Where It Started

So this came up in Facebook memories not that long ago. I was reminded that I have known for a long time that what was going on in Palestine was wrong, but I clearly didn’t take it that seriously.

What had happened on that September 23rd so many years ago? Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) formally submitted the Palestinian application for UN membership. A quote from the letter said the “State of Palestine is a peace-loving nation and…accepts the obligations contained in the Charter of the United Nations and solemnly undertakes to fulfill them.”

That day I had probably seen some news story in which Zionist-paid (or influenced) talking heads said that such an application was premature because of Hamas blah blah blah. The extent of my activism at the time was to post an ALL CAPS statement on what was then Twitter, and in 2011, it was not nearly as influential as it is today.

This is not to downplay doing at least a small action like sharing such a thought with your circle of friends. It is to say that had I really known what was going on, I would have found such action entirely inadequate.

May 2023

In a very special moment, we were present at the betrothal of a Palestinian couple (how beautiful is the traditional dress!) and watched as they were privileged to participate in the daily ritual of lowering candles into the Tomb of the Patriarchs.