President Biden, Send the USNS Hospital Ship to Gaza

As the wreckage and death toll mounts as a result of Israel’s provocative attack on Al Aqsa worshipers during the holy month of Ramadan, American Palestinian Women’s Association implores President Biden to send the USNS naval hospital ship to the shores of Gaza. To heal and mend the injured children, and provide water, food, and tents to shelter the 50,000 families made homeless by Israel’s American made planes and bombs.

mai abdul rahman May 2021

Last April, American Palestinian Women sent a letter to President Joe Biden. We congratulated and welcomed him as the leader of our nation and urged him to send the USNS naval hospital ship to Gaza- letter attached below. There is no time more urgent than now to send the USNS Naval ship to treat the injured and mend the broken limbs of young Palestinian children who suffer the consequences of irresponsible US policies. 

Children do not develop in isolation. They are shaped by the social and political worlds in which they live. The US bears much of the blame for creating the political and situational conditions that have allowed Israel to impose the ecological and military constructs that continue to shape young Palestinian’s cruel environment. In other words, funding Israel’s wars and its wholesale brutal occupation policies and Gaza siege dictates US intervention to reduce the physical and psychological scars that impact the long term development of young Palestinians.

Long before Israel’s provocative attacks on Alaqsa mosque worshipers, and its chronic policy of vacating and displacing Palestinian families from their homes to hand over to Jewish settlers, Palestinian children have suffered unbearable trauma. Almost all under age Palestinian children (88%) have personally witnessed the demolition of homes, the wounding and killing of family members, neighbors and loved ones. Palestinian medics and therapists are ill equipped to deal with overwhelming number of young Palestinian victims in need of medical attention and therapy. Without the proper intervention, the impact of these scaring experiences will last an entire lifetime.

Armed and well equipped with US made weapons, Israel’s occupation soldiers determine Palestinian children’s physical safety and the safety of their families. Israel’s military and police control their access to school and ability to walk safely back to their homes and neighborhoods. Their daily encounters with Israel’s occupation soldiers and its angry settlers reinforce time and again that at any given day they may lose their life, father, mother or siblings. These cruel facts are multiplied ten folds for those Palestinian children living under Israel’s suffocating siege in Gaza. Israel also controls their food intake, clean water consumption, and ability to safely walk to school or playground. They live in perpetual anxiety afraid to face Israel’s devastating US made bombs and its occasional happy trigger snipers who on a whim commit them limbless, orphaned, or dead. 

Long before Ramadan 2021, and the Covid19 pandemic that exasperated the fragile Palestinian health care system, research had established that 68% of Palestinian children exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and more than two-thirds of children under 5 suffer from various vitamin deficiencies. All of which produce long-term developmental issues that damage their physical and mental wellbeing. 

American taxpayers (you and, I included) have generously funded Israel’s wars and human right abuses. Our monies fund the weapons that successive US administrations have supplied Israel without one iota of accountability. We are collectively responsible for the senseless suffering of thousands of young Palestinian children.

As an active party to this decades long devastating carnage, the US must take responsibility for healing and mending the innocent young Palestinian children who suffer our irresponsible policies and negligent actions. Sending the USNS naval hospital ship to Gaza on a humanitarian and medical relief mission could provide the surviving young Palestinian children a little help to overcome the dire conditions we helped create. It will also offer principled Americans a small gesture of much-needed relief from the ache of feeling directly responsible for creating this mess.

[Emblem of American Palestinian Women’s Association]

American Palestinian Women’s Association (APWA)

Bridging cultures for a brighter future

APWA is a non-profit organization (EIN 52-2439307)under the IRS code 501(c)(3)

President Joe Biden

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C., 20500

April 3, 2021

Dear President Biden,

The American-Palestinian Women’s Association would like to congratulate you and welcome you as the leader of this nation. We write to you today as concerned mothers, sisters, representing a large community of Palestinian-Americans, about the deplorable living conditions of the Palestinian children, youth, and elderly residing in Gaza.

At this time, and as the research suggests, 68% of Palestinian children display symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In addition, nearly two-thirds of children under 5 suffer from various vitamin deficiencies and suffer long-term developmental issues that prolong the harm to their physical and mental wellbeing. The COVID19 pandemic has only exacerbated the fragile healthcare system of Gaza and deserves our attention for its dire impact on the most vulnerable children of Gaza.

We urge you to send the USNS Mercy to Gaza for much-needed relief to the sorely inadequate local healthcare facilities. It can improve the quality of life for thousands of Gazans and show the children of Gaza that the US has not forgotten them. We believe that your administration can take action to address this humanitarian calamity and we ask that you assign someone in your cabinet to advocate throughout the process of the ship deployment.

We thank you for your leadership and look forward to your response by email at mai.abdulrahman@gmail.com or by phone at (…..

Sincerely,

Dr. Mai Abdul Rahman

President, Board Chair

The American-Palestinian Women’s Association

US Feminists’ Omission of Arab American Women Explained

Since the 1900’s, Arab American women have advocated for gender equity. Early Arab American feminists were first to shed light on the unique challenges of being Arab and American. They were the first in the New York City garment district to establish child care programs to facilitate the entry of women into the labor force. Today, Arab American women are highly educated, have higher labor force participation and professional representation rates than most American women, and earn higher incomes than average Americans, and many amongst them were first in breaking the gender barrier. Yet their collective contributions are glossed over and unappreciated. While this glaring omission is attributed to the deeply embedded prejudice that taints all Arab Americans, it is not the sole reason.

mai abdul rahman     March 2021

This March, Americans will again celebrate the remarkable achievements of American women. They will learn about the important role that feminists played in breaking the gender barrier and shaping the gender discourse in the US. While no one can deny the relevance of the US feminist movement in advancing American women’s rights, no credible scholar or historian can dispute that since the 1800′s Arab American women have helped expand women’s participation in every professional sector.

So the question that merits consideration is what are the reasons that could help explain why few Americans are aware of the significant contributions that Arab American women made to advance the rights of women in the US. While the Eurocentric and micro political orientation of White Americans measurably influences the US feminist movement, there are additional factors that makes it possible to ignore Arab American womens’ considerable success in breaking the gender barrier.

To date, Arab American women continue to be well represented in every professional sector and medium. However, deep-rooted implicit and explicit bias towards Arab Americans has influenced the US feminists’ leaders and followers. American attitudes towards Arab American women are an ingrained cultural perspective that reflects the racial divisiveness and biases that our country has struggled with since its inception. In July 16, 1901 Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette carried an article entitled “Don’t Like Arabs,” where Arab Americans were collectively smeared and openly attacked. It is true that during that period America’s White middle class projected a patronizing attitude towards the Irish and Southern European immigrants, Arab American women suffered more disdain than most.

Stereotypical inferences of Arab American women are one of the many factors that contribute to the historical failure of the US feminist movement from recognizing Arab American women’s narrative in the US gender discourse. Also of note, is the dynamic inter-lapping nature of US mediums and institutions that play an important role in reinforcing disparaging views of Arab American women, their women leaders, and community across every sector. This includes, the media, social platforms, the arts, academia, civil society, political organizations, public policy, and American popular culture. Each and all help to cement the deep seated bias towards Arab American women and their community. In other words, the peddling of negative stereotypes are necessary social instruments that help fortify American’s dismissive attitudes towards Arab American women. All of which makes it possible for American women to willfully ignore Arab American women’s role in advancing gender equity in the US.

Arab American Women’s Inclusive Identity Challenge U.S. Feminist’s Narrow Racial Constructs

Arab American women ancestral roots stretch from the African Atlas Mountains to the longest inhabited cities along the Mediterranean Sea, and across the Arabian Desert. Arab American women are White, Brown, Black, and represent every shade and color in between. They are atheists, agnostics, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. They adopt and comprise several macro and micro identities. Arab American women represent African, European, Hispanic, and Latin American women. For example, pop star Shakira, is Latina, Colombian, Arab, and American, and the well known Hollywood actress and producer Salma Hayek is also Latina, Arab, Mexican, and American. International model Gigi Hadid, is Arab, Palestinian, and American, and the youngest female Nascar driver, Toni Breidinger, is Arab, Lebanese, and American, The complex nature of the racial, ethnic, and religious makeup of Arab American women transcend the fragmented and narrow descriptive definitions that most Americans observe.

In addition, the historically narrow US racial paradigm is the most dominant factor in shaping US social and political structures and American’s cultural beliefs and attitudes. The US feminist movement was borne when slavery dominated and determined the values of White Americans. The influence of the dominant US colonial paradigm helped form the perspective of past feminist leaders and their followers. These values are an embedded feature of the feminist movement’s operating structural and racial constructs. They are the underlying reason that make it possible for feminist leaders to persist in dismissing the role and contributions of other American women, especially women of color. It is also the reason why the feminist movement still struggles to accommodate African American women, Asian American women, Latinas, and Native American women. Notwithstanding, the US feminist narrative has made some effort to include the above four distinct ethnic and racial classifications. However, Arab American women don’t fit well in these restrictive and simple categories. The US feminist distinct racial and ethnic identities are too narrow and limiting to capture the complexity of centric and overlapping identities of Arab American women. The US ethnic and racial paradigm is unsophisticated and outdated- and should be challenged.

Arab American Women Principled Political Orientation on Military Occupations and Wars

By and large, most Americans are inclined to accept the US government’s international policies than critically evaluate the human cost or political implications of these policies. Arab American women’s decades-long principled opposition to the Iraq war, US Middle East policie, Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories and wars on Gaza did not align with the mainstream views of the vast majority of White American women. Additionally, their disapproval of US surveillance tactics and torture practices, contrasted with the views held by the vast majority of Americans who unquestionably accepted the use of these extreme and intrusive measures. More specifically, Arab American women’s opposition to the use of US taxes to build and sustain Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, were often misconstrued as illegitimate and erroneous, and in opposition to American values. Despite their justifiable reasons for calling on the US government to genuinely support policies that would bring an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestine, which equally harms Palestinians and Israelis.

Furthermore, Arab American women’s consistent objection to US policies in the Middle East was in contradiction with the publicly accepted position of the US political establishment, and most especially, the Democratic Party’s political elite who embraced the US feminists’ domestic political objectives. The feminist movement’s adoption of the prevailing US social and political structural perimeters helped it secure its prominence within the US establishment. Which gave US feminist leaders the credence to remain pertinent to the political establishment. It also made it politically acceptable for American feminist leaders to disregard Arab American women’s political and social contributions. In other words, the systematic exclusion of Arab American women aligns with the US dominant social, cultural and political class.

Today, most Americans believe the US Iraq war as an unnecessary costly fete, and many are aware of the tragic cost of subsidizing Israel’s occupation and expansive settlements across the Palestinian territories, but these views slowly developed and after many years of apathetic silence. Arab American women were one of a small number of Americans who stepped up to challenge Americans to assess their accepted notions. They called attention to the human and financial cost of US policies in the Middle East. All of which helps explain their conspicuous absence from the US gender discourse.

Early Arab American Women and their Role in Advancing Gender Equity

Early Arab American women were members of the Eastern Christian culture of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, Damascus, Byblos, and Beirut-their ancestral claim to these ancient Biblical cities was of no help to them or their community. While they made every effort to live and raise their families within the folds of their new country, they lived in communities that shunned them and ostracized their families and faith.

During the 19th Century, Arab American women strongly advocated for gender equity. Afifa Karam (1883-1924) an Arab American feminist devoted many of her articles shedding light on the unique challenges that shaped Arab American women’s early experience in the US. Arab American women championed and defended the rights of women, and addressed the social and economic factors that delayed woman’s progress. Many Arab American women writers documented the structural biases that Arab American women and their community faced during the early 1800′s. Their work sheds light on the evolution of the structural prejudice that influences a wide range of US social and political institutions that continue to vilify Arab American women, their leaders and community.

In spite of their difficult conditions, Arab American women made enormous contributions in breaking the gender barrier and creating the space for American women to follow. As a group Arab American women don’t neatly fit in any of the narrow categorical schemes and political constructs observed by the US feminist movement. Arab American women’s fluid and unique ability to adopt overlapping ethnicities allows them to identify with a host of social and political struggles that are often neglected by the leaders and members of the US feminist movement. 

Moving Forward

Recognized or not, Arab American women play an important role in broadening the national debate on race and gender that continue to befuddle Americans. Additionally, their macro view of gender equality that encompasses the domestic and universal struggle for social justice and equality helps Americans to question their common assumptions and expand their perspective. Most critically, Arab American women’s visceral understanding of the human cost of wars and occupation that harm both the victims and victimizers helps Americans understand the cost of wars on the natives, as well as the American soldiers and war veterans.

Christmas in Bethlehem is the Loneliest Christmas in the World

Christmas in Palestine is unlike any experienced by any Church in the world. Even though, Palestinians reside in the small town where Jesus was born and their fields and hilltops is where Jesus and his sheep roamed. Their orchards and olive trees shaded Jesus and his disciples, and His sermons were heard by their ancestors. Palestinians celebrate Christmas alone and isolated behind Israel’s Separation Wall. They are isolated in their walled off churches, towns, and communities. Abandoned they struggle to protect Christendom’s first churches. The biblical stories Palestinians recite are an affirmation of their connection to the first Christians. And bearing witness to injustice is the heavy cross they carry.

Mai Abdul Rahman     December 2020

Ignored by the vast majority of Christians, Christmas season in Palestine is unlike any experienced by any Church in the world. Advent marks the birth of the faith of the Palestinian Christians and their truth. Jesus lived and sheltered in their fields. He witnessed a heartless world, confronted injustice, and defended the vulnerable. No place on earth is more callous than the Israeli occupied and militarized Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

For the Palestinian Christians, observing Advent is defined by their uninterrupted connection to the first followers of the Christian faith and shaped by their daily hardships and witness to injustice. During Advent, Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus. For the Christians of Palestine, it marks the beginning of their faith and cruel truths.

In Palestine, preparing for Advent and celebrating Christmas requires greater effort, ceaseless worry, and abundance of faith. The desperate world Jesus lived is affirmed in the daily trials of ordinary Palestinians. Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in their little town of Bethlehem to bring joy to the world. The birth of Jesus is celebrated by lighting Christmas trees in distinctive town squares across the world. Bethlehem’s Christmas tree is lit right beneath Israel’s illegal wall and watch towers. Like Jesus, Palestinians live in an unjust and merciless world.

Celebrating Advent is ordinary and effortless for most Christians. But not for the Palestinian Christians. It requires special permits from Israel’s military administrators. During Advent church pastors and bishops recite the story of Jesus, his birth, life and family that hailed from Nazareth (An-Nasira)– sixty miles away from the Church of Bethlehem. For Palestinians the prospect of traveling 3,232 miles to Sweden is more plausible than clearing the 103 military manned Israeli check points that separate Bethlehem from An-Nasira.

Palestinians never take for granted the most ordinary and simple acts of faith. Advent under Israel’s unpredictable political climate and military occupation is a test of faith. Fulfilling the same customs set by their ancestors is a trial of endurance. Even lighting the first peace lamp with freshly pressed olive oil and the last peace lamp is a formidable challenge. No place on earth is like the Israeli occupied and militarized Palestine.

During Advent, the story of Jesus and the heartless world He experienced are abstractly described by bishops and clerics around the world. For the Palestinians, the heartless world Jesus confronted is an imposed conditions made possible by the mercilessness of neighbors and strangers. The life and world Jesus encountered is their living experience.

During the last week of Advent, pastors and priests retell the story of the shepherds who kept watch over their flocks at night and were foretold of the birth of Jesus. Palestinian shepherds roam those same fields keeping watch over their flocks afraid of Israel’s settlers who at will could harm them. As an infant, Jesus promised peace on earth, ultimate and permanent peace, but the peace HE promised has yet materialize for the descendents of the first church.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Christmas within their walled and sieged churches. The tiny manger where Jesus was born is kept in the Church Bethlehem under the watchful eyes of Israel’s military occupation soldiers. Their access to their beloved church is never taken for granted.

On Christmas Day, Catholic and Protestant clerics will bear their ecclesiastical vestments that display Palestinian traditional dalmatic embroidery that was first worn by Palestinian clerics. They will quote the scripture that was elucidated by early Palestinian scholars. Yet, few if any, will utter a word of concern about the plight of the Palestinian Christians. Their daily struggle is ignored.

Jesus defended the innocent. Cruelty is facilitated in the land and fields where Jesus protected the vulnerable. By any means necessary, Christian Zionists want Palestinians to relinquish their ancestral lands to the Israeli settlers. They strategically choose to intensify the tension and conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. They scheme to empty and reshape the Palestinian landscape. By funding and expanding Israel’s illegal settlements the Christian Zionists encourage the robbing Palestinian lands, fields, and water. Their goal is to affect the life and livelihood Palestinians. In their view, Palestinian Christians are casual victims in their plot and scheme to hasten Armageddon.  

Ignored and abandoned, the Palestinian Christians live the true meaning of Advent all year long. They faithfully advocate peace for friend and foe and honor the faith of their forefathers. They speak truth to power and work for justice and peace for their own people, and their occupiers. They shoulder and carry the cross saddled upon them with grace.

APWA’s Mission and Objectives

American Palestinian Women’s Association 

American Palestinian Women’s Association (APWA) is a nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Virginia.  APWA is a non- political secular organization that represents American Palestinian women whether they may be Christian, Muslim, Jew, or not.

APWA’s mission:

• Empower American Palestinian women,
• Advocate for women’s equality across the entire social spectrums and spheres (economic, political, cultural, familial, educational, social),
• Advance genuine change that meets the needs of all Americans of every faith, affinity, color, gender, social standing, ethnicity, sexual orientation, native born, and immigrant,
• Advocate for the emotional and mental wellbeing of children whether they may American, Palestinian, or Israeli,
• Support long lasting just peace among Palestinians and Israelis, and
• Bridge and elevate the level of understanding between Americans and Palestinians.

***American Palestinian Women’s Association is a non profit, non-political, secular, tax-exempt, registered organization. APWA was established in 2004 by concerned American Palestinian women in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area (DC, VA, MD).

For more information contact: american.palestinian.women@gmail.com

With Love and Gratitude

I confess that I feel heavy hearted to share with you my intent to step down as president of American Palestinian Women’s Association, especially when the extent of the latest tragic events in Palestine remain unknown. But today more than even, I am cognizant that APWA needs fresh new leadership that builds upon our successes and expands our reach. 

As a founding member, I am grateful to have had the privilege of leading the most beautiful and dedicated group of women who spoke truth to power and committed thousands of volunteer hours without an iota of public recognition. I am truly proud that I can reflect on the work we accomplished, and the labor of love spent to build a better world, not just in Palestine, but here at home. I am gratified to have been a member of one of the most dedicated band of principled women who challenged Americans to learn, be better, and do better.

APWA was one of the first groups to call attention to the contextual relatalibilty of the oppression experienced by Palestinians and the racism and injustice experienced by people of color here at home. We brought about an understanding of the similarities between the economic privilege in our own country whose wealth was extracted from the sweat and free labor of Americans forced into slavery, and Israel’s wealth, military sales, economy, and its illegal settlement enterprise that depends on the systematic abuse of the Palestinians, and for the enrichment of settlers who otherwise are of meager means. We also warned Americans from importing Israel’s policing tools that compromise the integrity of our local police and American’s constitutional rights. The uncovering of these corresponding institutional practices alone is a testament to the work accomplished and the breadth of unfinished work ahead of us.

In words and deeds, APWA denounced all forms of bigotry and hate, and forewarned Americans of the cost of accepting and adopting Israel’s oppressive occupation policies and police tactics. Above all, we understood that Israel’s military, policing practices, and occupation policies harm Palestinians, and taint the moral fabric of Israel’s young. And when few Americans recognized the human cost of supporting and funding Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian people, APWA gave voice to the authentic living experience of Palestinian women, and called attention to the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinians, as well as Israelis. Throughout, APWA believed in the power of sisterhood for the building a better future for young people whether they were born Christian, Muslim, or Jew.

We know that the greatest accomplishments are the things that are not written or documented: the conversations we engaged with congregations, the friends we made, and the one to one transformation that grew out of our collaboration and sponsorships of people willing to speak their truth. The safe spaces we organized where Rabbis, imams, and pastors spoke their truth, the many groups we were invited to join, the conference calls and conference resolutions we wrote together, and the challenging of our communities to keep learning that deepened relationships and understanding of our mutual struggles.

I am proud to have been part of the most effective and dynamic grass roots movement that changed American attitudes and values. Nonetheless, I sincerely believe that part of the art of organizing is knowing when it’s time to step aside to allow for new leadership with new gifts, strategies and ideas in a constantly demanding and evolving landscape. I feel satisfied that I have given what I can to APWA.

It is for all the reasons above that I am really excited to announce that Nuha Shiblie has agreed to step in to take the baton to facilitate the expansion of APWA’s reach, funds, and contributions. Nuha has a proven record in working with national and international organizations. She has abundance of talent and wisdom and the necessary skills to build upon APWA’s past successes. Nuha believes in APWA’s mission that never wavered from it’s humanitarian, non-political, and secular character that honors and respects all faiths and creeds. She is also kind, courteous, energetic, and a joy to work with. I promised Nuha to stay on for just a little longer to ensure a smooth transition and hand-off of programs and tasks, and that is a promise I intend to keep.

In the meantime, I am holding my breath excited to begin a new phase of organizing that will solely focus on the orphaned Palestinian children, especially the recent victims of the Gaza war. I have a lot of learning and lots of ideas about what this new American Palestinian women lead organization might want to accomplish –and I am open to more suggestions. With the help of several amazing American Palestinian women, we already started putting the organizational structure that could potentially begin addressing the educational and social needs of the orphaned Palestinian children. I understand under the current conditions it will not be easy, but with the right structures and principled values the potential impact of such an organization would radically transform the prospects of young Palestinian children. Nevertheless, I am well aware that the scope of work ahead of us will not be simple or easy to accomplish, especially when considering the need and the volatile conditions these children continue to face, but this will not deter us from realizing our dream. 

My APWA experience has taught me to appreciate the power of a small band of women to change hearts and minds. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for the gifts of learning from and struggling with women committed to the cause of Justice. Your principled values made it possible for APWA to be the most trusted and most effective change-maker it can be. Together we educated and changed attitudes, and did our part to create a vibrant movement committed to Palestinian human rights. Above all, we contextually connected the relatability of Palestinian oppression to the racism here at home. Because of you, American’s commitment to justice has grown wider, stronger, and more resolute, and thus our work together will continue on.

With Love and gratitude…. mai 

What Do We Do? And What Do We Do With The Money We Raise?

What Do We Do?

We give voice to the authentic living experience of Palestinian women, and call attention to the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian people. And we also support the most vulnerable populations here at home. We resolutely support the rights of all women, and stand firm against bigotry and hate of the other irrespective of faith, color, national origin, immigration status, or orientation. 

In addition, APWA was one of the first organizations to call attention to the relatalibilty of the oppression experienced by Palestinians and the racism and injustice experienced by people of color here at home– in a way that only American Palestinian women can.

Speaking Our Truth to Erase Injustices

At a time when few Americans recognized the human cost of supporting and funding Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian people, APWA gave Palestinian women voice to speak and express their truth, and called attention to the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian people as well as Israelis. Throughout, APWA believed in the power of sisterhood and the building of high moral values through action driven principles that call people to act morally and rise above their biases. 

We were one of the first groups to call attention to the contextual relatalibilty of the oppression experienced by Palestinians and the racism and injustice experienced by people of color here at home. We brought about an understanding of the similarities between the economic privilege in our own country whose wealth was extracted from the sweat and free labor of Americans forced into slavery, and how Israel’s wealth, military sales, and economy are dependent on the systematic oppression of the Palestinians, and how Israel’s cross lateral institutions are engaged in the annexation of Palestinian homes and fields to enrich the Israeli settlers who are otherwise with meager means. 

In a way that only American Palestinian women can, we warned Americans on the risks of importing Israel’s oppressive administrative tools that are compromising the integrity of the local police, US securty agencies, and constitutional rights. The uncovering of these corresponding unjust institutional practices alone is a testament to the breadth of the work ahead of us.

What Do We Do With The Money We Raise?

As women who enjoy dual identities- American and Palestinian- we understand the contextual connectivity of the injustices experienced by the Palestinians and America’s marginalized communities. Our dual identity makes it imperative for us to fund programs that help ease the hardships of young Palestinians and their families as well as those communities struggling in our midst.

Here is partial list of the initiatives your contributions help APWA build and support:

• We support and empower Palestinian women by buying their products and selling them at our various events and bazaars. Each dollar we collect from each of our events that feature Palestinian women products is dedicated to ease the hardships of Palestinian children and their families.
• APWA funded the building of a guest room to house Palestinian families visiting their sick children at Victoria Hospital, East Jerusalem. This made it possible for families visiting their sick child to stay overnight and avoid the complex web of Israeli check points strung across the Palestinian territories,
• APWA funded the delivery of US donated musical instruments to help build the capacities of Edward Said National Conservatory of Music,
• We funded the music education of students living in Jenin (West Bank). Several of these students became proficient musicians invited to play at some of the most reputable European concert halls, and some became music teachers spreading the joy of music within Palestine,
• Until it was made impossible we collected wheel chairs and crutches for the disabled and limbless children in Gaza,
• We funded and delivered hundreds of backpacks to Palestinian students living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Each book bag was filled to the brim with school supplies and a warm handwritten note from each donor and funder. 
• We funded Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza when they faced budget cuts,
• APWA funded the education of young Palestinian refugees with social, physical, and educational challenges, including children with autism.
• We financially supported countless of groups focused on supporting Palestinian families and children including UNRWA, ANERA, and UPA.

And Here at Home:

• We fund and support America’s young and homeless,
• We donated bikes for the homeless youth,
•  Organized workshops to help homeless youth maintain their bikes to ensure them reliable and well functioning as they use them to travel from their shelter to school and find employment,
• We funded and collected home baked meals to feed the homeless,
• Funded and supported Arab American groups,
• Funded and supported the foundation of several Arab American women initiatives,
• Funded the establishment of the Museum of the Palestinian People,
• Funded and supported IQraa: Running for a Brighter Palestine,
• Funded women shelters and victims of domestic abuse,
• Funded American Palestinian women and Arab American women,
• Funded the education of Palestinian students attending US colleges,
• Supported the transition of Syrian refugee mothers and their families,
• Offered financial support to improve the living conditions of Iraqi women immigrants
• Funded and organized interfaith Ramadan Iftars and events that featured Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergy,
• We funded the education of the young children of the Navajo nation, and gave each student a grade appropriate book about the living experience and aspirations of young Palestinian children, the books collected were authored and published by a Palestinian or a publishing house that supports the human rights of Palestinians.

Because of Your Support:

Because of your support we are able to leverage every penny we raised to help Palestinian children and their families as well America’s underprivileged children and their families.

Because of our Christian, Jewish, and Muslim supporters we built safe interfaith spaces where rabbis, pastors, and imams spoke from the heart about their desire to see a free Palestine

Because you were open to hear our perspective, we were able to expand the conversation and understanding of fellow Americans on the intersectional connectivity of the racial injustice of the people of color in this country, and the injustices committed against the Palestinian people– in a way that only American Palestinian women can.

Thank you! 

APWA’s 4th Annual Ramadan Interfaith Gathering

Bridging cultures for a brighter future

Dear friends,

The American Palestinian Women’s Association is hosting its 4th Annual Ramadan Gathering. We will be virtual this year and we want you to join us in a unique event that includes Rabbis, an Imam, and pastor, the historian and scholar Rose Esber, comedian Amer Zahr, Victorie Franklin, the granddaughter of Aretha Franklin, and more. All proceeds will benefit the Mar Elias refugee camp in Lebanon, which serves the Palestinian refugees of the 1948 Nakba, and more recently, Syrian refugees.

We are excited to bring you an hour of eye opening discussion on religion through the lens of Reverend Mark Brown, Rabbis Elizabeth Goldstein and Michael Davis and Imam Yahya Hendi.  Dr. Rose Esber, author of “Under the Cover of War”, will give us a history of the Nakba to commemorate the saddest month in the history of Palestinians and the loss of their rights to their homeland.  We bring you laughter as well with our own Palestinian American comedian Amer Zahr and finally, we will be joined by Victorie Franklin, granddaughter of the legendary Arethra Franklin who will speak about the joys and challenges of living in a family of multiple faiths.

You don’t want to miss this event!  Please register at the link below. Seats are limited.

https://secure.givelively.org/event/american-palestinian-womens-association-inc/fourth-annual-interfaith-ramadan-gathering

Save the Date: APWA’s Annual Interfaith Iftar

We are American Palestinian women who give voice to Palestinian women. Since inception, we have dedicated every dollar we raise to help Palestinian children as well as American children in our midst such as the homeless youth and the children of the Navajo people. Throughout, our aim is to raise awareness about the plight of the Palestinian people and those in need at home. This year our Interfaith Iftar event will focus on the predicament of the Palestinian children refugees. It is our Hope you will attend our May 5th interfaith Iftar event.

Happy Easter

This Easter, Palestinian Christians honor Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and sacrificed himself for the oppressed, sick, injured, imprisoned, and poor. They will draw comfort from the words he said of those who like them (Luke 6) struggle under considerable hardships to protect their families, children, life, and livelihood, and work to achieve justice and peace.

 “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be 
  comforted. 
  Blessed are you when people hate you, when they 
  exclude you,insult you and reject your name as evil. 
  Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after 
  righteousness for they shall be satisfied. 
  Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called
  sons of God.
  Blessed are they that have been persecuted for 
  righteousness'sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” 
  (Luke 6).
            Happy Easter to one and All!

Holy Week: The Central Event that Defines the Palestinian Christian Experience

Holy Week is the quintessential Palestinian Christian experience. The vast majority of Christians relate to Holy Week in the abstract, however, for the Palestinian Christians it marks the intrinsic and central event that defines their history, character, and organic relationship to their faith and daily struggles. It is their unique and uninterrupted faith experience that has continued for more than 1,500 years. For Palestinians, Holy Week is an annual commemoration of faith, hope, and hardships that is observed and passed from mother to daughter and father to son.

mai abdul rahman March 2021

Palestinians are the living stones of uninterrupted generations of Christians. They are linked in faith and lineage to the very first Christians. They are the Palestinian Jews who chose to follow Jesus, and to date continue to suffer the consequences of their conversion. For them, Holy Week is the central event that defines their ancestral connection to their faith. It marks their history and organic relationship to their faith and struggles. For them, Holy Week, is the most significant event that reaffirms their faith and commitment to remain faithful to Jesus’s just path.

Holy Week is the Central faith experience that connects Palestinian Christians to their past, present and future, and the quintessential cornerstone of their faith. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and concludes on Easter Sunday.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem for his last meal with his friends and faced his deceivers and trial. Palestinians follow the same route that Jesus took to Jerusalem and contemplate their organic experience and unique narrative that connects them to the very first Christians and ancestors who lived through and witnessed the countless biblical accounts that speak of Jesus and the heavy cross he carried during his last Journey to Jerusalem. And they still carry.

During Holy week Palestinians retell the story of Jesus’ sabeel (Arabic for way or path) at the oldest standing churches in Christendom (Bethlehem, Gaza, Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Taibeh, Tabarieh, Arabe’, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala). In supplication they link their struggles to the difficulties that Jesus Christ faced from birth until his last journey into Jerusalem. They will recount how Jesus entered their cherished and tortured Jerusalem greeted by a loving crowd who waved and covered his path with palm branches. They will also recount the joys their ancestors before them experienced, and pray for the peaceful end of the innumerable hardships they daily confront.

This week, Palestinians with an Israeli permit will march on foot and waddle through Israel’s Separation Wall, checkpoints, and soldiers while carrying and waving their Palm fronds and olive branches.

On Good Friday, twenty Palestinian men will carry the heavy cross that Jesus carried alone. Twenty representatives of the same families will place the cross on the same position that their fathers before them placed on their shoulders. They will retrace Jesus’ sabeel along the cobble stoned Via Dolorosa, reflect and pray at each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross where Jesus stopped as depicted on the ancient walls of East Jerusalem. Some will carry and clutch the same small wooden cross their ancestors carried before them. Together they will march towards the Sanctuary of Flagellation and meander the narrow paths that commemorate the final steps of Jesus. Like their mothers before them, young Palestinian women will gently release white pigeons of peace at the end of the procession in honor of their beloved and tormented Jerusalem.

On the eve of Holy Saturday, the Holy Sepulcher will spread the Holy Fire that has been kept lit for 1,500 years to nearby churches. Before the Israel’s military occupation, Palestinians on foot carried the Holy Fire to the multitude of churches in nearby Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

On Easter Sunday, few lucky Palestinians would celebrate Easter at one of the two holiest Christian sites that mark the birth of Jesus and his crucifixion (Bethlehem and East Jerusalem). Easter at the Church of the Nativity and the Holy Sepulchre is an entire day event devoted to memorializing Jesus’s message of peace and hope. However, most would be confined by Israel’s Separation Wall, check points and visa restrictions from entering East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In faith, they will pray for a just peace that honors the rights of the Palestinians and Israelis.

Holy Week for the Christians of Palestine is a shared faith experience of struggle and hope. It defines their unique historical Christian narrative. For them, Holy Week, is the most significant event that reaffirms their faith and commitment to remain faithful to Jesus’s just path.

An Open Letter to the Chair of Instructional Quality Commission, CA

Dear Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond,

American Palestinian Women’s Association is dismayed by California’s Department of Education’s attempt to suppress our children’s narrative. As mothers of American Palestinian children we ask you to consider how your commission’s decision  to ignore and muzzle their voice and narrative affects their development. How can we expect our children to develop into competent and caring citizens when they are silenced at school, and their truth and the world they intimately know and care about is shunned?

California is home to a large American Palestinian community, ignoring their right to be included in CA’s state standards is not only indefensible, it is wrong. As Americans we already know the cost of excluding the narrative of some students for the benefit of others. A mountain research exists that documents the harmful impact of past school practices that intentionally excluded the voice of Native and African Americans. These practices have severely impacted the character of our nation. The social and racial divisions we abhor and lament today, are the direct result of past school programs that promoted and highlighted the heritage and history of some Americans and intentionally excluded others.

An inclusive curriculum that respects the background of all students raises the consciousness of everyone. It is an essential component of creating an informed, compassionate, and better educated America. Inclusive schools are critical change agents. They are essential in building principled citizens and inclusive democratic societies. 

Like all other American children, our children should feel welcomed by teachers and peers alike. Regardless of their religious and ethnic background their truth should be respected. An inclusive Arab American series within the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) is absolutely critical to the well being of our children, as well as all other school children. Irrespective of the political inclination of educators, policy makers, and school leaders, the heritage and narrative of every public school student should be honored and respected by their school community. This is not only important to the individual student; it is also the correct and morally right approach. 

As parents, educators, and citizens of this country we must use every means to fight all expressions of hate and divisiveness, and we must not carry and promote ill guided exclusive political agendas. For example, reasonable Americans believe that school policies should not be dictated by those who want to erase our role in the slave trade and its brutal affect on generations of African Americans. They would argue that inclusive schools that teach and learn about our colonial past are pro America. They protect and promote our national character, values, and democratic principles. Correspondingly, ignoring the long struggle of the Palestinian people will not erase their truth or history. More importantly, it will not advance the just call of the Jewish people or the Palestinian people to be free of bigotry and hate.

We strongly support the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance original purpose of tracking anti- Semitism. However, including the IHRA’s controversial “definition” of anti-Semitism that aim to mute any criticism of Israel’s right wing governments and their policies in the ESMC will not benefit anyone-not even Israelis or the Jewish people- but it will harm many. 

Kenneth Stern, the anti-Semitism expert at the American Jewish Committee, was the first scholar to articulate and define the intent of IHRA, and he says “it’s been subverted“. Stern helped unify our understanding of the world’s oldest form of hatred. Yet, he strongly objects to how the IHRA definition has become a tool to silence critics of Israel’s political agenda and its military occupation policies. To mute and dismiss the Palestinian people and narrative. We genuinely believe that denying the history and narrrative of the Palestinian people subverts the moral fabric of the Israeli people and undermines their democratic values. Moreover, when the IHRA definition is improperly used for political objectives, and especially when it is formulated and used to advance Israel’s right wing extremists, it harms Israel and the Jewish people. They are not alone. It also puts the Palestinians and their supporters in danger.

California’s educational standards often inform other state and local school districts nationwide. If the proposed ESMC is adopted, it will be copied and promoted by anti-Palestinian groups as a model for other states. Excluding the Palestinian narrative is not only suspect, it is reckless. A robust Arab American program that includes the Palestinian narrative within the ESMC is totally reasonable, and it is the right school policy. As an educator, I know you understand the merits of this letter and the importance of honoring all your students.  For all the above reasons, we are calling on you and the IQC to:

• Educate students on the dangers of anti- Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and all expressions of hate of the other,
• Return the Arab American lesson plan to where it belongs, within Asian American studies,
• Stop censoring Palestinian narratives from Arab-American lesson plans,
• Remove all definitions of anti-Semitism that fuse criticism of Israel or Zionism to anti-Semitism.

Respectfully,

Dr. Mai Abdul Rahman

President

American Palestinian Women’s Association