Bride of the Sea

Souciant, April 6, 2011 Sometimes I’m not sure what to call her. Is it Yafo? Or Jaffa? Then there is the old Arabic nickname, Urs al-Bahr, Bride of the Sea. Each word has its history. And each has its fate. If things had gone according to plan—the UN’s 1947 Partition Plan that is—Jaffa would have …

A new nakba?

Counterpunch, April 22, 2011 Several weeks ago, Israeli authorities arrested M, a pregnant woman, along with her three-year-old, Israeli-born son. The young family—sans the father, who had been deported several months before—was briefly detained then expelled from the country. But don’t break out those Palestinian flags just yet. This was a family of migrant workers. …

Israeli town rallies against African refugees

Al Jazeera English, April 13, 2011 James Anei was a 16-year-old boy when he witnessed a massacre, carried out by militias loyal to the government in Khartoum. Terrified, he fled his village in South Sudan. “You see someone dying in front of you and you know this guy and you know his parents and so …

Israel’s uneven justice

Maan News Agency, April 13, 2011 Last week, Israeli immigration police arrested and deported a three-year-old boy, born and raised in Israel. The toddler was detained and expelled to the Philippines along with his mother, M, who is pregnant. The children’s father is a migrant worker from Thailand who was deported several months ago. Distance …

Workshops

Do you have a story you’re dying to tell and you’re not sure how to get going? Have you already stuck some short stories and essays in a drawer because you’re not sure what direction to take them in? Do you want to get feedback on your work and be part of a community of …

Boycotting Israel… from within

Al Jazeera English, March 26, 2011 It was Egypt that got me thinking about the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement in a serious way. I was already conducting a quiet targeted boycott of settlement goods—silently reading labels at the grocery store to make sure I wasn’t buying anything that came from over the Green Line. …

A state of narcissism

Souciant, March 17, 2011 It was cold outside and pouring rain. The cafe was packed, upstairs and down. “It’s really a commune here, huh?” the woman next to me said as I sat down. I smiled, nodded, and asked if it would annoy her if I plugged my laptop in. The wire would run right …