What happens when an American politician hates Arabs? She survives
The name “Sharon Brannigan” means absolutely nothing to most people, and likely would not have been known beyond this small corridor of Palos Township in […]
A Palestinian Christian Condemning Evangelism
In Palestine, 16-year-old girls are arrested, terrorized, and abused. Women are compelled to wrestle soldiers to free their screaming, pleading sons. Parents are forced into […]
Taking Hummus Back
In case you haven’t noticed, the Israeli PR machine has this rabid reaction when the rhetoric surrounding Palestine has the slightest twinge of favorability to […]
Jerusalem still speaks Arabic
It doesn’t matter where anyone builds their diplomatic palaces. Jerusalem still speaks Arabic. I’ve heard her. Hundreds of restaurants offer falafel, hummus, shawarma, pomegranate juice, […]
Waxing Moon / Earthshine – A Poem
The first time I hear someone use ‘gay’ as an insult, my body rejects it but my tongue— The acrid taste of the word pricks […]
Viva Las Vegas
I sound like a broken record, a chorus stopping and staring from apathy to tired tears. DJed by a neglected needle of a dusty player that […]
Settlements are far from settling
Each time I hear a commentator say that Israeli “settlements do not impede peace,” I throw up in my mouth a little…for a couple of […]
Palestein in my house
So our favorite “smart and funny” Arab, Amer Zahr, gave you a utopian society in which Palestinians and Israelis get rich together, share the same […]
Dancing is Haram
Flashback: I am nine years old and spend the summer listening to hip-hop with my cousins. We play 400 (Arabic card game) and eat Flaming […]
One state in Palestein
The events of the past couple months circulating around the Palestine/Israel saga have been even more intriguing than usual. From December’s passing (and controversial US abstention) of United […]
Sam Harris, Bill Maher, and their amateur hour on Islam
It is quite easy to identify the Islamophobia of Donald Trump and many on the right. The “Muslim Ban,” manufactured rage about sharia law, Muslim registries… […]
Secretary Kerry, there could have never been a two-state solution
Though many rejoiced listening to Secretary Kerry’s speech at the end of December, I’ve been walking around rather disenchanted. There’s no denying that his 72-minute diatribe […]
A letter to my Trump-voting neighbors
Donald Trump won. I’m not here to tell you that Bernie would have beaten him, or that Hillary won the popular vote, or that voter […]
The facade of freedom
On election night, I fell asleep early. I was certain my candidate was not going to win. I knew that the world was not ready […]
Childhood in the Holy Land
The path to school is one of those things that almost everyone can agree needs to be safe. Everyone except for Israel, that is. Palestinian children […]
I’m a Dem, but Hillary is no champion to me
The Democratic convention is over, and my grieving process has began. I became an “unaffiliated” voter. It sort of brought a tear to my eye, […]
The Arab American Bernie aftermath
As an Arab American surrogate for Bernie Sanders, there’s been a lot to think about since yesterday’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I’m a former surrogate […]
Tribute to Alton Sterling: We are the minority
Multiple gunshots penetrated the onlookers’ ears. Blood sprouted and smeared the front of a silver car. One police officer laid on the floor, his gun […]
My grandfather’s name was Muhammad too
I was an Arab-Muslim-Palestinian-Christian-American kid growing up in a quiet, all-white, insulated suburb of Philadelphia. I always knew I was a little different. I had […]
Hillary and Donald, BFFs forever and ever
According to the Center of American Women in Politics, in 2012, 64% of women and 60% of men voted. Racial demographics according to the Pew Research […]