Full of Gratitude
by Jonathan Kuttab
We just finished a wonderful gathering in Chicago, where staff and board members met together in person for the first time since before the pandemic to discuss and fully agree upon a 3-year strategic plan for Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). I am full of gratitude for our board, which combined the enthusiasm of youth, experience of veterans of the Palestinian struggle, and a commitment to diversity. They freely give of their time, experience, effort, and resources to voluntarily serve the people of Palestine.
Beyond the members of the board, however, I am full of gratitude for the multitudes who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their cause. Members of FOSNA and other organizations, who have no vested interest personally, are willing to take unpopular positions, oppose their own governments, risk vicious attack by powerful vested interests, and subject themselves to false and malicious accusations of antisemitism in their stand for truth and justice in Palestine. Of all the possible causes to which one can commit—and there is much in need of healing in this world—the Palestinian cause is perhaps the least attractive cause one can identify with. For this reason, such support is so often selfless, built on a foundation of morality and ethics. One can and should be concerned about global warming, sex trafficking, poverty and starvation, criminal justice reform, and many other essential causes, but why care about Palestine? And, why is it so hard for many to do so?
Perhaps it is a result of the very real horrors of past (and present) antisemitism, which must be roundly condemned in no uncertain terms, that people are reluctant to deal with the Palestinian cause, where they are forced to challenge the “only Jewish state” and its policies of apartheid and Jewish supremacy. Perhaps it is a result of historic antipathy towards Islam and “the Orient,” going back to the time of the Crusades. Perhaps it is the weight of centuries of negative, dehumanizing stereotypes in literature, movies, the press, and even the churches. Perhaps it is a result of lingering racism against indigenous people who resist Western colonialism and/or a secret yearning for a time when the ethnic cleansing of indigenous peoples and colonization by Europeans was seen as acceptable. For whatever reasons, support for Palestinians and their just cause does not come naturally to many in the West.
For this reason, I stand in awe and gratitude of those willing to exhibit such solidarity. I remember with deep appreciation the ultimate sacrifice of a Rachel Corrie, who died nonviolently resisting Israeli bulldozers, and of politicians like Paul Findley and Jeremy Corbyn who lost their careers, and professors, journalists, and students who have been viciously targeted, falsely attacked, and persecuted for supporting Palestinians. I think also of the current targets of the Canary Mission, NGO Monitor, and the ever-vigilant hasbara (propaganda) machine, who are hounded and vilified falsely but also the many others who refuse to be intimidated into silence.
I also think of brave Jewish and Israeli voices who dare to break with tribal identification, and who often silently suffer family conflict and ostracization for their willingness to accept the humanity of Palestinians and their refusal to directly or indirectly participate in a system that oppresses other human beings.
After all, it is only such global solidarity together with the resilience of the Palestinian people themselves that sustains our hope for a better future, when all the metrics of objective observation are stacked so solidly against us.
As a Palestinian and lifelong advocate for just peace, I thank you. I hope you keep supporting our just cause.
FOSNA News
After a two-year hiatus, FOSNA is reinstituting its Annual August Membership Drive.
As friends of Sabeel, we stand together in solidarity, secure in our calling as an unapologetic voice for Palestine. With the international spotlight once again on Palestine/Israel, we have an unprecedented opportunity to highlight the reality that Israel, to Palestinian eyes, has never been a democracy.
The challenges before us are great, but together we are making a real difference:
We are challenging the powers of oppression and domination that humiliate and suppress the Palestinian people;
Destructive theologies, ideologies, and assumptions no longer go unchallenged;
Americans continue to grow more aware of the realities of Israeli apartheid and the settler-colonial violence on which it is built;
And, we proudly support the essential work of Sabeel in Palestine, in solidarity with all Palestinians steadfast in their demand for justice and truth.
Becoming a member of a grassroots membership organization like FOSNA means joining an international movement of committed activists, advocates, academics, individuals of conscience, clergy and lay leaders, students, and a whole host of modern-day prophets speaking truth to power and striving together for liberation, justice, and peace in the Holy Land. Our members are our strength, and we need you.
Join us in standing alongside and supporting the remarkable people of Palestine in their ongoing quest for liberation, justice, and peace:
Become a supporting member for as little as $15/year, OR
Maximize your impact as a sustaining member for as little as $5/month
Take Action!
Demand that SFSU stop anti-Palestinian hostility and immediately restore Dr. Abdulhadi's courses
(Supporters of AMED Studies) San Francisco State University (SFSU) is once again escalating its harassment of Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director and Senior Scholar of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies, and intensifying its efforts to dismantle the AMED Studies program and its independence as it was envisioned when it was founded 2007.
Without cause, justification or explanation, SFSU canceled the Palestine course, thus confirming its pro-Israel bias and complicity with Zionist organizations that have long sought to silence Palestinian voices and criminalize teaching Palestine curriculum on campuses nationwide. To add insult to injury, SFSU has furthermore reassigned Dr. Abdulhadi’s signature course “Colonialism, Imperialism and Resistance” to a faculty ally despite their joint opposition and rejection to drive a wedge between them and harass Dr. Abdulhadi just as she return from her sabbatical.
Get Involved!
We invite you to join us in the following events and activities:
August 29: San Francisco
Bay Area: Tell Google No Tech for Israeli Apartheid
Demand an end to Google's deadly $1 billion Cloud contract with the Israeli government and military at Google Cloud Next Conference on August 29th, 5pm at Moscone Center.
September 3: Clifton
AMP-NJ’s second annual Palestine Fest
Join AMP-NJ in the heart of Clifton THIS Labor Day weekend!
When: Sunday, September 3 | 1-7pm
Where: Clifton Memorial Park | 1395 Main Ave. Clifton, NJ
Don’t miss out on a full day of Palestinian art, entertainment, and food. Learn about Palestine in a walkthrough the rich culture and history of the Holy Land! Bring the whole family for Palestinian vendors, carnival games, bouncy houses, prizes, and more!
Weekly
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Palestine) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! August 27 to September 2: Week 35 - Art as Resistance. Kumi Now is an online gathering every Tuesday (6pm Palestine) with a guest speaking on the weekly topic. Register here.
Art as a creative tool of resistance is a cornerstone of a successful nonviolent resistance. While some resist the occupation with stones or guns or worse, and others turn to politics or religion, still others turn to art. One such artist was Naji Al-Ali, the political cartoonist who created Handala. Naji Al-Ali was assassinated for his art, and died on August 29, 1987. In honor of Naji Al-Ali, and all the brave Palestinian artists who have risked their lives in the service of truth and art, this week we look at art as resistance in Palestine. Here’s what you need to know about Palestinian artists engaging in nonviolent resistance and what you can do so that together we can rise up.