Watch the video on my Facebook page Today, Israel assassinated Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Shireen is the face of Palestine for Al-Jazeera, the world’s most-watched Arabic-language media outlet. Early this morning, she dressed in her press vest and helmet to once again cover the everyday horrors of Palestinian life under brutal occupation. To be […]
Normalization with Zionism: An Intro
What defines normalization with Zionist groups and individuals? Debates and misunderstandings abound about the subject and what Palestinians demand. Now, I don’t speak for all Palestinians, of course. Nevertheless, I’ll try to break it down as best as I understand it. But let me start by recounting the story of a famous Supreme Court episode. […]
Protesting while white
Like you, I watched the events of last week, as Trump supporters, who happen to be overwhelmingly white, like almost of them, stormed the United States Capitol. And all I could think was, “Man, protesting while white looks amazing.” I’m Arab and Palestinian, and I’ve been to hundreds of protests. I’ve organized dozens of them. […]
I’m voting for the ham
As you all know, along with comedy, I’m a political and social activist. Actually my comedy is activism. I’ve twice been a national surrogate for presidential candidate Amu Bernie Sanders, primarily because he changed the conversation on Palestine at the highest levels of national politics. When it comes to political activism, my number one is […]
Dearborn, Arabs, Mikes, and Jesus
I gotta tell you about Dearborn, Michigan. I live here. I love it. It’s one of Detroit’s most vibrant suburbs. As you might know, Dearborn is home to America’s largest Arab community. We house North America’s largest mosque. And we host the nation’s only Arab American museum. It’s a great American town. Both of […]
J Street is great! Right?
We Palestinians in America have watched AIPAC ravage us for decades. For years, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has specialized in dehumanizing Palestinians, erasing (or denying) our history, and debasing our national aims. Every Palestinian in America, and perhaps worldwide, is raised learning of its evil intentions, achievements, and genius. In fact, one of […]
Marie Newman: JStreet’s Girl Friday
Marie Newman, one of three Democratic challengers in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district, is as pro-Israel as the incumbent AIPAC favorite, Daniel Lipinski. She has cynically courted the Arab American vote just for the numbers, eschewing all of our concerns for those of a pro-Israel political action committee, JStreet. Newman has not only been endorsed by […]
Boycott Burgerim? Yes!
I’ve been posting and talking about Burgerim for some time now, urging everyone to boycott this burger franchise. In fact, I even got the attention of Burgerim’s attorneys, who sent me a cease and desist order a couple months ago. Needless to say, it didn’t work. I’ll get back to more of that later. Burgerim […]
Don’t mess with Palestinians!
You have to feel bad for the Israelis. They’ve tried everything to get rid of us. But we just won’t die. Over 70 years ago, Israeli militias entered our villages and towns. They came heavily armed, and heavily determined, to displace and dispossess us. They massacred entire populations. They demolished over 400 villages. They stole […]
Palestinians don’t hate Jews, and I can prove it
Recent events in America have compelled me to once again make something clear. Palestinians don’t hate Jews. I can prove it. Google was founded by two Jews. It was. Google it. I love Google. A Jew invented the microphone. That’s pretty important to a stand up comedian like me. I’m deeply thankful for that. We […]
Ilhan, do not apologize. You have us.
Dear sister Ilhan, As a Palestinian, I can tell you that we have seen this movie before. You stand for justice for Palestinians.You say something in that regard.You get labeled an anti-Semite.Repeat cycle. Ilhan, we love you dearly. And I’m here to tell you why we never apologize to them. (DISCLAIMER: By “them,” of course I […]
I’m a Semite too
I’d really like to know why people seem to think that the Boycott Divest and Sanction Movement (BDS) is anti-Semitic. I’d also like to know why anti-Semitism is exclusive to Jews. Christians and Muslims live in the “Semitic” region. If its anti-Semitic, then by the very nature of the word, it is also anti-Arab. If […]
One-State, Two-State, Red State, Blue State
Though midterm elections night focused heavily on the polarizing politics of a two-party system, the winners of the night–whether republican or democrat–were those of us who know that the United States is a land built by, and for, immigrants. When the newly elected 116th U.S. Congress convenes in January 2019, it will finally look like […]
No, The Entire Middle East Shouldn’t Look Like Israel
Israel illegally occupies the West Bank. Israel has constructed a massive apartheid wall that constricts life for the Palestinians. And Israel benefits its Jewish citizens, while it oppresses the Palestinians–especially the ones in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. But none of this seems to matter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who […]
I said, “Please don’t be Arab” … then I realized he couldn’t be
This past weekend, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Robert Bowers calmly walked into the Tree of Life Congregation and murdered eleven Jewish parishioners. Reportedly, he yelled out, “All Jews must die!” It was the single deadliest attack on Jews in American history. May the victims rest in peace and may their souls be […]
Nikki Haley: Not confused? Possibly Delusional
Every time I hear Nikki Haley’s voice, something happens. Even as a psych student, I am not sure that I can explain it. It kind of feels like a Minotaur lives inside me and awakens in screams at the sound of her voice. I’m pretty sure it’s not normal, but then neither is Nikki Haley. […]
Are we Palestinians so hard to understand?
It’s been more than a week now of Israel murdering Palestinians in Gaza. To be clear, their deaths were not the result of “clashes” or “violent confrontations.” It started with tens of thousands of Palestinians, imprisoned in Gaza, marching. Along with their extended family throughout our historic homeland, they walked nonviolently toward their ancestral villages […]
Illinois Primaries and Arab Chicago: Why Do We Keep Doing This To Ourselves?
Eighteen years ago, Arab Chicago, led by a primarily conservative leadership, erroneously chose to back the “Compassionate Conservative” George Bush. Not only did the conservative Arab community believe that Republicans more effectively represented their core values, they also believed that an Evangelical Neo-Conservative Christian like George Bush would deal more fairly with the Arab and […]
Yes, “Black Panther” is a little anti-Muslim
Before I get into this amateur movie review of “Black Panther,” and before I get into trouble, let me start with a few statistics. Half of the residents of the African continent are Muslim. 33% of worldwide Muslims live in Africa, and they don’t only dwell in nations where Arabic is the official language, like […]
Trump’s immigration policy is more American than you think
It’s quite popular these days to declare that Donald Trump’s racist views on immigration are “un-American.” He only wants white people coming here. “Why can’t we have more people from Norway?” He wants to get rid of Latinos and black people. “Do we really need more Haitians?” He devalues, denigrates, and dehumanizes the culture of Africans. […]