My time in Palestine (requested post)
- Thread starter TheFuser
- Start date
This is the school. I have a video I'm uploading of it too.
I didn't take pics of the tent because it just seemed wrong.
Also didn't take any pics with the kids of the village because
I didn't wanna be like some fucking white lady in Africa taking
pics of the locals because fuck that.
I didn't take pics of the tent because it just seemed wrong.
Also didn't take any pics with the kids of the village because
I didn't wanna be like some fucking white lady in Africa taking
pics of the locals because fuck that.
Dope post, man!
5 stars
I went as part of a delegation so my trip was paid for. I'm going back on my own dime though so I'll let you know when I do. Only thing I really paid for was food and souvenirs and shit. Drinks. And that's another thing. I feel like so many people think Palestine is this super fundamentalist place. The media will tell you that. But I had drinks and hookah in Ramallah. Drinks in a bar with Palestinians in Jerusalem. It's not this repressed ass place. It's just under developed and that's done on purpose by the Israeli government.
My life was changed because I've never felt so connected to a greater brotherhood in my life. We feel so isolated in the states. We don't even feel connected to other black folks in the diaspora. We be having African vs African American debates. West Indian vs African American beefs. And all that shit is part of the plan of white supremacy. So why would we ever feel connected to people who aint us? To people who have shown once they get here they fall in line with the white supremacy hierarchy? Talking with the Palestinians AND ESPECIALLY Afro-Palestinians, I saw how connected we all are, and how we are really fighting the same enemy, white supremacy.
I remember first seeing how connected we are on Twitter when folks IN Gaza were tweeting at folks in Ferguson to show not only solidarity, but also how to treat tear gas injuries. There's a reason Israel then passed laws to quell that shit.
And while I will never compare myself to his greatness, but I imagine it's how Brother Malcolm felt when he took his hajj. When he saw a greater brotherhood. When he saw the greater fight. And THAT'S the shit that scared the US. The US, EU, UK and Israel are fucking terrified at the thought of our solidarity. And that's why they went so hard at Marc Lamont Hill for speaking the truth in the UN on Palestinian Solidarity Day. They tried to pretend it was the "From the river to the sea" phrase, but that's horseshit because Israeli governemtn officials use it all the time. But his stance is in the tradition of Black Power. Malcolm showed love to Palestinians. Huey was IN Palestine showing them love. Stokely spoke in favor of our solidarity. Mandela said that South African freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians too.
This is the shit I was talking about. This is how it connects to us in the states. This is why it's important for us to be allied. Our oppression is their oppression and vice versa. It's all the same source.
https://progressive.org/dispatches/...-color-paying-price-shahshahani-cohen-191007/
good drop 
Gteat read, felt like I was there while reading this really appreciate your work on this.good drop
This was a great thread! Very interesting and informative read.
The article below came out a couple of days ago and has been prompting a lot of reactions, especially considering that he was a former CIA Director.
Why Biden Must Watch This Palestinian Movie
April 27, 2021
By John Brennan
Mr. Brennan was the director of the C.I.A. from 2013 to 2017.
On a recent evening I watched “The Present,” a short film by Farah Nabulsi, a Palestinian filmmaker, which was nominated for an Academy Award for live-action short film. (The winner in the category was “Two Distant Strangers.”) Ms. Nabulsi’s 25-minute film is a powerful, heartbreaking account of the travails of Yusuf, a Palestinian man, and Yasmine, his young daughter, as they traverse an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank twice in a single day.
“The Present” establishes its context quickly, opening with images of Palestinian men making their way through a narrow passageway at one of the numerous checkpoints that dot the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians going to work, visiting family or shopping on the opposite side of a security barrier have to bear this humiliating procedure every day.
Yusuf sets out with Yasmine to buy an anniversary gift for his wife. He is held in a chain-link holding pen. The ostensible reason is that the Israeli guards want to search him and his possessions more thoroughly. Yasmine sits nearby, watching and waiting in silence.
The scene brought back memories of my first visit to the West Bank in 1975, when I crossed the Jordan River and arrived at an Israeli security post. As a student at the American University in Cairo, I was excited about visiting Jerusalem and spending Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. I joined a relatively short line, which moved at a steady and efficient pace.
A few feet away, I could see men, women and children in a much longer line fully enclosed by steel mesh fencing labeled “Palestinians and Arabs.” I saw several subjected to discourtesy and aggressive searches by Israeli soldiers.
While I was distressed by what I saw, I knew that Israel had legitimate security concerns in the aftermath of the 1967 and 1973 wars, worries that had been heightened by attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets by Palestinian terrorist organizations.
Half a century has passed, and the political and security landscape of the Middle East has profoundly changed.
Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States last year, have paved the way for four more Arab states — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco — to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Hopefully, more Arab leaders will follow suit as there is no reason and little geostrategic sense in continuing to deny the reality and permanence of the state of Israel. (Unfortunately, the accords did nothing for the Palestinians except to obtain a suspension of Israeli plans to illegally annex the West Bank.)
There also has been significant progress in reducing violence carried out by Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories. The exception is Hamas, which continues to launch rocket attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, Palestinian security and intelligence services have worked closely with their Israeli, Arab and Western counterparts to disrupt extremist networks and prevent attacks. These Palestinian agencies have demonstrated an impressive degree of professionalism over the past two decades.
Despite sharply reduced tensions between Israel and the Arab world, the Palestinian people themselves have seen no appreciable progress in their quest to live in their own sovereign state. Political fissures and the ineffective political leadership of the Palestinian Authority have contributed to stymying ambitions for Palestinian nationhood.
But that could change. Legislative elections in May and presidential elections in July in the West Bank and Gaza offer Palestinians an opportunity to elect representatives capable of conducting a more effectual political dialogue within the Palestinian homeland and beyond. Palestinian candidates who do not bear the sclerotic reputations of political incumbents, if elected, would help soften the deep-rooted cynicism that many Israeli officials display toward Palestinian negotiators.
The major hurdle will be to reverse the trend of diminished interest that the Israeli government has shown in pursuing a two-state solution. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has spearheaded relentless expansion of settlements in the West Bank. That expansion has brought along more concrete walls, security barriers and control points, further reducing the spaces where Palestinians can live, graze their flocks, tend their olive groves and vegetable gardens without being challenged by their occupiers.
Unfortunately, during the Trump years, the United States ignored Palestinian interests and aspirations. Mr. Trump moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, rejecting the position of all previous U.S. administrations that it would endanger final status negotiations on that contested city. He senselessly severed funding to the Palestinian Authority and ended our contributions to the United Nations for Palestinian refugee assistance.
In a welcome change, the Biden administration has authorized the release of $235 million for humanitarian, economic and development programs supporting Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere in the region.
The concluding scene of “The Present” shows Yusuf, tired and hobbled with back pain, increasingly angry and on the verge of violence as he attempts to return home with the anniversary gift. His chilling, emotional outburst made me think of the frustration felt by every Palestinian who has to live with the stifling security measures and political oppression attendant to Israel’s military occupation.
It was his little daughter, Yasmine, though, who gave me most pause and concern. She watched her father’s patience, dignity and humanity steadily erode.
I can only imagine the imprint such experiences have on the young girls and boys who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They grow up traumatized by injustice, discrimination and violence. They live with the feeling that their existence is controlled by people who don’t care about their welfare, their safety or their future.
The Biden administration is dealing with a dizzying array of domestic and international problems but the Palestinian quest for statehood deserves the early engagement of his national security team. The United States needs to tell Israeli leaders to cease provocative settlement construction and the sort of oppressive security practices depicted in “The Present.”
A clear signal from President Biden that he expects and is ready to facilitate serious Israeli-Palestinian discussions on a two-state solution would be of great political significance.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/opinion/biden-palestine-israel-the-present.html
The article below came out a couple of days ago and has been prompting a lot of reactions, especially considering that he was a former CIA Director.
Why Biden Must Watch This Palestinian Movie
April 27, 2021
By John Brennan
Mr. Brennan was the director of the C.I.A. from 2013 to 2017.
On a recent evening I watched “The Present,” a short film by Farah Nabulsi, a Palestinian filmmaker, which was nominated for an Academy Award for live-action short film. (The winner in the category was “Two Distant Strangers.”) Ms. Nabulsi’s 25-minute film is a powerful, heartbreaking account of the travails of Yusuf, a Palestinian man, and Yasmine, his young daughter, as they traverse an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank twice in a single day.
“The Present” establishes its context quickly, opening with images of Palestinian men making their way through a narrow passageway at one of the numerous checkpoints that dot the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians going to work, visiting family or shopping on the opposite side of a security barrier have to bear this humiliating procedure every day.
Yusuf sets out with Yasmine to buy an anniversary gift for his wife. He is held in a chain-link holding pen. The ostensible reason is that the Israeli guards want to search him and his possessions more thoroughly. Yasmine sits nearby, watching and waiting in silence.
The scene brought back memories of my first visit to the West Bank in 1975, when I crossed the Jordan River and arrived at an Israeli security post. As a student at the American University in Cairo, I was excited about visiting Jerusalem and spending Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. I joined a relatively short line, which moved at a steady and efficient pace.
A few feet away, I could see men, women and children in a much longer line fully enclosed by steel mesh fencing labeled “Palestinians and Arabs.” I saw several subjected to discourtesy and aggressive searches by Israeli soldiers.
While I was distressed by what I saw, I knew that Israel had legitimate security concerns in the aftermath of the 1967 and 1973 wars, worries that had been heightened by attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets by Palestinian terrorist organizations.
Half a century has passed, and the political and security landscape of the Middle East has profoundly changed.
Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States last year, have paved the way for four more Arab states — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco — to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Hopefully, more Arab leaders will follow suit as there is no reason and little geostrategic sense in continuing to deny the reality and permanence of the state of Israel. (Unfortunately, the accords did nothing for the Palestinians except to obtain a suspension of Israeli plans to illegally annex the West Bank.)
There also has been significant progress in reducing violence carried out by Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories. The exception is Hamas, which continues to launch rocket attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, Palestinian security and intelligence services have worked closely with their Israeli, Arab and Western counterparts to disrupt extremist networks and prevent attacks. These Palestinian agencies have demonstrated an impressive degree of professionalism over the past two decades.
Despite sharply reduced tensions between Israel and the Arab world, the Palestinian people themselves have seen no appreciable progress in their quest to live in their own sovereign state. Political fissures and the ineffective political leadership of the Palestinian Authority have contributed to stymying ambitions for Palestinian nationhood.
But that could change. Legislative elections in May and presidential elections in July in the West Bank and Gaza offer Palestinians an opportunity to elect representatives capable of conducting a more effectual political dialogue within the Palestinian homeland and beyond. Palestinian candidates who do not bear the sclerotic reputations of political incumbents, if elected, would help soften the deep-rooted cynicism that many Israeli officials display toward Palestinian negotiators.
The major hurdle will be to reverse the trend of diminished interest that the Israeli government has shown in pursuing a two-state solution. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has spearheaded relentless expansion of settlements in the West Bank. That expansion has brought along more concrete walls, security barriers and control points, further reducing the spaces where Palestinians can live, graze their flocks, tend their olive groves and vegetable gardens without being challenged by their occupiers.
Unfortunately, during the Trump years, the United States ignored Palestinian interests and aspirations. Mr. Trump moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, rejecting the position of all previous U.S. administrations that it would endanger final status negotiations on that contested city. He senselessly severed funding to the Palestinian Authority and ended our contributions to the United Nations for Palestinian refugee assistance.
In a welcome change, the Biden administration has authorized the release of $235 million for humanitarian, economic and development programs supporting Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere in the region.
The concluding scene of “The Present” shows Yusuf, tired and hobbled with back pain, increasingly angry and on the verge of violence as he attempts to return home with the anniversary gift. His chilling, emotional outburst made me think of the frustration felt by every Palestinian who has to live with the stifling security measures and political oppression attendant to Israel’s military occupation.
It was his little daughter, Yasmine, though, who gave me most pause and concern. She watched her father’s patience, dignity and humanity steadily erode.
I can only imagine the imprint such experiences have on the young girls and boys who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They grow up traumatized by injustice, discrimination and violence. They live with the feeling that their existence is controlled by people who don’t care about their welfare, their safety or their future.
The Biden administration is dealing with a dizzying array of domestic and international problems but the Palestinian quest for statehood deserves the early engagement of his national security team. The United States needs to tell Israeli leaders to cease provocative settlement construction and the sort of oppressive security practices depicted in “The Present.”
A clear signal from President Biden that he expects and is ready to facilitate serious Israeli-Palestinian discussions on a two-state solution would be of great political significance.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/opinion/biden-palestine-israel-the-present.html
I would like to propose that this journey get the trashterpiece theater treatment.
It is easily done from @TheFuser prescriptive as guide narrator and could be entirely in one location
and then have the Palestinian come in with their story use the the Afro Palestine book store as a main spot and a debate arises the IDF do a raid then you here a young solider side of things
then have a Jewish tourist talk to the main character and the audience from THEIR prospective..
I've recently been talking about something like this. There's also a documentary coming out called "Black In The Holy Land." The brotha speaking in the trailer is Ali and he was my guide while i was there. He's a legend.
I saw you mentioned that earlier along with posting his picture I will definitely check for that
but seriously you REALLY should consider working on screenplay about your experience
we got a few writers here who could probably help.
It's absolutely on my mind. I was supposed to go back last summer to teach and I had plans on really documenting that, but Covid! It's gonna happen. Thanks for the push fam
thank YOU fam
your writing is very detailed comfortable and conversational
you not only a teacher YOU are a writer
and a darn good one.
I taught briefly so I salute you, I remember the first time I went into a classroom as a black man teaching those kids. Hell of an experience
SERIOUSLY consider working on this as a project it would be unique and will DEFINITELY have an audience,
You already got a solid outline DONE right here
WITH FEEDBACK.
This might be the best post I've ever seen on this site.
I have 2 passports for that very reason. We sometimes can be called to work there and you don't want to show up in a Muslim country with a jew stamp in your book.
Excellent post. Very insightful
I wish I could do this as well. I've traveled to Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Austria, Italy, Hungary, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Georgia the country, and France. All for DOD, all under force protection. No site visits. The only place I explored was Bosnia.
I went for a walk in lviv, Ukraine, you should see all the stares....so not usually easy for us black folks with the military to be out and about. Cultural shock, tourism and force protection don't mix.
I'm scheduled to go to Madrid, Estonia montenegro and possibly Finland.
Hotel points up the ass though
I wish I could do this as well. I've traveled to Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Austria, Italy, Hungary, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Georgia the country, and France. All for DOD, all under force protection. No site visits. The only place I explored was Bosnia.
I went for a walk in lviv, Ukraine, you should see all the stares....so not usually easy for us black folks with the military to be out and about. Cultural shock, tourism and force protection don't mix.
I'm scheduled to go to Madrid, Estonia montenegro and possibly Finland.
Hotel points up the ass though
