166

One of the most impressive demonstrations was in Karachi, Pakistan, where thousands upon thousands of people flooded the streets as far as the eye could see! (Palestine Festival of Literature)

Did it have any effect? The tiniest firefly-glimmer of hope begins to flicker.

Gallup poll shows young Americans overwhelmingly support Palestine.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/americas/13203-latest-gallup-poll-shows-young-americans-overwhelmingly-support-palestine

And Uruguay joined Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela in having an embassy in the Palestine http://bit.ly/1u5l4Wr

More Palestinians made homeless in the wake of home demolition by Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 18:07:00 +0000

Activists hold flags as they protest latest demolitions

Today another Palestinian village has been hit by devastating home demolitions. Sixty-six people were made homeless, including 36 children in the community of Ain el-Helwe in the Jordan Valley. The Jordan Valley has been continuously inhabited for 11,000 years. It has been home to Canaanites for thousands of years, and now many of their descendants are being forced from their ancestral homes.

On Saturday, 1 February 2014, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories said, “I am deeply concerned about the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians… along the Jordan Valley where the number of structures demolished more than doubled in the last year.” (Picture and quote from: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/02/01/U-N-slams-Israel-destruction-of-Jordan-valley-homes-.html)

The Jordan Valley is only the latest of the home demolitions to be publicized on the internet. The demolitions in and around Jerusalem continue in near-total silence. The two videos below show recent activity in home demolition. You Tube has videos documenting home demolitions that date back seven years and more.

The short video shows how one man salvaged what he could from the wreckage of his home and moved his belongings into a nearby cave. In the short interview, he says that a judge forbid him from rebuilding. The man asked the judge where his family was supposed to live. The answer—that’s not my problem.

The next video talks about the very real possibility of new recently constructed apartment buildings being demolished. One local resident claims that no one will leave and the Israelis will have to demolish the building with the residents inside. A representative of a local NGO is quoted as saying, “That’s the way they clear land for future settlements.”

Travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem isn't what it used to be

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Picture from Facebook - Neil Le Roux

Joseph traveled from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, the town of David. He made the trip of about 65 miles with Mary. The trip was probably long and arduous, but they reached their destination.

Luckily, they lived before the modern state of Israel decided that Palestinians cannot move freely in their own land. Today that journey would be very different.

Even the three kings would not be able to present their gifts today. Where are today's wise men? Why can't they bring the gift of peace to the Holy Land?

Picture from Facebook - Irfan Iqbal

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 21:10:00 +0000

What better way to celebrate November 29^th, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People than to highlight some of the wonderful musicians that find a way to give joy amidst the sorrows and violence of continued military occupation?

Two young talented Palestinian singers performed at the United Nations before an appreciative audience and the following is an excerpt from that performance.

The entire performance lasted about an hour an a half and may be seen at http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/other-meetingsevents/watch/concert-featuring-palestinian-singers-on-the-occasion-of-the-international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people/2868976278001?fb_action_ids=3744815116915&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B525950050834553%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D#full-text

That sent me on an internet search for more wonderful music. It did not take long to find a veritable treasure chest filled with gems—all ripe and ready for the listener.

http://nabilaharbmusic.blogspot.com

My favorite of all the offerings is a somewhat scratchy recording of the music of George Kirmiz accompanied by the wonderful visual images of the art of the late Ismail Shammout.

Checkpoint Kalandia - Now even bigger

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:01:00 +0000

Checkpoint Kalandia, my next novel, may be set a decade ago, but the problems the family face continue today. Kalandia is one of the major checkpoints on the West Bank. It is now a permanent fixture that looks more and more like the entrance to a maximum security prison every year.

Today a Palestinian broke through a checkpoint near Jerusalem. He injured two guards slightly, and the ensuing gunfire failed to stop him. That’s all the news article in the Jerusalem Post says. (http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Palestinian-breaks-through-checkpoint-near-Jerusalem-injuring-2-security-guards-332243).

I wonder what drove the man to run through the checkpoint. What made him so anxious to get to the other side that he was willing to risk his life to get there? Does he have family on the other side? Maybe a sick mother or grandmother?

Or was it something else entirely—was he at a point where the idea of facing one more checkpoint, one more humiliating experience of being patted down asked to raise his shirt to show his skin, and asked countless meaningless questions just too much for him? Was this act a scream of desperation and despair?
This is life, not a novel, so we will never know what prompted his actions. We will never share his inner thoughts. We can only imagine what it feels like to live in what may be characterized as the world’s largest prison. No, maybe not. In a prison the prisoners are fed, sheltered, and in most countries given medical care.

There is a very good blog describing a trip through the Qalandia Checkpoint by an American photojournalist. The photos are striking, and the narrative is entertaining. http://holylanddispatches.blogspot.com/2009/06/military-checkpoint-is-one-of-most-well.html

Perhaps you noticed that the spelling is not consistent in this blog or across the internet. The reason is that when words are transliterated from one alphabet to another, the spelling is interpreted by the person doing the transliteration. I use Kalandia, but Qalandia is probably the most common spelling.

The video below is one of the best portrayal of the checkpoint I have seen. It chronicles the history of the checkpoint from temporary to permanent with increasingly restrictive layers of security.

Gaza: Where the Arab Spring Turned to Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 16:02:00 +0000

As I begin writing another novel about Palestine, it was suggested that I write about the Palestine of today, this minute—the Palestine with cell phones and Facebook.

Could I do that? Could I write about the Palestine of computers and cell phones without writing about the Palestine of hunger and constant fear? Could I do that without including the children traumatized by Operation Cast Lead and the smaller, unnamed operations that continue, unceasing, yet unremarked by the media?

According to the Gaza Community Health Programme, Operation Cast Lead affected approximately 95% of the people in Gaza, and an estimated 12% suffer from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Arab Spring gave a flare of hope for Gaza. In spite of the Israeli blockade that was imposed in 2007, the economy revived in 2012. Hundreds of tunnels were built under the houses and olive groves of Gaza, stretching to Rafah and different strategic points in the Sinai. Goods of all sorts, including building supplies, clothing, computers, fuel, medicine—even Kentucky Fried Chicken, flowed through the tunnels. Men were employed rebuilding the homes destroyed by bombs. Engineers, truck drivers, shopkeepers, dressmakers, health care workers went back to work. Taxes on the goods imported through the tunnels paid the government employees. Teachers, clerks, ministers, sanitation workers were paid.

Then the Egyptian President Mursi was ousted, and the new Egyptian government began to destroy tunnels. Ceaseless and relentless, they destroyed or water-logged an estimated 90% of the tunnels, and Gaza was sealed at both ends. (Read more about this: http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/gaza-between-the-rock-and-a-hard-place-1.1247751)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1450513948

Gaza has a long coast line and has always relied on the sea for food and as a source of income. Since the beginning of the Israeli blockade, many Gaza fishermen have avoided the guns of the Israeli naval forces by fishing in Egyptian waters. This , too, stopped suddenly and without warning when Gaza fishing boats were fired upon by Egyptian forces. The video below gives more details. Gaza is now the world’s largest prison.

Can I write about this? Even when I write about Palestinian refugees, I need to have stories that end well. I like happy endings. Can I find a happy ending in Gaza?

Maybe not today, but I know where I would begin looking for a happy ending--the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme under the able direction of Dr. Eyad Sarraj. The doctors and staff work tirelessly to help alleviate the suffering and depression that invades the population a conditions grow steadily worse. Perhaps that is my happy ending--not an ending but a beginning, a place to find hope.

You can help these efforts by donating today: http://www.gazamentalhealth.org The Gaza Mental Health Foundation is a US charity that is run entirely by volunteers and all donations go to the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.

ART - Telling the Story

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 16:13:00 +0000

What is art? Despite the fact that the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/) says the definition of art is controversial, and that it has even been debated if art can be defined, few of us have any doubt that art exists—with or without a definition. We even know that it has existed almost as long as mankind has existed, and that it involves creativity.

What is the purpose of art? Again, there are differences of opinion. Some say that art needs no purpose, that beauty itself is sufficient. Others say that artists create the art as an act of expression. They are telling the world something through their art.

Palestinian artists, more than any other group, feel compelled to include their story in their art. Even Palestinians who were born in the diaspora and Palestinian-in-laws find ways to express their feelings through their work. Or perhaps I have it the wrong way around—perhaps it is the Palestinian condition that generates the immense emotional pressures that, for some, can only be relieved through art.

The connection between intense emotion and art has been used for decades by those treating pediatric victims of trauma. The results are poignant and heart breaking. (Click this link or view below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byn4Byyya48

Whether it is a Palestinian artist who lived through the Nakba and was forever scarred by the experience, like Ismail Shammout (http://ismail-shammout.com), often called the father of Palestinian painters, or a young vibrant artist like John Halaka (http://www.johnhalaka.com/artwork.html) whose work often moves into new territory, they have one thing in common: empathy for the oppressed. They also have to fight for the right to show their work. John Halaka has said that “American curators are cowards when it comes to political art.” http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/sarah-irving/american-curators-are-cowards-when-it-comes-political-art-says-palestinian-artist

Art does not always express itself in paint. There are also amazing literary artists, like Lisa Majaj, whose wonderful poetry in her book, Geographies of Light, evoke more than a sense of loss, the call upon an entire culture which she uses as a foundation for her own identity. To hear her poem, “Guidelines” read and later discussed by another Palestinian American poet of note, Naomi Shihab Nye, go to http://www.loc.gov/poetry/poetry-of-america/american-identity/naomishihabnye-lisasuhairmajaj.html

Her book is available through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1934832081

Novelist abound in the world of Palestinian art. Sahar Khalifeh, Susan Abulhawa, Raja Shehadeh, are just a few of the names I can pull from my limited personal experience. There are many more.

Even my own novel has earned some modest recognition.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1450513948

Ramadan and Eid

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 17:47:00 +0000

Eid al-Fitr, or the Feast of Breaking the Fast, is the holiday marking the end of the month of Ramadan. For children the Eid is a time of magic. Schools are closed, there is visiting and merriment everywhere. Coins flow from the adults and they are free to spend them on sweets. It is a time of new clothes, carnivals, presents, and sweets that boggle the imagination.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. That means no eating, no drinking, no smoking, and even no makeup for women (lipstick might get licked and ingested, eye makeup might get into the eye, etc.). To help people along in the fast, they often get up in the wee hours of the morning and have a meal, call the sahoor.

Ramadan is a time to develop self-control and to think about how to become a better person. Lying, arguing, gossiping, and other sins of all types should be avoided. Charitable giving and prayer are encouraged. It is a time to think of others and to be thankful for the blessings of God.

That being said, when you spend hours on end without food or drink, your thoughts stray to food and drink more often than they might otherwise. The evening meals are always more elaborate and more delicious than any other time of year, the desserts are amazing, and everyone feels the excitement and anticipation of the call announcing the end of the day’s fast.

In winter Ramadan is a lot of fun—especially for youngsters who get up at unusual hours to eat, even if they don’t fast the next day. The days are short and the meal at the end of the day is especially welcome after a long fast.

In summer, it’s an entirely different story. The days are unbearably long, and in many places unbearably hot without water. Traffic jams become noisy masses of frayed nerves as hunger, thirst, and lack of nicotine turn cab drivers into demons of speed and impatience.

All the problems of fasting in the summer have been exacerbated in modern times for many Muslims who find themselves far from Mecca or Medina. Now there are Muslims scattered across the globe, including places above the Arctic Circle. Consider the dilemma of people fasting in Scandinavian countries, where the daylight can last 21 hours or more. Fasting in the land of the midnight sun? How is that possible?

Midnight sun in Advent Bay, Spitzbergen, Norway from http://www.flickr.com/photos/8623220@N02/3174207141/in/photolist-5QuDck-5noiCE-bD8bZG-5QyVPN

There are two ways it can be done. One is to fast by local time, which leads to fatigue and may have long lasting effects on the health. The alternative is to follow Mecca time or the nearest Muslim country time. Dr. Abdul Mannan, an Imam and president of the Islam Society of Northern Finland, quotes Egyptian scholars who say “if the days are long - more than 18 hours - then you can follow the Mecca time or Medina time, or the nearest Muslim country time." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19199411

Why is Ramadan in the summer sometimes and in the winter other times? Because the Islamic calendar runs on the lunar year, which is only 354 days long. Since we normally use the solar calendar, Eid appears to be eleven days earlier each year.

Traditionally, the end of the lunar month was determined when the new moon was sighted, witnessed by a Muslim known to be truthful and trustworthy. Today, modern astronomy can accurately predict the appearance of the new moon years in advance. There is no more guessing about whether the Eid will be tomorrow or the next day—we can even tell what day it wall fall on next year, or ten years from now.

The twenty-first century has intruded on Ramadan in other ways, too. In the past, believers who were not within hearing distance of a mosque could end their fast when they could no longer tell a white thread from a black thread. Today modern astronomy can tell us exactly when the sun will rise or set. Smartphones have apps that tell you when to begin the fast and when to end the fast. Apps like iPray, iQuran, and Find Mecca, an app that tells which way to face for prayer, have changed the face of Ramadan. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nidhal-guessoum/ramadan-modern-technologi_b_917031.html

We hope nothing ever changes the message that we should always do our best to be good members of the family of man and good citizens of the world.

In Gaza fast food is not always fast

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 17:12:00 +0000

KFC being dragged through the tunnel
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/kfc-fast-food-meals-smuggled-1891820

Today I finished the manuscript of my new novel and wanted to celebrate by taking a break from cooking. We went to KFC for some chicken. We jumped in our little red car and in no time at all, there we were with chicken in our hands.

What an easy, everyday thing to do. People all over the world enjoy the Colonel’s secret recipe. I even have a picture of my husband in front of a KFC franchise in China. KFC is all over the world, but not in Gaza.

KFC in China

Palestine was granted “non-member observer status” in the UN in November 2012 as nation 194. That’s a lot of nations, and 120 of those 194nations have at least one Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Gaza doesn’t have one, but El-Arish, just over the border in Egypt does. So what’s the problem? As the old saying goes, “you can’t there from here.” The blockade imposed on Gaza severely limits the number of people and the goods that cross into Gaza.

Sometimes a prisoner looks through the bars of his cell and has a desperate longing for a taste of something the rest of the world takes for granted. Sometimes something as simple as fast food can make a connection with the outside world. Eating a piece of the colonel’s chicken is just one small way of making that connection—a small way of thumbing a nose at the blockade, a small way of exercising a tiny forbidden freedom.

The New York Times article of May 15, 2013, says that the fast-food delivery is anything but fast in Gaza.

“It took more than four hours for the KFC meals to arrive here on a recent afternoon from the franchise where they were cooked in El Arish, Egypt, a journey that involved two taxis, an international border, a smuggling tunnel and a young entrepreneur coordinating it all.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/world/middleeast/tunneling-kfc-to-gazans-craving-the-world-outside.html?_r=0

The video below documents a portion of the incredible journey a bucket of chicken must make to reach a table in Gaza.

Bon appetit, Gaza.

WORLD REFUGEE DAY - June 20

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 02:55:00 +0000

June 20^th was declared World Refugee Day less than thirteen years ago. Millions of Palestinians have been refugees for five times that many years. Over a million Syrian refugees have joined their ranks only recently, and their numbers are growing daily.

The United Nations reports that more than 45.2 million people have been displaced from their homes due to conflict or violence, making it the highest number since 1994, when millions of people fled ethnic violence in former Yugoslavia and genocide in Rwanda.

And each day, another 23,000 people begin to search for safety from harm or persecution—the world has a new refugee or internally displaced person every 4.1 seconds. “Each time you blink, another person is forced to flee,” said Antonio Guterres, chief of the U.N.’s Refugee Agency, in Geneva. Earlier, he called the numbers “truly alarming.” http://world.time.com/2013/06/20/the-worst-refugee-crisis-in/

No one wants to be a refugee. They didn't want to flee their homes, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They don't want to live on borrowed land, dependent on the charity of the world. No one chooses that path easily. It is chosen as a last resort—an alternative to certain death for loved ones.

Refugees love their families. They have hopes and dreams. Refugees would like nothing better than to leave their refugee status behind and live normal lives with only the ordinary problems of going to work each morning and raising their children to be good decent people...but that is not an option for them.

As UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie said in her press release today, 20 June 2013

I have met refugees around the world. They are resilient, hardworking and gracious people. They have experienced more violence and faced more fear than we will ever know. They have lost their homes, their belongings and their countries. They have often lost family and friends to horrific deaths. Faced with war and oppression they have chosen not to take up arms, but to try to find safety for their families. They deserve our respect, our acknowledgment and our support – not just today but for the duration of their ordeal. http://www.unhcr.org/51c2f7c26.html

Two kids taken by Israeli soldiers

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:47:00 +0000

It’s something that happens every day in the Occupied Territories, so why am I writing about it? Because of a random tweet, because it was written up in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, because the reason it caught my eye was that this article was about newborn kids—the four-legged variety.

My first thought was: How sad is that? The arrest and incarceration of children has become so commonplace that it no longer attracts attention. The abduction of baby goats is more noteworthy than the abduction of a child.

“Two and half hours after the kids were born a group of soldiers, probably serving at the Nahal base at Krayot ‏(not in the West Bank‏), showed up and confiscated the goat and two newborn kids, loading them on their Hummer. Mahamra’s donkey, which had been harnessed to a water container on wheels, disappeared too.” http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/the-idf-battles-a-palestinian-shepherd-and-his-two-baby-goats.premium-1.507009

My second thought was: In some ways, taking three goats and a donkey from this man may have even more disastrous results than arresting a child. It could very well threaten the livelihood of the entire family. The donkey may be their only transportation; their only means of getting fresh water, getting to the nearest town to sell their livestock or buy basic necessities. Sell their livestock? Without the mother goat and kids, there will be far less livestock to sell, no milk, no cheese. The shepherd is from the village of Maghayir al-Abeed in the South Hebron Hills. He raises his goats on the same land his father did, and probably his father before him for generations.

How did such a story even get into Haaretz? The article states that several nudniks (I looked it up—nudnik is a Yiddish word meaning persistent pest) took up the case. They put it up on Facebook and started investigating the abduction of the animals. Others read about it on Facebook and began to call and add their voices.

They were told the shepherd entered a closed firing zone with the intention of stealing ammunition. The kids were less than three hours old—not exactly ideal get-away vehicles for an ammunition thief. Also, the land is NOT a closed firing zone. The IDF wants to demolish eight of the twelve villages that are on 30,000 dunums of land (about 7,500 acres) to make it a firing zone. Israel’s High Court is debating the issue and has ruled that the status quo cannot be changed until they make a final ruling. Looks like the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) is getting a head start.

I usually embed a video at the end of my blog post. The one I wanted to share with you does not allow me to embed it. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpPMyQz759k&list=PLA21794A5EF380C4A

Dispossession and Destruction

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:04:00 +0000

What would you do if you woke up one cold winter morning and someone with a gun and a uniform handed you a demolition order for your house?

When a heavily armed group of soldiers are outside your door, there is not much you can do. This is happening in the Palestinian village of Jaba. The people of the village live on land that Israel wants for an illegal settlement. See http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/02/04/287269/israel-to-raze-another-palestinian-village/ to see a video that shows the poverty of this village, and interviews with several of the residents. This is not the first time the army has demolished homes in the village, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Soon Jaba will be added to the list of Palestinian villages that have been totally erased from the face of the earth.

Wikipedia has a table showing 531 destroyed/depopulated localities in the period from November 1947 to July 1949 alone. This was just the beginning. Towns, villages, hamlets, and neighborhoods are continually eroded and eventually erased by the forces of occupation.

If you search YouTube for Demolished Palestinian Villages, you will find 2,400 results. I have chosen a recent one to embed in this post.

The Palestinians cling to their heritage and beg the world to notice.

Samer Issawi is one of the many, many political prisoners in Israeli jails. Samer is giving his life to call attention to what is happening in Palestine. As I write this (February 8, 2013) his has been on a hunger strike for 200 days. His body is shutting down, his captors mock his efforts, and still the media ignores him. (See the Free Samer Issawi Campaign on Facebook for more on his story.) Can you even imagine 200 DAYS without food? I can't go 200 MINUTES without a snack or a cup of tea.

Despair, frustration, and anger can combine with devastating consequences—yet the Palestinians remain steadfast. For a more intimate look at how one family of Palestinian refugees cope with this maelstrom of emotions and their consequences, read my novel, REFUGEE WITHOUT REFUGE http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456486055

Music: an irrelevance or a necessity?

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:31:00 +0000

But man’s greatest strength lies in his capacity for irrelevance. In the midst of pestilences, wars and famines, he builds cathedrals; and a slave, he can think the irrelevant and unsuitable thoughts of a free man.

Aldous Huxley Antic Hay p. 127

The Gaza Music School may be an irrelevance in the poverty stricken war zone of the Gaza Strip, but that makes it all the more necessary. The children of Gaza have very few opportunities to sample the joys of life. They have very few opportunities to help them recover from trauma of the constant threat of violence and the periodic bouts of full-fledged war. The Gaza Music School is one avenue they may take toward healing. http://www.indiegogo.com/TheGazaMusicSchool/x/703244

In Gaza Strip , closures, isolation and fragmentation imposed by Israel, are negatively affecting all forms of Palestinians’ daily life. This project contributes to activating cultural life... Such activities have a great influence to elevate people’s hope, resilience, perseverance and steadfastness amid all daily encounters of despair and frustration.

The Gaza Music School was launched in July 2008, in response to growing demand for music education in the Gaza Strip, offering the first-ever structured and long-term music education program in Gaza. In January 2009, GMS was destroyed during the Israeli war on Gaza. Almost miraculously, with the help of international donors, the School re-opened three months later in a new expanded space, and adding to the team to accommodate the growing number of students.

THEY NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE CHILDREN OF GAZA

http://www.indiegogo.com/TheGazaMusicSchool/x/703244

A New National Park in Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Dixiane Hallaj) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Today, December 29, 2012, Israel declared a new national park. Interestingly enough, as with most of the parks in Israel, this park is complete with “historical ruins,” including a lovely old stone church. Where do they get the land for national parks when Historical Palestine is about the size of Massachusetts, and is home to two nations? The simple answer is, the land came from the same source as all of the land in Israel—it is land that belongs to Palestinians. The land for this park once hosted a thriving village, called Biram. The residents of the village were forced out by the Israeli army in 1949 and were not allowed back, in spite of a 1951 Supreme Court decision upholding their right to return. (http://www.facebook.com/welcometopalestine)

Unfortunately, this is just the latest of the national parks that Israel has established at the expense of prior residents. Canada Park, a centerpiece of the national park system, was established at the expense of three Palestinian villages.

The Wikipedia entry for Canada Park reads as follows:

Canada Park (Hebrew: פארק קנדה, Arabic:كندا حديقة) (also Ayalon Park)^[1] is a national park stretching over 7,000 dunams, mostly in the West Bank, with a portion in the region that was a no man's land before 1967 and incorporated into Israel in 1967.^[2] It is maintained by the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Canada Park is located west of Jerusalem, to the north of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem), between the Latrun intersection and Sha'ar HaGai.^[3] The park attracts some 300,000 visitors annually. Canada Park ... is filled with wooded areas, walking trails, water features and archaeological sites. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Park)

Although Wikipedia says that the park is “mostly in the West Bank,” it does not mention that before Israel captured that land during the 1967 war, the land was the site of the Palestinian villages of Imwas, Yalu, and Beit Nuba. The people who lived on this land for generations are now refugees.

According to Eitan Bronstein, director of Zochrot (Remembering), 86 Palestinian villages lie buried under Jewish National Fund parks. A further 400 destroyed villages had their lands passed on to exclusively Jewish communities. Zochrot is trying to educate people to the hidden history behind the establishment of the national parks in Israel. http://electronicintifada.net/content/canada-park-and-israeli-memoricide/8126

This video shows rare footage of the villages and interviews several people with first-hand knowledge of the destruction of the villages.