Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile

A collection of Arab-American comedian Amer Zahr's writings on the experiences and tribulations of being a Palestinian.

What does it means to be Palestinian in the diaspora?This collection of 100 personal reflections on being Palestinian is the first book of its kind. Reflecting on Palestinian identity as it is experienced at the individual level, issues of identity, exile, refugee status, nostalgia, belonging and alienation are at the heart of the book. The contributors speak in many voices, exploring the richness and diversity of identity construction among Palestinians in the diaspora.Included are contributions from Palestinians living in the Anglo-Saxon diaspora, mainly the UK and North America. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds: business people, lawyers, judges, fiction writers, poets, journalists (press, TV and radio), film-makers, diplomats and academics. Men and women, young and old, Christians and Muslims offer essays, as do Palestinians from different generations (first, second and third generations). This mix of professional, gender, faith and generational categories ensures that a variety of voices are heard.The editor sets the scene with an Introduction, and his Epilogue deals with issues of identity, exile and diaspora as concepts that give sense to the personal reflections.Key FeaturesThe first book to gather personal reflections on what it means to be PalestinianContributes to the debate on what it means to be PalestinianAsks what the diaspora is for PalestiniansLooks at how being Palestinian varies across gender, generation, religious affiliation and professional interest.FROM APF:Is being Palestinian a 'pain in the neck', or a 'sentence to suffer gladly'? Does Palestinian identity reside in cross-stitch embroidery, sweet knafeh and the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, or defending the rights of oppressed communities around the world? Does being Palestinian in diaspora mean anything at all? In this ground-breaking volume, the first of its kind, 102 contributors from North America and the United Kingdom reflect in their own words on what it means to be Palestinian in diaspora. Exploring how Palestine is both lost and found, bereaved and celebrated in diaspora, and the tangled ties between 'home' and 'homeland', Being Palestinian takes the reader on an intimate journey into the diaspora to reveal a human story: how does it feel when you cannot find Palestine under 'P' in the encyclopaedia your father brings home? Why grow fig and orange trees in the Arizona desert? What does it mean to know every inch of a village that no longer exists? Touching, troubling but full of character and wit, the reflections in Being Palestinian offer a radically fresh look at the modern Palestinian experience in the West.

This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation and application of the twin concepts of muqawama (resistance) and jihad (striving in the name of God). The text frames the movement’s capacity to accrue popular legitimacy through its evolving resistance discourses, centred on the notion of jihad, and the practical applications thereof. Moving beyond the dominant security-orientated approaches to Hamas, the book investigates the malleable nature of both resistance and jihad including their social, symbolic, political and ideational applications. The diverse interpretations of these concepts allow Hamas to function as a comprehensive social movement. Where possible, this volume attempts to privilege first-order or experiential knowledge emanating from the movement itself, its political representatives, and the Palestinian population in general. Many of these accounts were collected by the author during fieldwork in the Middle East. Not only does this work present new primary data, but it also investigates a variety of contemporary empirical events related to Palestine and the Middle East. This book offers an alternative way of viewing the movement’s popular legitimacy grounded in theoretical, empirical and ethnographic terms. This book will be of much interest to students of Hamas, political violence, critical terrorism studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.

Every new American President has a plan to bring about peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and every one fails. Every “peace process” has failed in its primary objective: to establish a stable and lasting accord between the two parties, such that they can live together side-by-side in friendship rather than enmity. But why? And what can be done instead? While this failure is a consistent pattern stretching back decades, there is virtually no public discussion or even basic understanding of the primary reason for this failure. The Palestinian Delusion is unique in situating the Israeli/Palestinian conflict within the context of the global jihad that has found renewed impetus in the latter portion of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Briskly recounting the tumultuous history of the “peace process,” Robert Spencer demonstrates that the determination of diplomats, policymakers, and negotiators to ignore this aspect of the conflict has led the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world down numerous blind alleys. This has often only exacerbated, rather than healed, this conflict. The Palestinian Delusion offers a general overview of the Zionist settlement of Palestine, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the Arab Muslim reaction to these events. It explores the dramatic and little-known history of the various peace efforts—showing how and why they invariably broke down or failed to be implemented fully. The Palestinian Delusion also provides shocking evidence from the Palestinian media, as well as statements from the Palestinian leadership, showing that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will never work. But there is still cause for hope. Spencer delineates a realistic, viable alternative to the endless and futile “peace process,” that shows how the Jewish State and the Palestinian Arabs can truly coexist in peace—without illusions or unrealistic expectations.

Lonely Planet: The world’s number one travel guide publisher* Lonely Planet’s Israel & the Palestinian Territories is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Discover the ruins of ancient Jericho, take an early morning walk to the Temple Mount for a breathtaking view of the Dome of the Rock, and float in the briny waters of the Dead Sea – all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Israel and the Palestinian Territories and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet’s Israel & the Palestinian Territories: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries to help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - covering history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics Covers Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa & the North Coast, Lower Galilee & Sea of Galilee, Upper Galilee & Golan, West Bank, The Gaza Strip, The Dead Sea, The Negev, Petra eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Israel & the Palestinian Territories is our most comprehensive guide to the area, and is perfect for discovering both popular and offbeat experiences. Looking for wider coverage? Check out Lonely Planet’s Middle East for a comprehensive look at all the region has to offer. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world’s number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we’ve printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You’ll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. ‘Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.’ – New York Times ‘Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.’ – Fairfax Media (Australia) *Source: Nielsen BookScan: Australia, UK, USA, 5/2016-4/2017 Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

Anan Ameri played a pivotal role in the creation of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The Wandering Palestinian chronicles her life from 1974 in Beirut, Lebanon to Detroit, Michigan as she learns how to adjust to culture shock, finds her independence, and becomes a driving force in Detroit’s large and politically active Arab American community—an involvement that helped her break away from her isolation, resume her activism, and paved the way for her to become a recognized and respected leader in her community.

A moving and unforgettable eyewitness account of the courageous exodus of Holocaust survivors from post–World War II Europe to the Promised Land, now expanded with Stone’s frontline reporting on the Arab-Israeli crises of 1948–49 and the Suez War of 1956, and with a new foreword by D. D. Guttenplan In the spring of 1946, American journalist I. F. Stone embarked on an incredible adventure, accompanying Holocaust survivors as they made their historic voyage from Eastern Europe to the biblical Promised Land. Undertaken in secrecy against the strict orders of Palestine’s British colonial governors, this harrowing escape began in the displaced persons camps of Germany and Poland. An illegal convoy of the homeless, proud, and determined, these refugees traveled by train and by foot across the European continent before boarding the ship that would carry them past the British blockade to their ancient, ancestral home. No account of the historic twentieth-century exodus is as poignant, powerful, exhilarating, and dramatic as this acclaimed first-person narrative. Through the words of author I. F. Stone, one of America’s most provocative and revered investigative reporters, these courageous men, women, and children live again. Largely implicit but nevertheless unyielding is Stone’s belief in a binational Arab-Jewish state, a creed unacceptable to the Zionist movement of the time. Included are essays written in the years following Israel’s establishment, reflecting on the state of the newly reborn nation and the volatile situation in the Middle East thirty years beyond the establishment of Mandatory Palestine. Caught between the immediate, innate sense of belonging he felt in Palestine and his own developing critique of Zionism, Stone wrote into each of these works a personal struggle, a question of justice unsolved today. With a new introduction by D. D. Guttenplan, this edition reveals a perspective indispensable to understanding past and present tensions in the Middle East.